Richard Meier

Death within 6 hours over night
Our son Richard has always been taller, stronger and more persistent than other children of his age. He walked – no, he ran- by 12 months. He was continuously searching for new adventures and discoveries. We cannot remember a single day that he wasted by being unhappy or tired. Going to bed was never a problem. Richard was rarely sick and if so, he never complained, he never cried, he simply slept and got well soon. His life was cut short over night at 22 months. No one will ever put more joy and happiness into life than Richard in only 22 months.

Shortly before midnight on the 21st of September, Richard woke up calling for me. I took him out of bed and we realized a temperature of 104. He had vomited so we cleaned up his bed. Since my husband was not at home I took him into our bedroom where he actually never had slept before. However I wanted him close to me to keep an eye on him. For the next hour he continued vomiting three times and started to breath faster. He became sleepy. Being sleepy was nothing that worried me after midnight. He used to simply sleep whenever he had an infection before and also when he had high fever. We never ever had trouble during the night. He was such a good sleeper. Having high fever was also something normal for him. Nevertheless something in my mind pushed me to call for a doctor.

It was after midnight when I made the call and only one and a half hours after symptoms onset. He told me to wait and to continue to give Richard medicine that should lower the fever. And indeed the fever sunk. He also drunk half a bottle of water. Than he fall asleep. I continued to measure his temperature. Everything seemed fine to me. He stopped vomiting for a while, his fever sunk, he drunk water and now he slept. However, one hour later I woke up because he started to wheel from one side to the other. We took him out of the bed, realized that he was not responsive, his higher body was hot while his legs were cold. We immediately called the emergency. While having the emergency central at the phone he got seizures and collapsed. While waiting for the emergency I had to undertake the cardiopulmonary resuscitation gladly with the help of the doctor on the phone. It took four minutes until the ambulance has arrived. Nevertheless Richard died three hours later at the hospital.

After his death we learned that Richard was born without spleen (congenital asplenia). (Sepsis and Impaired Immune System) People without functioning spleen are at high risk to develop infections that turn fast and easily into sepsis. He showed all symptoms of sepsis (high fever, vomiting, fast breathing) only within a few hours before he died. He developed the so called OPSI syndrome which is a special form of sepsis that only people with asplenia can develop. Furthermore, he was diagnosed with the Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrom. A rare complication with a mortality rate of nearly 90% despite agressive therapy. He became infected by pneumococcus though he correctly received vaccinations. This special serotype that he had is not part of the vaccinations.

We did not know that Richard was born without spleen. But there are people out there who have lost their spleen due to surgery, sickness or accident. These people must be alarmed that any kind of fever can turn into sepsis and becomes life threatening within a few hours. Please spread the word in order to help people with asplenia. Many of them have not been instructed about preventive measures. Any fever could be the first sigh of sepsis for them. It’s not always treatable but the chance is better the earlier.

(our Story in German: www.pid-erkennen.de)

Source: Mother of Richard, Carolin Meier