A couple who tragically lost their 10-year-old daughter have warned parents about the seriousness of Strep A after their little girl died of an infectious condition four years ago.
Dermot and Lilly Murphy from Cork saw their beloved Vivienne pass away in March 2019 just over a fortnight after complaining of a sore throat and feeling unwell.
Little did they know at the time, but Vivienne’s condition was to deteriorate rapidly and the horrors they all had to endure in the following few days is something her parents will never get over, reports the Irish Mirror.
Vivienne was not feeling great as Dermot picked her up from school on Valentine’s Day and later that afternoon developed a sore throat, before a rash appeared, which worried him and Lilly.
Over the course of the next five days, with Vivienne still poorly, three GPs all told them it was a viral illness, but the Murphys had their doubts.
Vivienne’s condition deteriorated further and Dermot knew it must be something more serious. He 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 took action and put his daughter in the car, and headed for Cork University Hospital.
When she was examined it was noticed that there was a black mark on her leg.
Alarmed, the medical team carried out a blood test on Vivienne, and when the results returned “all hell broke loose”, with the nurse telling them that Vivienne was seriously ill.
Dermot noticed the black mark on Vivienne’s leg was getting bigger and Lilly said: “We [were told] at that stage the black mark meant Vivienne had sepsis and was going into shock.”
The black mark indicated the presence of a disease called necrotising fasciitis, a rare bacterial infection that spreads quickly through the body, which can cause death – it is sometimes referred to as the ‘flesh-eating disease’.
The Murphys were prepared for doctors to amputate their daughter’s leg if it meant her life could be saved, but surgery could not be done in Cork and so Vivienne would have to be taken to Temple Street in Dublin for an operation.
As Vivienne’s condition deteriorated, doctors decided to put her under anaesthetic.
Lilly and Dermot recall the final words she spoke before she was made unconscious.
“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.”
Vivienne was transferred to Temple Street and her parents received a call from the medical team asking them for their permission to operate as her life hung in the balance.
Dermot explained that the surgeon then met them that night and told them what happened.
“The words he told us were shocking,” he said.
“He said I think I have stopped the disease from spreading, but I had to cut away 17% of your daughter’s body.”
“17% is burned into my brain.”
The disease had gone up her leg, onto her buttocks, across her abdomen, and it had slowly started creeping down her left leg.
The Murphys said the black mark started out as Strep-A, which led to sepsis, and then to shock, and that led to necrotising fasciitis.
But the extent of the surgery, and the disease she had battled caused her heart to stop beating, and she went into cardiac arrest.
Doctors worked furiously on 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.”
Vivienne, though, had suffered brain damage and after tests the parents were told that their child was brain dead.
“It was the longest night of our lives,” said Lilly. “Then they told us that she was brain dead, and there was no hope.”
Lilly said the decision to end Vivienne’s life support was made because they wanted to protect her dignity, but the final moments of her life were among the most distressing.
She 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,” he said.
“It was shocking, one day we are begging her to stay alive, the next day we are begging her to die.”
Since their daughter’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.”
