Estate agent, 23, went to bed ‘with a cold’... but then died in her sleep from meningitis
ABIGAIL Harris thought she was simply suffering from a cold so went to bed to try to sleep if off.
But the young estate agent had contracted a bacterial form of meningitis, a serious infection of the thin lining that surrounds the brain and spinal cord.
She suffered a fit in the middle of the night and never woke up again, dying two days later in hospital.
Now her family have shared her story to raise awareness of the disease in the hope that other families do not suffer as they have done.
Miss Harris, 23, had been feeling under the weather for a few months but had tried to shake it off.
On March 27 she went to hospital complaining of a painful wrist, but she was diagnosed with tendonitis and advised to rest it.
That evening when she had difficulty breathing she sent a message to her aunt, Fiona Scarlett, a paramedic.
But Miss Harris was unable to drive herself to hospital and she did not want to wake her partner, Kieron Warrington, so decided to go to bed. Her aunt said it was the last time she spoke to her.
‘[Abigail] said she couldn’t drive to hospital due to her wrist hurting so I told her to get her partner to take her,’ she said. ‘But she hadn’t told him how bad she felt and he’d gone to bed. She didn’t want to bother him. She said she’d try to go to sleep. We left it there.’
The next morning, Miss Scarlett did not receive a response to a message asking her niece if she was feelshe ing better. Miss Harris’s father, Andy, then called Miss Scarlett to say his daughter had been taken to hospital at 4am after her partner found her having a fit. She was in intensive care when staff discovered a rash on the inside of one of her knees.
Miss Scarlett said: ‘She was being treated for meningitis. This was such a shock. It hadn’t even occurred to me it could be that as we don’t hear about it so much any more. Abi did not improve with antibiotics.
‘She was receiving expert care and as the day progressed, the doctors started to prepare Abi’s mum, dad, brother and her partner for the worst news. On Friday, March 29, with all her close family and best friends nearby, Abi was declared brain dead.
‘The next day, and as per her wishes, donated her organs to save others and she was finally allowed to rest.’
Miss Harris, from Cheltenham, a lettings negotiator for Connells estate agents, had recently moved to the Midlands, with Mr Warrington and their pet dogs.
In her memory, relatives are raising money for the charity Meningitis Now, which wants to stop the disease devastating lives. Her family shared her story to mark World Meningitis Day on Wednesday.
In a tribute, her family wrote: ‘She has left a gaping hole in our family and our hearts. Abigail was an incredible girl with a bright, bubbly and fun-loving personality. She was always smiling, she brought happiness into any room.
‘Abs was a talented actress having graduated with a BA in drama. She was also an amazing baker. In her death she gave life to others, by donating organs to four people. She loved helping others.’
‘Left a gaping hole in our family’