Bella contracted meningitis at 24 years old and died on New Year’s Day. What initially seemed like just a bad fever quickly transpired to be a critical case of bacterial meningitis. Bella’s husband John, from South Lanarkshire, shares his story
“I know a lot more about meningitis now and know that me and my family are not alone.”
John very sadly lost Bella but he has kindly shared his story with the hope of raising awareness of meningitis and the possible outcomes of contracting it.
"My wife Bella fell ill on Friday the 30th December 2022. At first she had a fever and cold sweats and was very tired. She woke the next day with a couple of spots on her hand and we had no cause for concern at all as we thought it was a bad fever. The night of 31st December she contacted NHS 24 and was taken into an out of hours GP around 1am on the 1st of January.
Transferred to hospital
"Bella’s rash was examined and the doctor said she should be transferred to hospital. She was then admitted into hospital at 2:46 am and was put straight on IV antibiotics. The hospital said that all of her observations were normal and she was booked in for a head scan.
Unconscious
"Around 7am a doctor came to do her observations and found my wife unconscious. They think she had a cardiac arrest. They worked on her for just over half an hour, but it wasn’t enough. They later found she had Neisseria meningitidis in her blood test."
John found the information on the Meningitis Now website helpful in learning more about the causes and potential outcomes of contracting meningitis. He is being supported by the Meningitis Now team who have helped him and his family to feel less alone at this devastating time.
