Girl who lost both of legs to meningitis walks for first time using prosthetics

November 3, 2016

Aubrielle Marsilio was diagnosed with meningitis when she was 6 months
Her family were told by doctors that she had just a 10% chance of survival
Surgeons were forced to amputate both legs after they turned purple
She received prosthetics and spent months practicing how to use them
But now, 12 months later, she has taken her first steps using her new limbs

Stephen Matthews For Mailonline

Published:
05:12 EDT, 2 November 2016

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Updated:
06:36 EDT, 2 November 2016

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A two-year-old girl who lost both of her legs after she was ravaged by meningitis has taken first steps using prosthetic limbs.

Aubrielle Marsilio was diagnosed with the deadly infection when she was just six months old.

Her family were told to prepare for the worst and doctors gave her just a 10 per cent chance of survival.

After going into septic shock, her body began to turn purple and surgeons were left with no choice but to amputate both legs and her finger tips on her left hand.

Her mother, Morgan, 24, feared she would never see her daughter walk. But after receiving prosthetics last year, the toddler began practicing with her new limbs.

And now, 12 months later, Aubrielle has finally taken her first steps and her family couldn’t be more proud.

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Aubrielle Marsilio was diagnosed with meningitis when she was just six months old. Doctors warned she had just a 10 per cent chance of survival and they were left with no choice but to amputate both of her legs

Her family feared she would never see her daughter walk. But after receiving prosthetics last year, she began practicing with her new limbs. And now she has finally taken her first steps

Ms Marsilio, from Pennsylvania, said: ‘As surgeons wheeled my baby girl down to amputate her legs, I was left heartbroken.

‘I thought she’d lost the chance to walk, I never imagined I would actually witness her taking her first steps, I’m so proud.

‘Finally seeing her sit up on her own gave me so much hope, then she began crawling which turned into walking on her knees and now finally she has mastered walking with her prosthetics.

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‘Seeing her take her first steps wearing her prosthetics was one of my proudest moments, other children her age are able to walk to I’m over the moon that she can too.

‘She’s gone through more than most people do in a life time and yet she is the happiest child I have ever seen, she is such a fighter and is my inspiration in life.’

Aubrielle was rushed to hospital when she was six months old after her family noticed blisters were forming on her body.

In hospital, she started to have seizures and her whole body was swollen and covered in purple marks and blisters and she was unable to lift her head up

Ms Marsilio previously thought she was just teething because she wasn’t acting like she normally did.

Once there, doctors gave her antibiotics – but her body began to take a turn for the worse and her organs started shutting down after going into septic shock.

She started to have seizures and her whole body was swollen and covered in purple marks and blisters, she couldn’t lift her head up she was on that much medication.

Her legs turned from a reddish colour to a dark grey tone as doctors diagnosed her with a deadly strain of meningitis.

They gave her a slim chance of surviving the day and said if the family had waited any longer to bring her to hospital then she could have died.

Three weeks later Aubrielle was transferred to another hospital where they amputated both of her legs and her finger tips on her left hand.

After just six weeks in rehab she was allowed to go home but still had to feed her through a tube and have her bandages changed regularly.

She was given prosthetic legs during her time in rehab following her amputation surgery. At first she used walking aids to help her get used to the motion of walking

Her mother, Morgan, 24, from Pennsylvania, said: ‘She’s gone through more than most people do in a life time and yet she is the happiest child I have ever seen, she is such a fighter and is my inspiration in life’

Ms Marsilio said: ‘Aubrielle surprised everyone, she made a really fast recovery and caught up really quickly, within a few months she was doing the same things as other children her age.

‘When she learnt to walk on her knees I have never seen a child so happy before, she loved running around and would make everyone laugh.

‘She hated them [the prosthetics] at first, she was so used to running freely on her knees but with her prosthetics she couldn’t do that.’

But after a while she began to practice using her prosthetics with the help of walking aids.

And just after 12 months she can now walk on her own – but often uses her walker.

Now Mrs Marsilio is encouraging other parents to get their children vaccinated against meningitis to prevent the scare she went through happening to them.

She said: ‘I want parents to know how important it is to get your children vaccinated, if I hadn’t taken Aubrielle to the hospital when I did she may not be here today so I would encourage others to trust their instincts.’