Piers Morgan congratulates meningitis survivor Harmonie-Rose on raising £50k as donations surge after GMB appearance
PIERS Morgan has congratulated brave meningitis survivor Harmonie-Rose after her fundraising total surged past £50,000.
Following her appearance on Good Morning Britain earlier this week, the six-year-old has so far raised £64,211 for Meningitis Now through her 2.6 challenge.
After learning of the rapidly growing amount, Piers tweeted: "BOOM! Well done Harmonie-Rose!"
On Monday the journalist pledged to match Harmonie-Rose's then total of £1,700 after she completed her challenge.
The youngster, who lost all four limbs at 10-months-old, completed six activities she was told she would never be able to do.
She did each activity 26 times on the same day thousands of runners were due to run the 26 mile London Marathon course.
Piers vowed to match the £1,700 she had already raised for Meningitis Now, saying: "You know the truth, I couldn't do half the things that you did.
I can't do a cartwheel. I don't think I can run as fast as you. You're a better swimmer than me...
"Trampolining would be a disaster for me. I have to bow to the fact you're a superior athlete."
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Susanna Reid added: "We'll all add to the pot Harmonie-Rose because what you've done is absolutely fantastic."
After the family's appearance on GMB, donations rocketed to £12, 936 on Harmonie-Rose's .
Piers and Susanna have a long-running relationship with Harmonie-Rose, with her having appeared on the show a number of times before.
Viewers were left in "floods of tears" last Christmas as the presenters gave the youngster presents.
Harmonie-Rose showed off her walking skills with her purple prosthetic legs, leaving Piers feeling very emotional.
Piers was completely won over by her, calling her his "number one favourite guest".
Symptoms of meningitis
Meningitis can affect anyone but it's most common in babies, teens and young adults.
It's often mistaken for being flu and in some cases, people can seem hungover.
But the longer you leave it, the more at risk you become of things like blood poisoning - which can be fatal.
Symptoms of meningitis develop suddenly and can include:
- a high temperature (fever) of 38C or above
- being sick
- a headache
- a rash that does not fade when a glass is rolled over it (but this will not always develop)
- a stiff neck
- a dislike of bright lights
- drowsiness or unresponsiveness
- fits (seizures)
You need to seek medical help ASAP.
Even when people do survive meningitis, it can leave them with life-long issues such as hearing or vision loss, epilepsy, amputations and memory problems.