Mum ends up in coma with meningitis after snorkelling on holiday
The 30-year-old went snorkelling with her kids on a boat trip but avoided putting her head underwater as she suffers from tinnitus - a permanent ringing in the ears.
However she began experiencing ear pain and louder ringing after returning to her hotel and assumed it had been triggered by the water or her 'very noisy' kids and that she just needed some 'peace and quiet' so ignored it.
Rebecca shared her ordeal on social media (Image: Kennedy News/thepurplebeebakery) However, on their last day the family were due to visit a water park but the mum-of-four suddenly 'lost consciousness' - and says she could've died if her hubby had gone without her as planned.
After being rushed to hospital doctors diagnosed her with bacterial meningitis, a potentially life-threatening infection, that saw her brain swell up, leaving her in a coma for three days.
The family are now 'stranded' in Turkey until Rebecca is fit to fly and her friends set up a GoFundMe page to support them while she is unable to work.
When sharing her ordeal on social media, Rebecca wrote 'when you make a joke about wanting to have a few extra days holiday then contract bacterial meningitis and slip into a coma for three days'.
Rebecca, a self-employed baker who lives in Middlesborough, North Yorkshire, said: "I came on this lovely holiday with my family and never expected it to turn into such a nightmare.
"I'd got off the boat to swim with our children and had a little snorkel but didn't actually put my head under the water because I'm not really meant to [due to bursting my ear drum 10 years ago when scuba diving].
"Once we got back to the hotel I started to suffer from tinnitus in my ears. I've always had it on and off but the doctors back home don't seem too keen to do much. I thought it could be something to do with the boat trip.
"Lots of things can trigger it but mainly noise and if I get water into it. I do try to avoid getting water in my ear. My children are very noisy so they add to the tinnitus so I thought maybe I just need some peace and quiet.
"I'm no stranger to ear pain so I did not think it was going to progress into this.
"The day before we were meant to go home we had a trip to the waterpark planned and I said to my husband 'my ear is still doing my head in so I won't be able to enjoy it. You take the girls and I'll stay at home with the baby'.
"My husband was like 'I don't think I'm going to do that because you just don't look right'. We were told that if he had done that he would've come back to a dead body. He went against my judgement and stayed.
"I started to lose consciousness so he alerted the hotel and some other guests were aware so rang for an ambulance.
"I am so grateful my partner stayed with me and didn't go to the waterpark. I can be quite stubborn so I'm surprised I didn't just say 'no, just go'. I need to listen to him more."
After being rushed to hospital doctors diagnosed Rebecca with bacterial meningitis and swelling of the brain and she went into a coma for three days.
After waking up she had a procedure on her ear drum and doctors suspect it was caused by an underlying ear infection back in the UK.
Rebecca said: "Apparently [the doctors] were trying to do procedures on me and because I was so confused I was getting aggressive and lashing out.
"I had to be further sedated and restrained so they could actually find out what was wrong with me. That caused me to slip into a coma for three days.
"Then I woke up properly and immediately was confused where my husband and children were and what was going on and realised my arms and legs were trapped to my bed.
"It was shocking. I didn't believe it when they said three days. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.
"I was terrified waking up hearing about brain swelling because my dad died of a haemorrhage to the brain. I thought 'oh my god, I'm going to die'. I was panicking.
"They did a procedure on my ear and it was excruciating because they sawed my ear drum."
The family were due to fly back home on 3 July but are now waiting until Rebecca is fit to fly and she remains on an IV drip and has to take painkillers.
Luckily, the parent had travel insurance but her friends set up a GoFundMe page to support the family while Rebecca is unable to work.
Rebecca said: "We're just stranded here. They're going to try and get me on a normal flight but they're going to get me airport assistance. I'm able to do little walks but as far as getting around an airport I don't think I'll be able to do that.
"It's hard to sit up for more than about 60 minutes at the moment without needing to lie back down because my head feels like it's spinning. It's day by day.
"[The GoFundMe page] is absolutely incredible. It's been a massive help and benefit because whether the insurance drags their heels a bit on sorting my family's accommodations, the insurers say they'll pay it back but that's to be seen.
"There's other costs like food and drink for my children. Because we're self employed we've got no income right now and we're missing out on a lot of markets and events that we do."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Western Telegraph
12 hours ago
- Western Telegraph
Mum ends up in coma with meningitis after snorkelling
Rebecca Roskilly travelled to Marmaris, Turkey, for a seven-day holiday with her husband Vincent Roskilly-Pearson, 28, and their four children. The 30-year-old went snorkelling with her kids on a boat trip but avoided putting her head underwater as she suffers from tinnitus - a permanent ringing in the ears. However she began experiencing ear pain and louder ringing after returning to her hotel and assumed it had been triggered by the water or her 'very noisy' kids and that she just needed some 'peace and quiet' so ignored it. Rebecca shared her ordeal on social media (Image: Kennedy News/thepurplebeebakery) However, on their last day the family were due to visit a water park but the mum-of-four suddenly 'lost consciousness' - and says she could've died if her hubby had gone without her as planned. After being rushed to hospital doctors diagnosed her with bacterial meningitis, a potentially life-threatening infection, that saw her brain swell up, leaving her in a coma for three days. The family are now 'stranded' in Turkey until Rebecca is fit to fly and her friends set up a GoFundMe page to support them while she is unable to work. When sharing her ordeal on social media, Rebecca wrote 'when you make a joke about wanting to have a few extra days holiday then contract bacterial meningitis and slip into a coma for three days'. Rebecca, a self-employed baker who lives in Middlesborough, North Yorkshire, said: "I came on this lovely holiday with my family and never expected it to turn into such a nightmare. "I'd got off the boat to swim with our children and had a little snorkel but didn't actually put my head under the water because I'm not really meant to [due to bursting my ear drum 10 years ago when scuba diving]. "Once we got back to the hotel I started to suffer from tinnitus in my ears. I've always had it on and off but the doctors back home don't seem too keen to do much. I thought it could be something to do with the boat trip. "Lots of things can trigger it but mainly noise and if I get water into it. I do try to avoid getting water in my ear. My children are very noisy so they add to the tinnitus so I thought maybe I just need some peace and quiet. "I'm no stranger to ear pain so I did not think it was going to progress into this. "The day before we were meant to go home we had a trip to the waterpark planned and I said to my husband 'my ear is still doing my head in so I won't be able to enjoy it. You take the girls and I'll stay at home with the baby'. "My husband was like 'I don't think I'm going to do that because you just don't look right'. We were told that if he had done that he would've come back to a dead body. He went against my judgement and stayed. "I started to lose consciousness so he alerted the hotel and some other guests were aware so rang for an ambulance. "I am so grateful my partner stayed with me and didn't go to the waterpark. I can be quite stubborn so I'm surprised I didn't just say 'no, just go'. I need to listen to him more." After being rushed to hospital doctors diagnosed Rebecca with bacterial meningitis and swelling of the brain and she went into a coma for three days. After waking up she had a procedure on her ear drum and doctors suspect it was caused by an underlying ear infection back in the UK. Rebecca said: "Apparently [the doctors] were trying to do procedures on me and because I was so confused I was getting aggressive and lashing out. "I had to be further sedated and restrained so they could actually find out what was wrong with me. That caused me to slip into a coma for three days. "Then I woke up properly and immediately was confused where my husband and children were and what was going on and realised my arms and legs were trapped to my bed. "It was shocking. I didn't believe it when they said three days. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. "I was terrified waking up hearing about brain swelling because my dad died of a haemorrhage to the brain. I thought 'oh my god, I'm going to die'. I was panicking. "They did a procedure on my ear and it was excruciating because they sawed my ear drum." The family were due to fly back home on 3 July but are now waiting until Rebecca is fit to fly and she remains on an IV drip and has to take painkillers. Luckily, the parent had travel insurance but her friends set up a GoFundMe page to support the family while Rebecca is unable to work. Rebecca said: "We're just stranded here. They're going to try and get me on a normal flight but they're going to get me airport assistance. I'm able to do little walks but as far as getting around an airport I don't think I'll be able to do that. "It's hard to sit up for more than about 60 minutes at the moment without needing to lie back down because my head feels like it's spinning. It's day by day. "[The GoFundMe page] is absolutely incredible. It's been a massive help and benefit because whether the insurance drags their heels a bit on sorting my family's accommodations, the insurers say they'll pay it back but that's to be seen. "There's other costs like food and drink for my children. Because we're self employed we've got no income right now and we're missing out on a lot of markets and events that we do."
Sky News
2 days ago
- Sky News
Parents of boy who died from 'brain-eating amoeba' say they are 'terrified it will happen to someone else'
The parents of a 12-year-old boy who died from due to a "brain-eating amoeba" say they are "terrified it will happen to someone else". Jaysen Carr died two weeks after swimming in one of South Carolina's most popular lakes, when the single-celled organism naegleria fowleri entered his body through his nose. His parents say they had no idea the organism - also known as the brain-eating amoeba - existed in Lake Murray, around 15 miles (24km) west of Columbia. "I can't believe we don't have our son. The result of him being a child was losing his life. That does not sit well. And I am terrified it will happen to someone else," Clarence Carr told The Associated Press (AP). "My son lost his life swimming. We assumed it was safe," he added. Friends invited Jaysen and his family to the lake on the 4 July holiday weekend, where he spent hours swimming, fishing and riding on an inner tube that was being pulled by a boat. A few days later, Jaysen's suffered headaches which got worse and then became nauseous, disoriented and lethargic. The amoeba was in his brain, already causing an infection and destroying brain tissue. It entered his nose, as he played in the water, and travelled along his olfactory nerve into his brain. The amoeba caused an infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis. Fewer than 10 people a year get it in the US, and more than 95% of them die, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A two-year-old boy died from the same infection in Nevada, after visiting a natural hot spring in July 2023, while in the same month, a swimmer from Georgia also died. Among other incidents, one in March 2023 involved a man from Florida who died after rinsing his nose with tap water, and in August 2022, a child died after swimming in the Elkhorn River in eastern Nebraska. The amoeba is found in warm water. It cannot move from one person to another. A GoFundMe page has raised $53,310 (£39,924) to help Jaysen's family pay for unexpected expenses. What is the 'brain-eating amoeba'? Naegleria fowleri is a single-celled organism which thrives in warm water (over 25C), including lakes and rivers in countries with hot, sometimes dry summers, like the US, Pakistan, and Australia. The amoeba enters the brain through the olfactory nerve in the nose. Once inside, it causes an infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis. Symptoms start as a headache and nausea, and by the time the pain becomes severe, it is almost always too late to save the infected person. Most deaths happen within five days of getting sick, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Of the 167 cases reported in the US between 1962 and 2024, only four people have survived. Boys seem more susceptible, perhaps because they are more likely to jump and dive into the water. The only way to be completely safe is to not swim in lakes or rivers and, if you do, keep your head above water. The amoeba is fairly common but researchers are still trying to understand why some people appear more susceptible to the deadly infection than others. Mr Carr has questioned whether anyone on the lake had any clue about the danger in that water. "There are entire families out there on pontoon boats, jumping off, just like our kids were having the time of their lives," he said.
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Daily Mirror
'I had 13 organs removed after I got food poisoning on a work night out'
A woman who struggled to recover from a bout of food poisoning after her Christmas work do went on to be diagnosed with a rare, incurable disease that killed a Hollywood actress It was Christmas 2018 when Rebecca Hind was struck down with a bout of nasty food poisoning at her work meal. She wasn't the only one to get it but while her colleagues recovered, two months on Rebecca was still suffering with sickness. She went to her doctor, who prescribed courses of antibiotics but she still didn't recover. Rebecca, from Eden Valley, Cumbria recalled: "After our Christmas 2018 work meal, a few of us were unwell - but whilst others recovered quickly, I remained ill eight weeks later. The GP had given me several rounds of antibiotics but nothing worked." She was referred to Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle for a CT scan which showed she had masses in her abdomen. Biopsies followed which revealed the worst possible news - Rebecca, who was then 35, had cancer. The disease had fused to the surface of several of her abdominal organs and formed tumours which were preventing them from working properly. The type of cancer Rebecca was found to have was Pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) - the same cancer that killed movie star Audrey Hepburn. It's incredibly rare - just one to four in a million people per year are diagnosed with it. Rebecca was told it had spread to her organs via a jelly-like cancerous liquid called mucin and that it was advanced. "By the time they found it, I was pretty much riddled with it," she revealed. The former outdoor education instructor had noticed she was gaining weight unusually around her middle during that year but being a fan of keeping fit, she just exercised more to try and shift it. It turned out that her bigger tummy was the 'jelly-belly' that is characteristic of PMP and the mucin associated with it. Rebecca underwent surgery in April 2019 at the Christie Hospital in Manchester. Surgeons removed her appendix, navel, lesser omentum - a layer of tissue attached to the stomach and liver - and six litres of mucin. Tests showed that the cancer was a very aggressive form so she was given eight rounds of chemotherapy, but sadly the cancer didn't shrink enough. In November 2019 she underwent another lengthy operation in an attempt to remove all the diseased tissue. During the 12-hour surgery Rebecca had her greater omentum, gall bladder, spleen, large bowel, womb, uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, cervix, and rectum removed. She also had some of her stomach and small bowel taken away, as well as the surface layer of her liver and both sides of her diaphragm. Chemo was also given during the procedure. "I went through a surgical menopause aged 35 - it was an assault on the body," she recalled. "Part of the surgery I had a heated liquid form of chemotherapy - known as HIPEC - to target any remaining cancer cells and they formed an ileostomy [an opening in the belly]. I was in hospital recovering on and off for months after." Despite the best efforts of surgeons and specialists and the huge amount of organs and tissue that was removed, Rebecca was told the cancer was still present. She participated in a trial which targeted the genetic mutation associated with the disease in 2022, but the treatment made her too unwell. Tragically she was then told the cancer was incurable. "They surgically removed some diseased organs, and administered eight rounds of chemotherapy, but some disease remained. Then I had a second surgery so I was dealing with the life-changing effects of the surgery, and then I learned the cancer had returned and was incurable. It was heartbreaking," she said. She now takes 50 to 60 tablets a day including codeine and hormone replacement therapy. Her diet is restricted to an electrolyte fluid solution and food supplements. Despite the tragic prognosis, Rebecca, who turns 40 this year, remains positive and determined to live her life to the full - even though she doesn't know how long she has left. "I've just got to try to get on with life, and deal with whatever comes my way," she said. She's certainly keeping to her word too. So far she's had a go at surfing, enjoyed a hot air balloon ride and tried her hand at dog sledding. She is also raising money for a charity close to her heart. Her latest challenge is Chris Hoy's 'Tour de 4' 90km cycle. She's hoping to raise money for PMP charity Pseudomyxoma Survivor, which Audrey Hepburn's son is patron of. Rebecca believes a positive mindset is crucial to making the most of any situation and hopes to inspire others with her story. "The message I want to get across is when you have a stoma or an incurable diagnosis, things will be incredibly difficult," she said. "My daily life is a rollercoaster - but with the right attitude, you can still achieve a lot. And more importantly, enjoy whatever time you have." If you'd like to contribute to Rebecca's gofundme fundraiser you can do so here. What is PMP? Pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) is a very rare type of cancer, It usually starts in the appendix as a polyp but can also start in the bowel, bladder or ovaries. The polyp then spreads cancerous cells from the point of origin to the abdominal cavity lining - the peritoneum. The cells produce mucus called mucin which collects in the tummy. It's a jelly-like substance, hence PMP sometimes being called 'jelly belly'. The disease develops very slowly and it can take years for symptoms to show. It will usually have spread beyond the appendix once it is diagnosed. It can press on the bowel and other organs. Without treatment it can take over the peritoneal cavity. It's not known what causes the illness. It's more common in women and can be mistaken for ovarian cancer, which can also produce mucin and swelling in the tummy. Symptoms of PMP can include: abdominal or pelvic pain not being able to become pregnant abdominal swelling and bloating changes in bowel habits hernia (a bulge in the tummy wall or groin) loss of appetite feeling of fullness Diagnosis can be tricky and it's often discovered accidentally while treating another condition. A doctor will arrange for certain tests to be carried out before treatment, including an ultrasound, CT scan and MRI. Surgery and chemotherapy are the main treatments for PMP.
