Meningitis

Certain words cannot help but provoke a sense of fear. "Cancer" is one; "meningitis" is another. We were present at the hospital when the doctor told Andrea that her little girl, Kirsten, has meningitis. She's the youngest of Andrea and Kris's children, shown above. A week ago she fell and hit her head. X-rays revealed a skull fracture from over her left ear to the middle of her forehead.

She had fever, but that was possibly due to a cold and flu-like condition she had at the time. It was on Thursday when her fever did not break and Andrea saw evidence of partial paralysation of Kirsten's face that she took her back to the hospital. A CT scan was done, which the doctors say shows no abnormalities around the brain due to the fracture, but a spinal tap revealed meningitis.

Although tests have shown it is the less virulent form of meningitis, little Kirsten is in isolation in Intensive Care, and is not out of the woods yet. Whether there will be long-lasting effects remains to be seen; loss of hearing, cognitive difficulties are possibilities. The doctors say any consequences from the disease will be dealt with in due time; at the moment their priority is to save her life. Andrea's mother arrived tonight from the US to help out the family. Meanwhile, we are all praying and doing what we can. Thank you for praying, too.

Yesterday was Kirsten's birthday: she was one year old.