A Southampton couple tell SARAH JONES how they are backing a national charity’s winter awareness drive after their little girl died from meningitis earlier this year.

REGISTERING the death of their beloved daughter at the same time as the birth of their new baby girl, Annie and Gavin Colbourne struggled to take in what had happened over the last few weeks. Just a short time ago they had been a happy family of four, excitedly awaiting the imminent delivery of their third daughter.

But their worlds were turned upside down when 18-monthold Tillie – the couple’s second child – died from the deadly brain bug meningitis just days after her little sister was born.

Her devastating death has prompted Annie and Gavin to speak out in support of Meningitis UK’s winter awareness campaign.

“I cannot begin to explain how strange it has been,” says Annie, 33. “We had been preparing for three little monsters running around.We’ve had to rebuild our lives.

“You just don’t expect this to happen, which is whywe’re supporting the campaign. Meningitis is the worst thing in the world and the more people who know about it and what symptoms to look out for the better.”

In the living room of their family home in Bassett, a small replica of Tillie’s pink coffin sits on the mantelpiece holding her ashes.

Above it on the wall is a framed certificate, which shows how a star has been dedicated to the little girl.

Her mother fondly recalls howjust the day before Tillie fell ill, she had been playing happily with her big sister Kassie, five, on Southampton Common.

But when Tillie was sick three times that night, her parents decided to seek advice.

“The doctor thought she had gastroenteritis and told us to give her Calpol,” says Annie. “That was Monday morning and by the evening she had developed stiffness in the neck so we called the out-of-hours doctor who said to give her Ibuprofen.

“She was very sleepy the next day but the doctor told us to expect this. But onWednesday she could barely stand and was really drowsy.

“We called for an ambulance because the light was hurting her eyes and we knew something serious was wrong.

“Unfortunately the paramedics didn’t think it was meningitis and just dropped us off at the doctors.”

By the time they were seen at 5.45pm, the doctor was so concerned he called for a blue response ambulance immediately.

Tillie was soon diagnosed with pneumococcal meningitis – the most deadly form of the disease – which can have flu-like symptoms and is not often accompanied by the rash that is typical of the most common type of meningitis.

She was given antibiotics to fight the infection and seemed to be getting better.

But, as Tillie fought for her life, heavily pregnant Annie was also rushed into hospital suffering from pneumonia.

“Because I’m diabetic the doctors were worried I might fall into a diabetic coma.

I had to have an emergency C-section and Hollie was born six weeks early on April 26.

“I nearly didn’t make it myself but I was only worried about Tillie.”

With Annie and their newborn daughter in the Princess Anne Hospital (Hollie had been transferred immediately to the neonatal unit there and placed on a ventilator) and Tillie next door in Southampton General, Gavin was beside himself as he rushed between the two.

“On the day Annie was rushed in to hospital Tillie was the complete opposite of how she had been a week earlier so everyone had very good hopes for her,”

says Gavin, 32.

“Unfortunately Tillie started to go downhill and on the Thursday I woke up and noticed something wasn’t right. She was just lying there with a blank stare.

Within five minutes of a nurse arriving she began to fit.

“A few days later we were told Tillie had suffered a stroke and that the infection had seriously affected her brain stem.”

Unable to visit Tillie for four days because she was so ill herself, Annie’s dscharge papers were rushed through so that she could be with her daughter.

Doctors said an MRI scan showed that more than 80 per cent of the little girl’s brain stem had been damaged and chances of survival were slim.

The decision was made to take Tillie off the ventilator and see howshe responded.

“It all seemed to happen in slow motion,” adds Annie. “She was just a shell.

We knew she was going to die but didn’t know when. It was heartbreaking.”

Gavin and Annie had to tear themselves away from Tillie to check on newborn Hollie, who was thankfully doing well.

They involved Kassie, who was four at the time, so that she could understand what was happening to her beloved Tillie and say goodbye.

After five days of “agonising” palliative care, Tillie passed away quietly surrounded by her family on May 7.

“It was so tragic and happened so unexpectedly,” says Annie.

“Tillie had always been so full of health.

When you’re pregnant, you always tend to worry about the new arrival rather than the children you already have. It’s just so cruel and you wonder, why her?

“They say time heals but at the moment I can’t believe that. I think you just learn to cope with the feeling of loss.”

Although Tillie had been up-to-date with all her injections and there is a vaccine for pneumococcal meningitis, it doesn’t protect against all strains.

Registering their child’s death at the same time as they registered another’s birth, was a “surreal situation”.

“The registrar said she had worked there for 21 years and had never known that to happen before,” says Gavin.

The Meningitis UK campaign is urging people to look out for each other during the cold weather.

The message is that people of all ages are at risk from the brain bug, which can kill in under four hours.

People are most at risk from meningitis during the winter months, with the majority of dangerous bacterial forms striking due to the cold weather causing weakened immune systems.

While the Colbournes have been told nothing more could have been done for Tillie, knowing the symptoms and getting swift treatment can mean the difference between life and death.

“Parents should trust their instincts and not wait for a rash,” says Annie.

“If you have any concerns at all don’t worry about taking them to the doctor as often as you think necessary.”

● Free posters are available from Meningitis UK, which people are encouraged to distribute to their GP surgeries, schools or any establishment which might display it. To request a poster or a free symptoms information pack, call 0117 373 7373 or visit meningitisUK.org