Lewis’s parents, Sean and Kate, from Reading, want to tell their story in the hope that no more families have to experience the grief they are going through.
They tell us how shockingly fast Lewis became poorly and sadly died within hours:
“Everyone thinks their children have been vaccinated because we are lucky to live in a country that offers vaccines to children. But we didn’t know Lewis hadn’t been vaccinated against MenB.
“If we had known, we’d have found the money. But some families just can’t afford it. It shouldn’t be that way. It should be available to all young people.
“Lewis went to college in the morning as usual. He came home with a temperature and sore tummy.
Stomach pain
“Lewis's temperate had gone down in the late afternoon but then he started being sick at around 6pm. We weren't overly worried and put it down to it all just being a nasty bug.
“It felt like something we had seen lots of times over the years having three children.
“By the early hours of the morning he had developed terrible stomach pain that was painful to touch so we called an ambulance thinking that he might have appendicitis.
“We chased it after 15 minutes because by then a rash had appeared.
“When the paramedics arrived they immediately treated Lewis as though he had meningitis, as a precaution. He was conscious at the time but we were told he would be taken straight to resus.
“He was very poorly when we arrived at the hospital but we were told he was responding to the antibiotics. However, five minutes later the doctor called me in because they were trying to resuscitate him, I was with him when he died.
“We called the ambulance at 1.30am and we lost out beautiful boy at 4.34am, three hours after a rash appeared.”
Knowing the signs isn’t enough
“All of the things you’re told to look out for, like the rash, weren’t there until it was too late for Lewis. It makes you feel like if you can see them, you can save them. But not with Lew. Knowing the signs isn’t enough.
“It’s so hard that this could be preventable. By not offering the MenB vaccination to all young people, it’s like playing god with children’s lives.
“Lewis was a healthy and fit young man who was hilariously funny and full of life. He loved being out with his girlfriend or his friends playing pool and singing karaoke at the pub.
“Lewis’ passion was music. His final project at Henley College was a music video he shot and produced featuring his friends. He also loved football. We had a remembrance match in his honour in June where all of his friends and family came together to share stories and help fundraise for Meningitis Now. We want to make it an annual event and help to do more to spread awareness of meningitis.
“If we can help another family avoid going through this, we will.”
