7-Year-Old Girl Loses Both Legs After Doctors Misdiagnosed Meningitis As Tummy Bug

A 7-year-old girl from England had both her legs amputated after doctors mistakenly diagnosed her with a tummy bug instead of meningitis.

Brogan Patridge, now 11, was vacationing in 2016 with her parents at a beach in Cornwall when she began vomiting. Her parents initially thought it was some infection and asked her to take rest. But after she had a restless night, the concerned parents took her to a hospital.

However, medics deemed that it was only a tummy bug and sent her back home.

"She did not seem herself. She’d had a sleepless night and was vomiting. We took her to A&E but they sent us home, saying she only had a tummy bug,” Brogan’s mother Aimee said.

Within hours of leaving A&E, she noticed rashes developing on Brogan’s leg, and rushed back to the hospital.

"I didn't know the symptoms of meningitis at the time. But within about three hours of leaving A&E, she was rushed back in after she started getting a rash,” her mother said.

Upon being diagnosed again, doctors found a high level of bacteria in her blood.

"When we got back in the doctors then confirmed our worst fears,” Aimee told the Sun. “The damage was done within just a few hours, but only time will tell how much the disease will affect her life.”

The pain due to the bacteria was so much that her left foot had to be amputated. Her parents, though devastated, were relieved that Brogan was saved. However, she also had her right foot amputated later.

"When we first found out she was going to lose her legs, we thought there was absolutely no way that could happen. I didn't want my little girl to lose her legs but it was the only option," her mom said.

Brogan now uses prosthetic feet to walk. Aimee said that her daughter is determined to get her full independence back.