Meningitis stories

Stephanie spent six days in hospital before being diagnosed with viral meningitis. However, she wasn't aware of the after-effects of the disease until she found Meningitis Now

Mike fell ill with meningococcal meningitis in September 2018. Despite devastating after-effects he is now rebuilding his life.

After Sophie took baby daughter Niamh back to hospital for a third time in April this year, doctors finally diagnosed meningitis.

Paul thought that his symptoms were the flu, but when he woke up in intensive care after three days, he discovered that his illness had been much worse

Following surgery to help improve an existing medical condition, Lucy found herself becoming very unwell with bacterial meningitis

Alice had been given the MenACWY vaccine, but didn't recognise the symptoms. Luckily, she called her mum, who got her to hospital in time to be treated for meningitis and septicaemia

When Samantha developed a severe headache and lost control of her right leg, she knew her symptoms were more than just from overdoing it

Jude was 8 days old when he was rushed to hospital with Group B strep meningitis. Nine years on, mum Jessica shares their experience and explains the developing after-effects that Jude has been left with

Rachael was overjoyed to bring her twin baby girls home, but when a midwife picked up Nancy's high temperature it wasn't long before both girls were in PICU, fighting for their lives

After contracting meningococcal septicaemia as a 2-year-old, Xavier, now 22, has been left with severe after-effects. Mum Lynn tells their story

Baby Joe spent eight weeks in hospital after being diagnosed with pneumococcal meningitis, and has been left with a range of complex after-effects. Mum Cherelle tells their story

Laura and John weren't initially concerned when Sadie picked up an ear infection, but when her temperature wouldn't come down and she started vomiting they knew something was wrong

Denise had been feeling unwell for a few months, but her headache suddenly got so severe that she ended up in a coma, fighting for her life

Ten minutes after returning home, Nadia was rushing daughter Ebonie to hospital where she was treated for bacterial meningitis. While she pulled through, Ebonie has been left with complex after-effects

By the time Emily was admitted to hospital for the third time, she only had a 10% chance of survival. Mum Bex recounts her harrowing experience

Baby Rio was just over a week old when he became poorly, on the hottest day of the year. Mum Leah, from Didcot in Oxfordshire drove him to hospital that night, where bacterial meningitis was diagnosed

Eight months after having to make the heartbreaking decision to turn off her son's life support machine, mum Katie recounts the events leading to her loss of four year old Enzo

Diagnosed earlier this year with meningoencephalitis, a form of viral meningitis, Catarina has been left with after-effects but is slowly trying to return to normal

In the run-up to Christmas in 2017, Alice was feeling unwell with a cold, which over the course of a few days revealed itself to be something much more serious - bacterial meningitis

Lewis went to bed with flu-like symptoms, but by the following morning his condition was deteriorating rapidly and he sadly lost his life to MenB. Through organ donation, he has helped save the lives of six others