Lily Philips, 11, from Merseyside, survived premature birth and bacterial meningitis. She is now a high school student.
Baby Lily was born prematurely by almost three months on 19 June 2009.
10 months later, having already spent five weeks in hospital, Lily developed bacterial meningitis, an especially deadly form of meningitis, and for 48 hours her life was in the balance.
Her mum, Karen, had already lost her first baby, Jessica. Then, when Lily was just 10 months old, she noticed that she “noticed she was a little pale”. “We came home and she began vomiting. We phoned the NHS and they advised that we used paracetamol and ibuprofen to control her temperature”, Karen recalled.
“After tests we were told our daughter had bacterial meningitis. There was a chance of septicaemia and she was admitted into the high dependency unit.
“At one point we were told the next 48 hours would be critical.”
Thankfully, Lily made a full recovery and is “now a happy and healthy schoolgirl”.
“Like all Liverpool schoolgirls she loves her iPhone and is also Harry Potter mad”, says her mum.” She has read all the Harry books and loves English at school.”
SPUC comment
A SPUC spokesperson said: “Every child matters. Being able to live and enjoy even the simplest of pleasures, such as reading the Harry Potter books, is no small thing!
“Starting school, too, and being able to make new friends and learn more about the world we inhabit, what a true blessing that is, having come so close to tragedy.
“SPUC wishes Lily all the best in the future.”
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