Ride of a lifetime for meningitis victim, 6

Mar 3 2008 by Liam Murphy, Liverpool Daily Post

Ellie Parsons aged 6 (right) who suffered from Meningitis take's to her bike with her sister Grace and chased by her mum Angie Parsons from Bebington

ARRANGING a Mother’s Day treat was an extra special achievement for six-year-old Ellie Parsons, who helped her father and twin sister make breakfast in bed for her mum.

At eight months old, the sparky little girl was struck down by pneumococcal meningitis, which the Meningitis Trust describes as “life threatening”.

Even Ellie’s doctors at Alder Hey were reaching for their text books to find the best treatment for the baby, and warned her parents, Angela and Damien, that if their daughter survived she would be severely brain damaged.

Yet the little girl from Bebington has now ridden her bike for the first time, and according to her parents is making progress they never dared hope for after the original prognosis.

Angela, 36, said: “Her sister Grace can ride a bike and Ellie was clearly wondering ‘why haven’t I got a bike, too?’

For more information about the work of Meningitis UK or to make a donation, phone 0117 373 73 73 or visit www.meningitisUK.org