Meningococcal threatens baby's life as van breaks down in panicked hospital dash

The mother of a five-month-old baby girl battling the deadly meningococcal b-strain says her husband’s quick thinking actions may have saved her child.

Friends are now rallying around the struggling family of eight, after their car broke down on the way to hospital.

A nappy change last week made baby Nirvana’s parents realise something was very wrong.

“You just really couldn’t touch her without her crying in pain and it was really screaming in pain,” her mum Rebecca Callaghan said.

As Rebecca picked up her baby to comfort her, she realised she was stiff and had gone cross-eyed.

“It almost looked like she was about to have a fit,” Rebecca said.

The family made a panicked journey to Adelaide’s Lyell McEwin hospital where doctors delivered the shock diagnosis.

“I broke down,” Rebecca said.

“It broke me down when I realised that that’s what it was… She didn’t have any of the visable signs like rashes or anything.”

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Nirvana is now being treated at the Adelaide Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

Fortunately she has made a remarkable recovery thanks, in part, to her quick thinking step dad.

“He was the one who was like, “No, go to the hospital now. Don’t leave it til morning, got to the hospital”,” Rebecca said.

On the way there, their eight-seater van broke down.

“It could not have happened at a worse time,” Rebecca said.

Friends have set up a GoFundMe page to help the struggling family get back on their feet but Rebecca says the fact that baby Nirvana is getting better is the best gift she could have received.

“If you think something’s wrong, don’t worry about doctors. Go straight to the hospital,” she said.

There have been 12 cases of b-strain in South Australia this year, including the death of a 53-year-old man last week.