Brain injury following bacterial meningitis support.

[Swingaroundthebars]

Hi, a very close family member is currently in ICU. She has significant damage to her brain. It is very early days. What can we do to help her? Thank you.

[Riba01]

I am very sorry to hear that your relative is so ill. One thing which helped my son following meningitis was that I kept a diary of his time in ITU/HDU which he couldn't remember. I also took some photos for him which did feel strange at the time. It helped when he was recovering to go over what had happened in that time. Maybe this is something that you could do at the moment? The only other thing that I would stress is to look after yourself - don't underestimate the toll that this is taking on everyone and stay as well as possible for the time ahead (although this is not something that I did ) . I wish you all the very best at this terrible time.

[Swingaroundthebars in reply to Riba01]

Thank you so much. I will do this.

[BoboLuboCat]

Yes, I’m very sorry to hear of your situation. I was in an induced coma for almost 2 weeks. And I would second what Riba01 wrote; my ex-husband kept a diary, almost from day 1, and throughout my 4 months in hospital. Also a couple of photos. I wasn’t ready to read it for quite a while, but when I did, I found it really helpful - filing in gaps, but also understanding what it was like for friends and family. Looking at the photo now, it reminds me of how far I’ve come, with hopefully further to go in recovering. Wishing you and your family member all the best.

[Swingaroundthebars]

Thank you so much for replying. Very helpful response. Best wishes for your recovery.

[Newnham1]

Good morning,I really am sorry that you are in this situation- my Husband is now approaching week 6 post admission for bacterial meningitis, having spent 2 weeks in critical care.

He is doing well in terms of speech and movement( please read previous posts for background) But still bed bound with a feeding tube and a nappy on.

He is showing positive signs in terms of being able to walk again st some point, the physios give him exercises to do which they describe as building blocks for this.

I have asked the physios what I can do to help and they have suggested some exercises that Doug can do in the bed.

I also lift my hand up, and try to get him to reach up 10 times on each side.

Is there an occupational therapist( OT) you can speak with?

The OT on critical care said talk to him, but with short little stories from our past.

I also read to him( advice from.a reply to one of my early posts) I feel this is helpful.

I sometimes do leg and foot massage.

Just to say , the early reports from the doctors were terrible( lasting disability etc) and this nearly broke me, but he does seem to be progressing well( very very slowly) like all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle there, just need to fit them together.Not saying don't listen to medical staff but don't lose hope either.

The overwhelming message from this forum for me was to try to stay positive and this has been super helpful, as well as all the messages and replies.

All the best, it's a scary time and I'm sending you love xxx

[MNCarolineL Partner Meningitis Now]

We are very sorry to hear that your close family member is currently in hospital with a significant brain injury following bacterial meningitis. Please do contact our nurse-led Helpline if we can provide any additional information or support at this difficult time for you all. Our Helpline is available Monday-Thursday 09:00 - 16:00 and Friday 09:00 - 13:00 via freephone 0808 80 10 388 or via email [e-mail]