“I still have quite severe headaches, get quickly exhausted and my memory isn't great. But considering everything it's going amazingly, and it just shows the importance of getting help quickly.”
“I was ill for quite a while, with a cough but had a severe headache come on very fast.
“I was staying with my partner but couldn't sleep all night and headed back to my flat at around 8am. After arriving home the symptoms became worse and were almost unbearable.
“My girlfriend was worried about me as when texting I was unable to type and couldn’t speak on a call, so she came over.
Memory is vague
“At this point my memory is very vague. I remember trying to stand up to drop my keys out my window down to my girlfriend and I had no sensation in my right side. Then after dropping the keys I passed out.
“My girlfriend called an ambulance who did my vitals, discovering I had tachycardia (a heart rate over 100 beats a minute). Then they transported me to the hospital. I had a lumbar puncture which was sent to Manchester and confirmed that I had bacterial meningitis.
Ventilator and ICU
“On the evening of the 28th I was put on a ventilator and in ICU.
“I was on the ventilator for four days and woke up on the Thursday. Despite the consultants not being positive when I first went into ICU, my CT and MRI scans show no permanent damage, only inflammation of the brain and they expect me to make a full recovery.
Brought in just in time
“I still have quite severe headaches, get quickly exhausted and my memory isn't great. But considering everything it's going amazingly, and it just shows the importance of getting help quickly.
“The consultant said that I was brought into hospital just in time.
“I have found reading some of the stories on Meningitis Now’s website helpful, especially when I was just waking up from being intubated and in hospital.”
If you have been impacted by meningitis and are looking for support you can contact our nurse-led Helpline by phone or email.
