“I was oblivious that I would be in intensive care that afternoon.”
Trevor, 65, from Chichester in West Sussex fell ill in January. What started as a severe headache, sickness and photophobia quickly turned more serious and he spent 10 days in hospital battling bacterial meningitis.
Thankfully Trevor recovered well, despite ongoing after-effects, as he tells us here:
“My wife Jill and I went shopping on a typical Saturday morning. We returned home and I started to get a headache, which quickly turned into an unbearable excruciating one.
"I knew something serious was happening as I never experienced pain like it, so I asked my wife to take me to A&E.
“On arrival, 20 minutes later, I was starting to be sick and unable to stand. I awoke a few hours later in intensive care, when I was told I had sepsis and bacterial meningitis.
Contracted pneumonia
“A few days later I had contracted pneumonia as well. I was treated exceptionally well in hospital although I don't remember much about the first few days.
“Three weeks before my admission to hospital I had a painful ear. I saw a doctor who prescribed a steroid nasal spray. The pain went away, but I could feel pressure behind my ear for a few days.
"Then, on the Saturday, my ear was uncomfortable, so I took a couple of Paracetamol before we went shopping. I was oblivious that I would be in intensive care that afternoon.
Multiple blood tests
“The tests I had in hospital included multiple blood tests, x-rays and scans.
“The consultants agreed that the infection that caused the meningitis started in the middle ear.
"After 10 days I went home, but I still have hearing loss and tiredness, plus some unrelated lung issues picked up via x-rays and CT scans.”
