'I'll never hear him giggle': Young mother's gut-wrenching warning about the 'silent killer' that claimed her unborn baby and almost took her life
- Expectant mother contracted listeria - presumably while travelling Spain
- Her son, who she named Jude, died in utero while she was battling illness
- Spain is currently in the midst of its worst listeria outbreak in history
An expectant mother who almost died after she contracted listeria has penned a touching tribute to her son, who died in utero while she battled the infection.
Brigitte Purcell and her husband, Daniel, spent close to two months abroad, celebrating a friend's wedding before travelling through Europe.
A day before they were due to fly home, Ms Purcell came down with flu-like symptoms, muscle aches and chills.
Her condition had entirely deteriorated by the time she got back home to New Zealand and after a few days bedridden, her mother-in-law called an ambulance.
While she was initially diagnosed with influenza, further tests suggested she may have contracted listeria.
Brigitte Purcell contracted listeria - presumably while travelling in Spain - and tragically lost her baby at five-and-a-half months pregnant
Spain is currently in the midst of its largest listeria outbreak ever, but the couple weren't informed of the dangers of travelling to the region until they arrived.
A routine ultrasound during the hospital trip revealed the couple's baby, who they had named Jude, no longer had a heartbeat.
They were five-and-a-half months pregnant.
Once the cause of the infection had been narrowed down to listeria, things moved quickly for the couple, who were still trying to process the loss of their son.
'The doctors said I needed to birth the baby quickly due to sepsis infection risk,' Ms Purcell said.
Family began arriving at hospital and Ms Purcell was induced.
Within 10 minutes, Ms Purcell was at a serious risk of losing her life. An adult resuscitation team from the intensive care unit were called in to take over as the journalist's body began shutting down.
'They could not be certain if I was having a septic shock, an allergic reaction or the listeriosis had reached breaking point,' Mr Purcell said.
Ms Purcell knows its a miracle she survived. Her nurse and midwife both admitted after the fact they thought she would die.
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Ms Purcell delivered her son, who she and her husband named Jude, moments after nearly losing her life due to the food-borne bacterial infection
'About an hour after nearly losing my life, my uterus started contracting, preparing to deliver my son, Jude,' Ms Purcell said.
The labor was relentless and exhausting.
'Before I knew it, my darling boy had been delivered,' Ms Purcell said. 'His eyes closed, a tiny little nose and mouth, sweet little nails at the end of his tiny fingers.
'Perfect in every way possible. He was the boy I had grown in my body for nearly six months and longingly loved his entire life.
'But his feet are never going to walk this earth, my arms are never going to get to hold him tight, I'll never be able read him bedtime stories and I'll never hear him giggle.
'The grief is unbearable and utterly consuming. I have so many questions and so many 'what if's'.'
Ms Purcell said she knows the grieving process will 'take a lot of time and some wounds will never heal.'
She thanked the people involved in saving her life throughout the ordeal and said there must have been more than 100 people who helped along the way.
The couple hope to get more answers over the coming months and say they are one of seven other couples whose babies have experienced a similar fate after contracting listeria in Spain.
The bacteria are deadly for people with weakened immune systems, including the elderly and pregnant women.
