Five year old Matilda from Nelson suffered a viral infection which caused her brain to swell dangerously. She appeared to have a normal cold but when Matilda started having seizures her mum rushed her to the local hospital. Matilda was diagnosed and the Starship Air Ambulance was called.
By this time Matilda’s condition was critical. On arrival at Starship Hospital Matilda was rushed to surgery to remove part of her skull and reduce the pressure on her brain. She spent five days in intensive care on a ventilator, and when she finally woke up she had no feeling down her right side of her body. Luckily her feeling has slowly returned over time.
Brave little Matilda stayed at Starship for a month and then received intensive therapy and rehabilitation in Auckland for a further two months. She has now returned home and is back at school.
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