He contracted meningococcal septicaemia at the age of seven on his parents’ wedding day. Within hours he had gone from feeling a little ill to being kept alive by a life support machine.
After a month in a coma Alex recovered, but he was left with severe after-effects, including deafness in both ears, severe memory loss and bilateral footdrop, which meant he was unable to walk.
But that didn’t stop Alex from raising awareness. Whether he was visiting schools, volunteering, playing sport - he loved wheelchair basketball - or coaching a disabled dance class, Alex devoted his life to helping others.
In 2012, 11 years after he contracted meningitis, Alex sadly passed away.
Despite his pain and illness Alex believed anything in life was possible. His personality and outlook inspired those he met, which included people of all ages impacted by meningitis, politicians, business leaders and Young Ambassadors, who still carry on his lifesaving awareness work.
Alex remained positive and was determined to show that those who had contracted meningitis could live a rewarding life.
He had a motto that was at heart of his experience of meningitis and also who he was: "Believe and achieve". In honour of this, Meningitis Now named our support and activities for 11-25 year-olds Believe & Achieve. We want to give opportunities to young people who have been impacted by meningitis to believe they can reach their goals, big or small, and to achieve them too.
Read Alex's story.
