A COUPLE from south Warwickshire had their lives changed for ever when their two-year-old daughter had a catastrophic seizure – and now they are raising cash to help with her future.
Helen and John Richmond, who live in Kenilworth, told the Observer that Audrey’s seizure came completely out of the blue last August. It lasted 80 minutes and her temperature hit 42 degrees.
By sheer chance, they were at their local GP surgery at the time doing some admin. Audrey collapsed in the reception and two members of staff provided emergency treatment while the paramedics arrived. They have been been told several times if they’d been anywhere else that day, Audrey would have died.
She was taken to Warwick A&E where a room of medics worked tirelessly for nine hours to save her life. Once stable, she was transferred to Stoke Royal PICU and then Birmingham Children’s PICU. What was first thought to be septic shock was later diagnosed as Autoimmune Encephalitis – an incredibly rare condition where the body mistakenly attacks the brain.
Audrey had severe brain inflammation and multiple organ failure. Helen and John were told several times to prepare ourselves for the worst as her tiny body tried desperately to fight the condition.
Against all odds, she pulled through but they learned early on that she has an acquired brain injury, likely caused by the initial seizure.
Helen and John said: “Doctors describe the first eight weeks of an autoimmune Encephalitis inflammation as putting out the fire, everything after is ‘rebuilding the house’.
“Audrey is having to relearn everything she once knew and is fighting hard to find her place in the world again. Even with therapy, she has been left with a movement disorder she will have for the rest of her life.”
She was initially in hospital for 16 weeks and has now been transferred to a neuro rehab clinic for an intensive programme.
The couple added: “Neurological rehabilitation is long, slow, and incredibly hard work. Once Audrey is discharged home, she will need to continue therapy in the community to maximise this vital early recovery window. Unfortunately, this type of specialist therapy is very expensive and in order to give Audrey the best chance, we will need to find a large portion of this ourselves.”
To that end, they have launched a GoFundMe page and have already raised over £23,000 towards their £26,000 goal.
Visit www.gofundme.com/f/audreysbraininuryrehab to donate.
