I was 35 when I had bacterial meningitis, my day had been pretty normal, I felt a bit tired and had a niggly head but what could I expect with 4 young sons.
I remember going to bed for an early night and settled down fine only to be woken up early hours of the morning with a pain in my head that felt I was being hit with a hammer. I felt sick so I woke my then husband who fetched me a bowl, I couldn't move, when I was sick I felt my head might explode. I tried to settle back down, but I knew something wasn't right, my then husband complained that I couldn't go to a and e with just a headache but I insisted.
By the time he agreed to take me it was around 6am, and by this time I could barely open my eyes and got down the stairs on my bottom. By this point he was worried too. So, with my parents baby sitting, we left for the hospital, arriving around 7am. I had to be supported getting in to reception, and they took me straight to a bed which is where I stayed for the next 2 weeks. They told my then husband that I was seriously ill and that the next 48 hours was critical.
Leanne Evans
May 2021