The heartbroken parents of a 10-year-old girl who tragically died after contracting Strep A are determined to warn others about the seriousness of the disease. Dermot and Lily Murphy lost their beloved daughter Vivienne in March 2019, just over two weeks after she started feeling unwell and suffering from a sore throat, the Irish Mirror reports.
The youngster was picked up from school early on Valentine's Day by her dad after she complained of feeling poorly, and later that afternoon developed a sore throat, before coming out in a rash. Her condition continued to deteriorate over the next five days, despite three GPs telling Vivienne's worried parents that it was just a viral illness.
Dermot told RTÉ’s This Week programme: “We realised she was still getting worse, and the rash was really angry looking. By the evening, she had pain and we noticed that her right leg started swelling at the knee. We were told this could still be a flu virus, and we explained about the knee, and said the child couldn’t stand at all.”
Dermot knew Vivienne needed urgent medical help and drove her to Cork University Hospital. During their examination, doctors noticed that the schoolgirl had a black mark on her leg and immediately ordered blood tests. When the results came back, “all hell broke loose”, with the nurse telling Dermot and Lily that their daughter was seriously ill.
The black mark on Vivienne's leg indicated that she had contracted necrotising fasciitis, a rare bacterial infection - sometimes referred to as the ‘flesh-eating disease’ - that spreads quickly through the body and can prove fatal. Her parents noticed that the mark was continuing to grow and Lilly said: “We [were told] at that stage the black mark meant Vivienne had sepsis and was going into shock.”
Doctors said the only way they could save Vivienne was to amputate her leg. The surgery could not be done in Cork, and so the youngster was transferred to Temple Street in Dublin for the operation.
As Vivienne’s condition deteriorated, medics decided to put her under anaesthetic. Her parents recall the final words she said before she was put to sleep.
“She said ‘thank you, nurse, I’m sorry for crying. I know you’re only trying to help me’,” said Dermot. “That was the dignity she had. They were her last words on this planet. She had so much empathy. The world is a sadder place without her.”
After Vivienne's operation, Dermot and Lily were met by the surgeon, who explained that drastic action had to be taken. “The words he told us were shocking,” Dermot said. “He said I think I have stopped the disease from spreading, but I had to cut away 17 per cent of your daughter’s body. Seventeen per cent is burned into my brain.”
The disease had spread up her leg onto her buttocks, across her abdomen, and had slowly started creeping down her left leg. Doctors explained that the black mark started out as Strep-A, which led to sepsis, and then to shock, and that led to necrotising fasciitis.
The stress of the surgery coupled with Vivienne's body trying to fight the disease had caused her heart to stop beating, and she went into cardiac arrest. Doctors did everything they could to save her, even telling the parents to “scream at your daughter, bring her back!”
“She did come back to us,” said Dermot. “And we thought wow – we have her.” But tragically, Vivienne had suffered brain damage and she was declared brain dead by medics.
“It was the longest night of our lives,” said Lilly. “Then they told us that she was brain dead, and there was no hope.”
After several hours, the parents made the heartbreaking decision to end their daughter's life support and protect her her dignity. Lilly said: “The poor little thing kept fighting, it was 35 or 40 minutes, and even then, she came back again.”
“It was torture, on top of torture,” Dermot said. “It was shocking, one day we are begging her to stay alive, the next day we are begging her to die.”
Since Vivienne's death, her parents said they are determined to make people aware of the dangers of Strep-A. They said: “If your child has a fever, or a rash, be vigilant, these things can change so quickly.
“Our daughter started off with signs and symptoms and within ten days she was gone. We are just begging and pleading that parents look out for these things, don’t be submissive, and don’t ever think that you are being an overreacting parent, because you are not.”
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