Abbey: Meningitis on holiday was terrifying
Model’s daughter hospital scare
ABBEY Clancy has revealed how her daughter was rushed to hospital with viral meningitis on holiday, saying: “I’ve never been so scared.”
The 37-year-old model and husband Peter Crouch took their four kids to Portugal at Easter when their eldest child Sophia, 12, fell ill.
Abbey said she knew it was not a minor bug and took Sophie to a local hospital.
She said: “It was the scariest thing on earth – being in a foreign hospital, language barriers, words like meningitis being thrown around, lumbar punctures, brain scans.
“These things always happen on a Sunday at 1am, just to add to that fear and that scariness. It can never be a normal hour.
“It was horrific – I felt so vulnerable. But the medical care over there was just out of this world.”
Meningitis is an inflammation of the layers of tissue that cover the brain and spinal cord, which can be potentially lifechanging if not treated quickly.
Abbey told The Therapy Couch podcast how her and ex-footballer Peter’s fears increased when their youngest child Jack, three, developed a bad cough and breathing problems.
They took him to hospital too and Abbey – also mum to Liberty, seven, and Johnny, five – said: “I was watching every child like a hawk. It was just terrifying. The other three all got flu and coughs.” Abbey and Peter, 42, managed four hours sleep in 30 hours as they took turns to stay with Sophia at night. And their holiday from hell did not end when they got home.
Abbey said: “We got home exhausted and got into bed, then Liberty comes in and goes ‘Mum, Dad, I feel like I’ve got the vomiting bug’. Pete went ‘f*** this’ and went into another bedroom. So it was another night of no sleep for me.” Former England star Peter admitted: “I couldn’t do any more. Sometimes you’ve got to tap out.”
I was watching every child like a hawk ..I felt so vulnerable
ABBEY CLANCY ON HOLIDAY FROM HELL