I woke up feeling awful, had a headache and a temperature. Wondered if the flu was coming.
I saw a friend but felt so bad I had to go home to bed. The next day I woke up feeling worse, had tummy ache and backache and struggled to walk. I rang the doctors and he said he would be out at lunchtime. When he came he wasn't sure what was wrong but made me an appointment for the evening at the surgery.
As the day went on I felt worse and found a purple spot on my stomach that didn't disappear, then the rash had spread all over my body, I went down to the surgery and they sent me to the hospital. Once I was in A&E they administered antibiotics through an intravenous cannula and put me in a private room.
After about 4 days they told me I had meningococcal septicaemia. I stayed in hospital for two weeks having the antibiotics. I had a few more months off work before returning. Being ill left me very tired and slight memory loss.
This was in the year 2000 when I fell ill.
Anne Killops
July 2020