When she was 18 months old my daughter contracted bacterial meningitis. When we first took her to the doctor with a high temperature and vomiting she was diagnosed with a virus and given some medicine to stop her being sick. She couldn't keep it down long enough for it to work so we went back to the doctor and were given suppositories instead. Two days later, as the temperature was getting worse and she was semi-comatose, I phoned a pediatrician I knew at our local hospital and described her symptoms. He listened quietly then told me that I couldn't bring her to see him...he would meet me in the E.R.

After ten days in intensive care under the watchful eye of her doctor and his fantastic team, we were able to take her home. It was two weeks before she could sit up unaided, much longer before she could walk again without help and her balance and coordination only really reached 'normal' around 11 years old. The bacteria that causes meningitis also commonly affects auditory nerves, but despite regular hearing tests it wasn't until she was 5 years old that she was diagnosed with moderate permanent hearing loss. I was devastated, even more so than when we'd received the initial diagnosis, but my husband was more pragmatic. To him it was just a bit of hearing loss that could be rectified with hearing aids. His perspective helped convince our daughter to allow the audiologist to create her ear moulds, it helped us convince her to wear her hearing aids despite the first unfamiliar and scary sound of a breeze, and it helped me persuade her that her bionic hearing is a superpower to be proud of. Last year her hearing aids needed updating and she was given a choice of colours; rather than sticking with the neutral peach which made her old ones almost invisible she asked for 'party' hearing aids in a bright turquoise with glittery sparkles in the moulds. Instead of hiding them because of the loss they symbolise, she sees them for what they add to her life. I too see them as a blessing; my daughter lost a little bit of hearing when she (and we) could have lost so much more and in return she gained resilience, focus, compassion, determination, and her hearing aids have given her a little bit of herself back.

Now a fiesty and passionate twelve-year-old, she loves all sports but especially rugby, football and hockey. She's hoping that one day she'll be good enough to play hockey for England and with her determination, I wouldn't be surprised.

For meningitis symptoms and support go to http://www.fightfornow.org