Meningitis stories

After an initial diagnosis of a viral infection, doctors then found Bea to be suffering from deadly pneumococcal meningitis. Mum Louisa shares their terrifying story

Within the space of an hour, Leo had gone from being a giggly baby boy to seriously ill, prompting parents Georgia and Jack to call quickly for medical help

Holly was on her way to Norway for work when she started feeling unwell at the airport. Deemed unfit to fly, her symptoms worsened until she was rushed to hospital with a tell-tale rash

Michael was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with meningitis after he fell ill in 2015

Katy had been suffering from progressively worse headaches, but when she lost her speech and use of one arm, her mum took her straight to A&E, where she was diagnosed with viral meningitis

Sarah thought she was coming down with a cold, but was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis after her organs started to fail

At just 19-years-old, Nadia G from Oldham in Lancashire came down with flu-like symptoms including hallucinations, fever and vomiting, which she later learned were the first signs of meningitis.

Paul Hodgson from Darlingon in County Durham contracted meningitis as a baby, more than fifty years ago.

Claire didn't realise that adults could get meningitis, until her mum Gwen became unwell and unresponsive

Danielle thought she had contracted flu but in fact the new mum, from Lurgan in County Armagh, had something even worse – pneumococcal meningitis

Meningococcal meningitis has left Paul profoundly deaf and with other lifelong after-effects. He tells his story here.

In what would have been Craig's 30th year, Meningitis Now supporter and mum Vicky recounts the heartbreaking story of losing her eight week old baby boy

Twenty-four-year-old Nick, from Brixton in London, fell ill last summer with meningococcal meningitis. Nick is taking on the London Vitality 10K for us on Monday 27 May

When Louise went home from a night out feeling sick, she had no idea that she was going to end up in hospital - although it took a while for her to be diagnosed

When Mac - then seven months old - became unsettled, mum Rachel felt that he was more ill than doctors thought. She was soon proved correct

Nicole was feeling unwell when she travelled to South America, but miles away from home, her symptoms became unbearable

Emilia's parents were already carefully monitoring her as she became more unsettled, but when her fontanelle started to bulge they knew that something was seriously wrong

Isabella contracted pneumococcal meningitis as a baby, which has left her with after-effects such as an acquired brain injury and hearing loss. Mum Gemma tells her story

At 23, Abigail was happy, positive and enjoying life. However, following a few days of vague but worsening symptoms, she became seriously unwell and sadly passed away. Aunt Fiona shares her story

Now an adult, Sian was just two years old when she contracted meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia. Luckily, her mum recognised her symptoms from one of our leaflets