"As the days went by I got worse and worse so my mum and boyfriend at the time took me to the doctors (it was a standby doctor due to the holiday period).
I had the worse migraine and couldn't stop been sick. My boyfriend had to carry me in as my body was limp.
"The doctor said I had bronchitis, which I was used to getting and so was my mum, but she insisted this wasn't the case. I was sent away with inhaler. Twenty minutes after returning home I crawled to the bathroom to be sick. As I tried to stand, I collapsed. My mum and sister rang an ambulance. Luckily the ambulance arrived in minutes. A rash had come out on my face, which they thought was bruising at first, from falling.
Lost consciousness
Minutes later I was in hospital with lots of doctors surrounding my bed. I was coughing up a lot of blood at this stage, and then I lost consciousness. My parents were told I wouldn't make it through the night. I was on a life support machine for a week. I woke up on New Year's Day! I was incredibly lucky to have no side effects other than slight hearing loss in one ear. I have since gone on to run marathons to support Meningitis Now and the fantastic job they do. I was never sensitive to light and the rash appeared minutes before I stopped breathing. If it wasn't for my family and the speedy work of the hospital staff I wouldn't be here today. Always trust your gut. I consider myself to be very lucky.
