Following her recovery, Zoe has decided to help others by raising funds for Meningitis Now and is running the London Marathon.
“Whilst away in Bali on my gap year I started to experience very bad headaches, some swelling around the eyes and forehead and eventually vomiting. Having experienced similar headaches a few weeks prior to this at home, which then stopped, I assumed they would go away and was determined to enjoy my holiday. So, I carried on through the pain."
“However, these symptoms only got worse and eventually I was forced to stay in bed for two days. After this my friends forced me to go the doctors for my dehydration."
“Once there it became clear that whilst I was dehydrated there was a much bigger issue as I became very delirious. I was quickly moved to the hospital where, luckily, I was given a CT scan which confirmed bacterial and viral meningitis. My two friends were left dealing with an unimaginable situation with myself in a medically induced coma and where doctors couldn’t confirm that I would recover whilst my mother took an immediate flight over."
Challenges
“Thankfully, the treatment began to work, and I was out of hospital and able to fly home two and a half weeks later. Once home there were still challenges such as regaining my strength and muscles, which had been significantly reduced from my hospital stay. I still also had to deal with constant headaches for many weeks after."
“Overall I made a fast recovery and was able to start university a few months later back to my old self and ability. If my friends hadn’t forced me to the doctors the story could have been very different, and I will always be grateful for them being with me."
"Luckily I made a full recovery and so the impact is minimal on my life. However, whilst I cannot remember most of my experience these memories will remain with my friends and family and the panic that they felt."
“Since my experience I want to help raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of meningitis, especially among young people. This was something myself and my friends had no knowledge of previously and now I know how important receiving treatment quickly is. This is why I am running the London Marathon 2019 in aid of Meningitis Now to help support those who were not as lucky in recovery as me and to raise awareness.”
