Ryan and Bronte's Story
Bronte’s battle
Navigating Meningitis Nightmare in Samoa.
In a picturesque Samoan setting, what was meant to be a tranquil family holiday for Ryan Bowring and his family took an unexpected turn into a medical emergency, with six-year-old daughter Bronte falling victim to meningitis. His harrowing account unfolds as a race against time and international obstacles, highlighting just how critical it is to act quickly.
Ryan, his wife and two daughters, who are originally from Sydney, were enjoying their family holiday in Samoa this past September, when Bronte suddenly fell ill.
“It was our third night at our hotel in Apia,” Ryan says. “We went for dinner and Bronte seemed fine, so as usual we put the kids to bed at around 7:30pm. It was only a few hours later, around midnight that Bronte woke up in pretty extreme pain.”
The family’s desperate journey began with the onset of Bronte's alarming symptoms: headaches and light sensitivity. Ryan immediately knew something serious was wrong.
“It was the level of pain she was in that rang alarm bells for me,” he recalls. “Bronte has always been a solid sleeper; it would be very strange for her to wake up in the night. There’s no other way to describe how I was feeling other than intuition.”
Ryan, who at this point had never heard of meningitis, decided to take Bronte to Apia hospital while his wife stayed behind at the hotel with Bronte’s four-year-old sister. The couple were extremely concerned about what could be causing Bronte’s pain.
Navigating a foreign healthcare system in Apia proved to be a challenge for Ryan. The doctor spent around ten minutes with Bronte, before sending her home with no diagnosis.
Frustrated by a lack of support, Ryan turned to Google, calling everyone and anyone he could. In total, he spent 718 minutes on his phone that day.
Bronte stayed awake until around 5am that night before finally drifting to sleep. Ryan didn’t rest, calling hospitals and 000 emergency back home in Australia throughout the night. Medical professionals back home weren’t able to provide a diagnosis over the phone, but had proposed the possibility of Bronte having contracted meningococcal meningitis.
At 9am, Bronte’s pain had not improved. Ryan, now frustrated, and with growing concern, turned to the Australian High Commission for assistance, relentlessly persevering until he was seen by a consulate member. It was there that it was mentioned he should be in touch with his insurance provider to discuss medical evacuation for Bronte.
That night Bronte ate some food and slept a little, however overnight her condition had worsened, and she was throwing up. Out of options, Ryan rushed her back to hospital where he persuaded medical professionals to supply her with antibiotics and IV fluids.
Back at the hotel, Ryan’s wife was selecting breakfast from the buffet for Bronte’s younger sister. It was there that Gerard and Claire Rushton, both trustees of the Meningitis Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand, also on holiday in Samoa, noticed how she was collecting food to take back to the hotel room.
As a one off remark, Gerard mentioned that he used to do the same thing for his children when they would travel. [Ryan’s wife] mentioned that the food was actually for her husband, who was in hospital with their daughter. She filled the couple in on their family ordeal and Bronte’s condition.
The personal connection of the Rushton’s to this cause, having lost their own daughter to meningitis, propelled them to assist the Bowrings in connecting with crucial resources. They knew immediately how serious a situation they found themselves.
Gerard rushed to the Australian High Commission, spoke with them around the support Bronte and her family would need, emphasising the health system in Samoa would likely not be sufficient for her. He also contacted the Meningitis Centre in Australia, who proceeded to engage with relevant authorities in Australia, including the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong.
Because of the inability to perform a lumbar puncture and diagnose Bronte with bacterial meningitis at Apia hospital, Ryan was struggling to negotiate medical evacuation for Bronte. Media in Australia showed interest, applying further pressure to his insurance company to help with a flight home and save her life.
The family secured a commercial Virgin flight home to Australia, and the Meningitis Centre Australia arranged for Bronte to be transferred to Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane. She was immediately given a lumbar puncture and bacterial meningitis was confirmed within 10 minutes.
“I remember not feeling particularly relieved at this point. I just wanted to carry on, take the next steps to make sure she would be okay. It was an exhausting ordeal,” he recalls.
After receiving six days of care, including numerous scans and tests to confirm no serious complications such as brain damage, Bronte was discharged from hospital and allowed to go home. Today she is doing well, miraculously with no lasting complications from the ordeal.
“I’ve still never met Gerard or Claire”, Ryan says. “There really are no words to describe what I could say to them. It was 8am that he ran into [my wife] that day with Bronte in hospital, at 8:30am he called me and by 9am had the Australian Meningitis Centre calling me. He really put his own time aside to help us and for that we are forever grateful.”
In the end, The Bowring’s story serves as a testament to resilience, highlighting the importance of quick thinking and advocacy, when confronted with unforeseen medical challenges, especially those as dangerous as meningitis.
