Meningitis stories

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.

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

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

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

What started for Kirsten with a severe headache and vomiting was viral meningitis, as confirmed by a lumber puncture.

After a terrifying brush with meningitis, primary school teacher Alyx H, from Bristol, has happily recovered and is now expecting her first child

Spurred on by the impact that pneumococcal meningitis has had on his father-in-law Tim, Alex is fundraising and training hard for the upcoming Derby 10k

Living alone, Robert was lucky to be found after collapsing at home. Once admitted to hospital and placed in a coma, his condition deteriorated; 11 months on he is still suffering from after-effects

Since contracting viral meningitis in 2012, Carolina has suffered with frequent migraines, anxiety attacks and more serious illnesses on the back of minor ailments

Following ongoing support from Meningitis Now for her and her sister Jessica, Rebecca has bravely shared her heart-breaking story a year after the very sudden death of her mum

Nine months after being diagnosed with viral meningitis, Karolina is still suffering from a variety of after-effects

Just days after losing her grandma, Kirsty's mum Julie became unwell, with her condition rapidly deteriorating. Kirsty shares her heartbreaking story

Following surgery to remove an abscess on his brain, Tom has contracted bacterial meningitis a further three times and lives in constant fear of it happening again

What Claire thought was a cold turned out to be something a lot more serious as she found herself hospitalised for two weeks

Zoe was on a gap year trip to Bali when she had to be put into a medically induced coma while she fought both bacterial and viral meningitis

James was a student when he fell ill with MenB back in 2003; now fully recovered, he wants to raise money and awareness of the disease

Mia contracted viral meningitis at age 17. After several days of extreme aches her mother took her to hospital where she was seen immediately.