Charity football match to take place in Banbury this weekend for ‘brave little girl' who fought meningitis

The football match will raise money for the Meningitis Research Foundation and will take place at the Plant Hire Community Stadium at 3pm.

Banbury couple Robbie and Samantha Marron had their lives turned upside down when one-year-old daughter Penelope contracted meningitis in June.

The couple noticed that Penelope wasn’t herself, so they called an ambulance, whose paramedic team advised them to give her Ibuprofen.

After the paramedics had left, Penelope suffered a 22-minute seizure and a stroke, which affected her mobility on her left side.

Penelope was then rushed to Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital, where doctors discovered that she had contracted a rare form of meningitis brought on by a bacteria called Kingella Kingae.

Following more tests, Penelope was transferred to Southampton Children's Hospital to undergo emergency open heart surgery, where surgeons repaired her heart valve.

Parents Robbie and Samantha said: “As a family, our life was turned upside down in a matter of hours, and we were being prepared for the worst.

"Amazingly, our brave little girl has shown the most incredible amount of strength and resilience as she fought the meningitis in hospital for five weeks.

"Penelope is now undergoing neurological and physiotherapy rehabilitation and is already making fantastic progress.”

Sunday’s charity football match is free to attend, but organisers ask that a donation be made to Penelope’s family.

Gates open at the football club at 1.30pm and food and drink will be available.

To donate to Penelope’s fundraiser, visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-support-penelope-marron