In 1983 I was seven years old. I remember not feeling well and my mum just thought I was pretending. Some of it is a blur, but I remember being taken to hospital by what my mum called ‘people in space suits’.
I don’t recall much from being in hospital except for when I was feeling better. My mum told me that my body started shutting down. They had to cut into my leg to get to any veins and my heart stopped twice.
I spent my eighth birthday in hospital and my brother requested a birthday message to be mentioned on BBC Breakfast by Russell Grant. I was mentioned in the local newspaper for being the first child in recent times to have survived meningococcal meningitis.
It's affected me since in various ways. I have tinnitus and double vision which surgery couldn't correct. My immune system is weaker so I’d catch a cold so easily. The fatigue was never-ending – I would try to take supplements to help but nothing ever did. Quite a few years later at the age of 35, I was diagnosed with ME/CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome). I actually can't remember ever being well. This has been my normal for so long.
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Meningitis has changed my life from a young age. The thing I would say is that you are stronger than you think. Yes, things can change but you can take positives from it. Live every day likes it's your last. Nobody knows what tomorrow brings.