As Meningitis Awareness Week launches today, Gayle Ritchie speaks to families of those hit by the disease in a bid to urge people to look out for the symptoms.
David Farmer was a young man with everything to live for. He was a popular and fun-loving teenage lad with a big circle of friends and the job of his dreams.
Tragically, his life ended in 2000 after he was struck with the deadly disease pneumococcal meningitis. He was only 18 years old.
His mother, Joanna Shenfield, is sharing her experience in the hope that it will encourage others to know the symptoms so they can seek help quickly.
Joanna, from Glenrothes, said: “David was a lovely-natured lad who had lots of friends and who loved his job as an apprentice technician with Vauxhall. He awoke one morning with earache, which became worse and developed into such a severe headache that we took him to hospital.
“He was actually crying with pain and this was extremely unusual for him so I believed it was more than a headache, although various doctors repeatedly told us that’s all it was. After taking a fit, it was confirmed David had pneumococcal meningitis and his chances of survival were minimal.
“He spent three days in the intensive care unit before being pronounced brain dead. The day I lost my son was the day a piece of me died and that will always be the way it is.
“Everyone needs to know the symptoms so they can seek medical help fast that’s why I’m supporting Meningitis Awareness Week.”
International charity Meningitis Research Foundation estimates that meningitis and septicaemia affect around nine people in the UK and Ireland every day. They are deadly diseases that can strike anyone at any age without warning, killing one in 10, and leaving a quarter of survivors with life-altering after-effects ranging from deafness and brain damage to loss of limbs. Children under five and students are most at risk, but the diseases can strike at any age and not all forms are currently covered by vaccines.
Broughty Ferry mum Laura Beattie’s daughter Aila developed Group B Streptococcus meningitis at the age of three in 2010.
“It manifested as a slight pinprick rash and several spikes in temperature,” she said. “At first this was discounted by the medical and nursing staff but I became seriously worried and she was eventually sent to the neonatal intensive care unit at Ninewells. They tried to perform a lumbar puncture but Aila took a turn for the worse, so they just gave her antibiotics.
“Thankfully, after a few days she improved enough to move from her incubator to a normal cot and was moved into ward with me. I feel so lucky that Aila not only fought back but did so without any apparent after-effects.
“Had her treatment been delayed further, the outcome would have been so different. I would urge all parents and parents to arm themselves with knowledge of the signs and symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia it could just save a life.”
Nikki Stewart’s son Owen was 15 when he contracted meningococcal meningitis in December 2012. The Perth mum said: “It was a very bleak time, not knowing if he was going to make it. It all started with a headache which turned into a severe headache and then severe vomiting. When he was admitted to hospital he was sensitive to light, couldn’t move his neck or his knees and was very confused. He was in so much pain, he told us he couldn’t go on. He was fighting for his life for five days in the high dependency unit but eventually he came round.
“In the days that followed he was still shocked and confused, but luckily he went from strength to strength and we had our boy back.
“We don’t really know how he got meningitis and septacaemia; it was explained that it could have been caught from a sneeze or a cough. It might have caused sickness and diarrhoea in someone else but in Owen’s case he got meningitis. He still has memory and concentration issues but they’re not as bad and hopefully they will disappear completely. Other than that, he’s absolutely fine.”
Mary Millar, manager of the Scotland office of Meningitis Research Foundation, said: “We’re very grateful to Laura, Nikki and Joanna for supporting Meningitis Awareness Week. Meningitis and septicaemia are diseases you never expect to happen but their experiences really bring home how devastating these diseases can be and why it’s so important to be aware of the symptoms and be prepared to act fast when loved ones, family and friends fall sick.”
Vaccines have almost eliminated some types of meningitis but not all of them. Children are currently vaccinated against Hib, MenC and 13 strains of pneumococcal meningitis. A MenB vaccine (Bexsero) was recommended for infants in the UK in March 2014 and is available privately but a timetable for implementation free of charge on the NHS is yet to be confirmed.
The Government introduced a new MenC booster campaign aimed at students this summer. New students are at increased risk of encountering the bacteria that cause meningococcal disease because they are often living in busy halls of residence and are in close contact with other students during Freshers’ Week. Students should get immunised at least two weeks before they go away to study.