Pawnee County Mom Warns Parents About Meningitis After Daughter Survives Disease

A Pawnee County mother has a warning about the dangers of meningitis. Stephanie Brisbin's four-month-old daughter came down with a form of the disease that nearly took her life.

It's important to note that what Averi Brisbin came down with is not quite bacterial meningitis; she had the same bacteria that causes bacterial meningitis but it stayed in her blood. Still, her mother says, parents need to know the disease is extremely dangerous.

Little Averi Brisbin is 22 days from a fight that almost took her life. The four-month-old is recovering from Meningococcemia Septicemia. It all began January 24, 2012.

"She was absolutely happy, healthy, smiling. At noon, she's starting to act tired, nothing that you can be concerned. By 6 o'clock that evening, she can't pick up her arms, she can't pick up her head," Stephanie Brisbin said.

Meningococcemia Septicemia is caused by the same bacteria that causes bacterial meningitis only it stays in the blood stream while bacterial meningitis attacks the spinal fluid. Both are deadly.

Read more about bacterial meningitis.

"What the doctors have told us, anywhere from 6-24 hours is how long it takes for your baby to die from this if it's not treated promptly," Brisbin said.

This is, at least, the third case of meningococcal disease in Northeast Oklahoma.

Union Public Schools says an elementary school student has been home with an unconfirmed case of bacterial meningitis since last Tuesday.

02/14/2012 Related Story: Union Schools, Tulsa County Health Department Urge Calm After Meningitis Scare

And a four-month-old boy who attended a Sand Springs daycare died from the disease over the weekend.

02/14/2012 Related Story: Parents Say Bacterial Meningitis Caused Death Of Pawnee County Infant

"It makes my heart stop, it literally put me into tears," Brisbin said.

Brisbin works with the Sand Springs child's grandmother but there's no way to confirm whether the two cases are connected.

Little Averi is wearing bandages that cover where the disease caused her blood vessels to burst. Her pediatrician says it's important for parents to look for the symptoms.

"They can start out with cold type symptoms, a little fever, but usually they become a lot more lethargic, a lot more fussy, sometimes they're not able to be fussy because they're so sick," explained Dr. Christine Narrin-Talbot.

Brisbin credits the quick work of her doctors for saving her daughter's life, and she's grateful that Averi was able to fight through every parent's worst nightmare.

"It makes us thankful that I'm able to hold her and look at her and kiss her and love on her and devastated at the same time for the families that weren't that lucky," Averi's mother Stephanie Brisbin.

Brisbin and her doctor encourage parents to talk with their pediatrician about vaccines. Dr. Narrin-Talbot says high school and college students should definitely be vaccinated.

02/14/2012 Related Story: Tulsa Doctor: Some Kids May Be Carriers Of Bacterial Meningitis And Not Know It