Girl Dies Of Bacterial Meningitis - News Archive
OMAHA, Neb. -- An Omaha girl died of bacterial meningitis over the weekend after deteriorating very quickly.
Katie Engle, 7, was a second-grader at Washington Elementary School. Her mother, Roxanne, said her daughter came home school on Friday not feeling well. She was dead the next day.
"She was happy one day and I took her to school and it went down hill from there," Engle said.
The first symptom -- a headache -- showed up a few days earlier. Katie was admitted to a hospital on Friday. Engle said her daughter didn't have the other symptoms associated with bacterial meningitis, which include vomiting, fever and lethargy, until she got to the hospital.
Doctors at Children's Hospital hydrated Katie, Engle said, and then she started to feel better.
"She takes her pulse thing off and says, 'I'm all better now. I want to go home,'" Engle said.
But the meningitis had caused Katie's brain to swell, and that ultimately killed her, Engle said.
Doctors said bacterial meningitis is not contagious. They believe it may have been caused by Katie's cochlear implant. They said it could have been prevented with a vaccination.
"I had tried and they were always out," Engle said. "After going back several times, I forgot about it."
The family donated Katie's organs.
Engle said Katie has seven siblings. The family has set up a memorial fund to cover funeral expenses at Security National Bank branches around town.