Girl Dies of Bacterial Meningitis....sad , and could have been avoided.

[Guest guest]

KETV 7 TV, Omaha, Nebraska, January 31, 2007

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Girl Dies Of Bacterial Meningitis

Mother Says 7-Year-Old Had Headache

OMAHA, Neb. -- An Omaha girl died of bacterial meningitis over the

weekend

after deteriorating very quickly.

Engle, 7, was a second-grader at Washington Elementary School.

Her

mother, Roxanne, said her daughter came home school on Friday not

feeling

well. She was dead the next day.

" She was happy one day and I took her to school and it went down hill

from

there, " Engle said.

The first symptom -- a headache -- showed up a few days earlier.

was

admitted to a hospital on Friday. Engle said her daughter didn't have

the

other symptoms associated with bacterial meningitis, which include

vomiting,

fever and lethargy, until she got to the hospital.

Doctors at Children's Hospital hydrated , Engle said, and then

she

started to feel better.

" She takes her pulse thing off and says, 'I'm all better now. I want

to go

home,' " Engle said.

But the meningitis had caused 's brain to swell, and that

ultimately

killed her, Engle said.

Doctors said bacterial meningitis is not contagious. They believe it

may

have been caused by 's cochlear implant. They said it could have

been

prevented with a vaccination.

" I had tried and they were always out, " Engle said. " After going back

several times, I forgot about it. "

The family donated 's organs.

Engle said has seven siblings. The family has set up a memorial

fund

to cover funeral expenses at Security National Bank branches around

town.