A MUM says her daughter would have died had she not trusted her instinct and taken her conjunctivitis seriously.
Jo Curry’s 13-year-old daughter, Bonnie Ghent, developed a huge swelling on her eye at the end of 2021.
Bonnie had tested positive for Covid on Boxing Day, and conjunctivitis can be a symptom of the bug.
Parents Jo and Mike say a GP advised taking Nurofen to ease the swelling.
Jo told Bristol Live: “Due to Covid-19 restrictions the doctors was phone call only but a few days later it got worse and it then reached her forehead which caused a big lump.
“I took her to the GP, he said it was probably caused from coughing when she had Covid, that it was some fluid so he gave her some Nurofen and said to come back in two weeks time.
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“The swelling just got worse and worse, and she became more unwell, by this time I wasn’t happy waiting two weeks.”
Jo took Bonnie to a walk-in centre and was told to take Piriton, an antihistamine.
“We took her back again and they said this time to give her a bag of frozen peas to take the swelling down, as they weren’t sure what was causing it.”
But Jo and Mike became increasingly concerned and decided to ring NHS 111, as Jo said “my intuition said I needed to take her to hospital now”.
Bonnie was taken to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children where it was discovered her condition was significantly more serious than realised.
Jo says she was told Bonnie had a sinus infection, which can follow a cold or flu, that led to severe complications.
Often if a sinus infection hasn’t got better or been treated properly, it may move from the sinus pockets into nearby bone and sometimes even the brain.
Symptoms of a severe sinus infection include redness or swelling of the eye and forehead, pain in the eye, sensitivity to light and changes in vision.
Scans showed that Bonnie’s skull was rotting away due to infection of the bone.
Jo and Mike claim they were told that if Bonnie hadn’t of come into the hospital that day, she “would have been dead”.
Jo said: “[Doctors] said that the infection reached her bone, and spread around her head and the bone itself had rotted.
“She had it cut out, it was a few hours operation leaving a huge scar on her head from ear to ear, a major head surgery.”
In a few weeks, Bonnie is due to have a metal plate fitted on her forehead, and will be on antibiotics “for months”.
Jo said: “The doctors told us if we didn’t take her to the hospital that day, within two days she would of been dead.
“All this because it wasn’t looked into properly by the local GP. This shouldn’t never of happened and should of been looked into.
“If you or your child has any swelling from Covid-19 please please don’t let this happen to you, get it seen too and don’t let the GP fob you off.”
After having to take time off work to look after their daughter, Jo and MIke have set up a fundraising page.
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However, all the money will go to treating their “brave girl” once she feels better.
Jo said: “She has missed school and not been able to see her friends, for a 13-year-old girl this is so tragic.”
To donate, click here.
