Post Meningitis 3 yr old child

[krithika88]

My son is 3 years old now. He had pneumococcal meningitis at the age of 1 and had 3 hours of seizures.He had issues with his heart functioning and struggled a lot to survive. He was also operated with a VP shunt for hydrocephalus which he acquired because of meningitis. But the first surgery was a failure and he was operated again after 3 months. IT was after this he moved his eye balls. He acquired meningitis during the second surgery and was again under antibiotics for 4 weeks. He had total delay development i.e he did not even have head control at the age of 1 yr 3 months. He also had poor vision. Now its 2 years that he had acquired the first episode of meningitis. We are giving him Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy and Vision therapy all these 2 years. HIs improvements are - 1) gained full head control 2) able to sit for 30 mins - but can get up on his own. He is trying to getup but unable to do. 3) producing sounds like sighs and coos 4) able to recognize people around him and smiles at them 5) his vision is completely normal now. he is able to follow and track people and toys.

I am much worried about his fine motor skills. He is v much disinterested in activities and does not grab or touch things. SOme doctors say that since its 2 yrs from the time he acquired meningitis, it will be v minimal growth from now on. Is that so? All these days his progress was v v slow. But now he seems to be v active. I hope he will show a good progress from now on.

PLease advise on what other things I should do for my son to improve his cognitive skills. Please also advise how will be my son's development.

[brmarichal]

Dear krithika88:

I'm so sorry about your little angel. I know how horrible is all this. My son was also attacked by pneumococcal meningitis. And now he is unable to walk and move as before. But everyday there is a small improvement and we totally love him. I cannot say too much about what to expect, but be strong and stay with him with patience and love.