HAVING A BABY AFTER LOSING MY

A HEARTBROKEN mum who lost her daughter to meningitis a year ago is expecting another child. Zoe Alharthi was left devastated when baby Ava died just weeks after celebrating her first birthdayy last year.

She was diagnosed just 24 hours s before her death.

Now Zoe has described how she e watched her daughter die “16 6 times”.

“They had to keep resuscitating g her and she kept dying and theyy would bring her back and she wouldd die again,” she said.

She has also revealed how those e traumatic scenes left her suffering g from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder er (PTSD).

And how falling pregnant againn has left her feeling mixed emotions. .

“It has been absolutely horrific fic since then, there are not any words, s, really,” the 30-year-old said.

Ava was rushed to hospital withth failing organs just 24 hours after firstrst falling ill.

She and Ava’s dad, Jamie Jeremiah, h, 34, had to say their final goodbyes.

Since then Zoe has suffered from m PTSD.

“I have done a bedroom for her,” r,” she said.

“We were given a three-bedroom m house by the council so we could use se a room for Ava’s stuff.

“Rather than just boxing her thingsgs up and dumping them in there, I turned it into a nursery for her.

“It’s a room where we can go and nd feel close to her. It has helped with th the grieving process.”

Eventually it will be turned into a room for her youngest daughter.

“We did this because we moved ed from where we were and all Ava’s memories stayed in the other house,” Zoe said.

Ava died on April 16 last year. Her mum knew something was wrong the day before.

She had a temperature, her skin felt as though it was burning, she was quiet and not eating.

“I just take things one minute at a time now,” Zoe, from Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, said.

“A year later, I still find hard.

“Instead of feeding three children I am feeding two.”

When she rang the NHS out-of- it really hours service she was told not to worry – the youngster probably had a head cold.

Twelve hours later, after numerous calls to the doctor, Zoe called an ambulance.

“She was my daughter and I was absolutely obsessed with her,” Zoe said.

“She was my baby and I always had her in my arms. Then I lost her.”

At the hospital Ava went from bad to worse. She had a rash all over her body and was screaming in pain.

“We watched her die 16 times,” Zoe said.

She described how the medics

worked to resuscitate Ava, but she kept dying only for them to try again.

“Me and Jamie were in the room watching that happen. “That’s what set off the PTSD.” After Ava died Zoe set up a Facebook page to raise awareness about meningitis symptoms.

Ava’s death has affected her daughters Nadia, 12, and Marley, eight.

“We let off some balloons and lit a candle and had a bit of a heart to heart about her on the anniversary of her death,” Zoe said.

“It was really hard and I curled up for the day, except when we let off the balloons. That was for the children.”

They also marked her birthday, on March 24.

“It was hard but we made the most of it, and had a little party for the girls to enjoy,” Zoe said.

“My youngest does not really understand because she was seven when it happened.

“We explained it to her but she did not really know what was going on. She just turned around and said ‘I’ve drawn you a picture.’

“But the eldest was like a second mother to her. She was 12 and found it really hard.”

Ava is never thoughts.

“I think of her all day every day, far from Zoe’s