A mum has shared a shocking series of pictures showing the progression of her daughter's meningitis symptoms as a warning to other parents.
Sarah Parker has set up a Facebook page chronicling her daughter's battle with Meningococcal B, a strain of meningitis, and shared this particular post to highlight five-year-old Jazmyn's first signs of the deadly disease.
The collage of photographs is arranged in a 'timeline', with an accompanying stark warning of the symptoms.
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The first photo shows a single, innocuous looking mark on Jazmyn's chest, first spotted at 9.30 am when she experienced the outbreak two years ago. Other photographs show the rash spreading literally by the hour, eventually enveloping her body entirely and requiring an overnight stay in an ICU ward.
Pictures taken on the following morning show Jazmyn attached to tubes and drips – a world away from the happy, carefree little girl from just 24 hours before.
'Last night I was going through photos of Jazmyn of when she first fell ill, with lots of different thoughts going through my head,' Sarah explains in the post.
'Of anger of not knowing about the other strains and that we could have got her protected, frustration of the pain that she is in everyday now because of the disease and most importantly just how lucky she was, how lucky we were that the Dr picked it up from the first little spot on her chest.'
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'I have posted photos of the rash and the stages to show you what the rash looks like and how quick it changes,' she continues. 'But please remember the rash is normally one of the last symptoms to show.'
The graphic images are gaining considerable attention online, where hundreds of other mums, both with similar experiences or who live in fear of similar occurring, have rushed to share the warning and thank Sarah for her determination in raising awareness.
'As a mother of 2 young boys this post is fantastic thank you!! X,' wrote one grateful mum.
'Thankyou Sarah for sharing and making us aware of the signs of this terrible disease,' said another.
A third wrote, 'You are doing such an amazing job with awareness Sarah! You should be so proud of what you are doing to help others! I hope Jazzy is doing well now too.'
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