“I'm a student nurse and woke up on my first day of placement with a headache. I put it down to nerves, but by mid-afternoon I was in so much pain I had to ask to go home.
“Once home I thought I would sleep it off but by 5am I was crawling around the floor in pain. My husband Ian took me to A and E and I was admitted with suspected meningitis and started on antibiotics in case it was bacterial and fluids.
“I had to undergo a lumbar puncture which was very painful. My results came back as viral, so I was advised to take bed rest and fluids and returned home after five days.
My symptoms worsened
“But a day after returning home my symptoms worsened and I had to call the GP out who sent me back to hospital. It was confirmed I was suffering fluid loss from my lumbar puncture and I had to go to theatre for a blood patch.
“I have since returned home but I’m still struggling with exhaustion and headaches. My studies and dreams of becoming a nurse have had to be put on hold and I have three young children, Connor, Holly and Noah, who I've needed lots of help with from my husband, family and friends, as I wouldn't have managed without them.
“I rely on my husband a lot more than I did before. I have to go and have time out when my children are playing because otherwise I suffer with headaches from the noise. Meningitis Now has given me information that I have not received from anywhere else.”
