'A very scary moment': Baby catches meningitis at two weeks old

Sam Anderson-Heather, son James, 23 months, partner Nicole McGaveston and baby Emma, 8 weeks, at home yesterday. Photo / Peter Mcintosh

Former Otago rugby captain Sam Anderson-Heather went to some dark places on the field.

But that was nothing compared with dealing with the events of the past month affecting his family and newborn daughter Emma.

Mr Anderson-Heather and fiancee Nicole McGaveston have been through the mill with Emma, who caught meningitis two weeks after being born and spent three weeks in Dunedin Hospital.

The couple said the work of the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) was fantastic.

"The way those guys just looked after us was amazing," McGaveston said.

"They couldn't have done more for us. From the nurses, doctors, everyone - they were fantastic."

Mr Anderson-Heather said the support of friends and family was also great.

Emma Wendy Anderson-Heather was born on August 4, weighing 3kg. After two nights in hospital, mum and baby came home to be with Sam and big brother James.

Everything went fine for the first two weeks until one day Emma stopped drinking.

At the end of the day, with Emma struggling, Ms McGaveston rang the Plunketline and was told to take her to hospital.

Once there, Emma was switched to NICU, where meningitis was diagnosed.

"That was a very scary moment," McGaveston said.

"But we were very lucky, really. If we had waited for another night then it could have been a lot worse - way, way worse.

"Sam was not at home at the time, which was not ideal. But I got hold of him and he drove down straight away."

Anderson-Heather, a hooker who played 62 games for Otago and retired at the end of last season, was working in Alexandra and made the drive to Dunedin in the middle of the night, arriving in the early hours at the hospital.

The hospital was to be the couple's home for the next three weeks as they stayed close to their young daughter.

Family had come down to look after James, and as Emma slept and was fed antibiotics, she slowly started improving.

She slept for a lot of the time as her parents kept an eye on her. Eventually, she got better and went home earlier this month.

She will have ongoing treatment and it is unclear if there will be any lasting effects, although she appears well.

The couple said they only wished to tell their story to highlight the great work done by NICU.

"They are just hugely supportive in NICU. Everyone was just so helpful and made something which could have been hard, so much better."