Baby nearly died and had foot amputated after parents noticed high temperature and worrying rash
A 16-month-old baby from the UK ended up close to death just hours after her parents first noticed her high temperature and a worrying rash.
Mom Ceri Allen-Davies and her husband, Tristan, have now organized a 500km bike ride to raise money for those who helped save their daughter, Octavia, after the terrifying ordeal took place earlier this year.
Ceri and Tristan first became concerned about their daughter, affectionately known as Tavie, when they realized she was suffering with low energy, a high temperature and a rash across her body.
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They took her to the emergency room at Barnet Hospital in the UK town of Chipping Barnet, and within hours Tavie was diagnosed with Strep A, severe Pneumonia and Sepsis.
The family's life changed in a matter of hours as Tavie was placed on life support, and after numerous failed attempts to insert a vital line into her veins, the medical team determined Tavie needed help from another hospital, or she could die.
A specialist ambulance team known as CATS set about transporting Tavie to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, but during the trip Ceri and Tristan were told to prepare for the worst.
Tavie was rushed to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) when she arrived at the hospital, but sadly the little girl still suffered damage to her brain and internal organs.
She was on life support for the next 17 days, and doctors were forced to amputate her right foot and her ankle after the blood supply to her right leg and foot became severely compromised.
After three weeks in the PICU, Tavie was moved to another ward for a further six weeks. During her stay, her parents were given accommodation by The Sick Children’s Trust, just around the corner from the hospital.
“Guilford Street House was so vitally important to us as there is no way we could have been away from the hospital for any length of time," Ceri explained.
"There was one occasion when the nurses called me in the middle of the night because Tavie had taken as serious turn for the worse. I was up, dressed and back by her side in less than five minutes all thanks to the close proximity of the ‘Home from Home’."
Thankfully, Tavie was eventually discharged from hospital after undergoing as many as 14 operations. She requires weekly surgery on her leg where there is still extensive damage, but she's continued to live her life after being released and has started crawling, standing and even said her first word - 'apple'.
In a bid to show their appreciation for the work of The Sick Children's Trust and GOSH, as well as raising awareness of Strep A Sepsis and children with visible differences, Ceri and Tristan have organized a 500km fundraising bike ride from Kings Lynn, Norfolk to Llandaff Cathedral, Cardiff.
While Tristan takes on the cycle, Ceri, who is now eight months pregnant, will cheer him on from the sidelines with Tavie.
More information about Tavie’s story and the family’s fundraising can be found on their website https://www.ridefortavie.com/the-bike-ride/.
Emily Brown