Adam launches Christmas campaign in Ireland

Adam Bruton from Dublin has launched a new campaign  in Ireland for MRF.   Adam is supporting MRF's winter awareness campaign and fundraising appeal as he developed meningitis in 2016. 

Adam has recently just completed the Dublin, New York and Athens marathons in three weeks for MRF.  Adam's road to recovery has been challenging – he never believed he would be able to run again, and feared the after effects of this deadly disease.

After nursing what Adam thought was just a sore neck and signs of flu, he went to bed for the night.  Adam says: “About 4am I woke up to find that my neck has locked to the left and that the light is hurting my eyes. I took some painkillers and tried to sleep it off but at about 5am I could barely open my eyes fully and felt so strange, I called my Mam who took me to an Emergency 'D-Doc' and then I went back home.”

“So I'm home all day in agony, no sign of the pain or confusion dissipating when my Dad receives a phone call from our family GP who he'd been trying to reach that morning. My dad describes my symptoms to the GP, almost immediately the doctor is able to recognise that these are signs of a meningococcal infection and recommends getting myself to hospital immediately.  When I got to hospital, I was diagnosed immediately, given all sorts of tests and was placed in isolation.”

“The recovery from meningitis is a long one.  When I was finally released from hospital, I was so happy to be able to walk away from such a traumatic experience, I was thankful to every single family member, friend and medical staff member around me.  Many people, of all ages, do not come out as lucky as me and sadly many people succumb to meningitis. A common misconception about meningitis is that 'it's not meningitis unless there's a rash'... I once believed that myself, I know different now. I think it’s important to note that had it not been for my GPs awareness of meningitis, I would be in a very different position today.”

“Meningitis has left me with a number of awkward after effects that have made my personal and professional life slightly tricky at times, but one of the most important things I’ve learned from my experience is resilience. I've learned that resilience will get you through any situation no matter how tricky it can be.”

“Thanks to the outstanding work carried out by the likes of the Meningitis Research Foundation, I was lucky enough to pull through and walk out of hospital with minimal side effects.  That’s why I am supporting the launch of their Christmas fundraising appeal and awareness in Ireland, if you can this Christmas please donate to support their work.”

Vinny Smith, Chief Executive of MRF said, “We’re so sorry to hear what Adam has been through, and it is incredible that he is now running marathons for us, and launching our Christmas campaign in Ireland.  Sadly we see even more individuals and families affected by meningitis and septicaemia during winter, particularly around Christmas, but it can be difficult to recognise at first.”

“During the 12 Days of Christmas campaign we will be distributing awareness materials to those at highest risk so that people know the signs and symptoms before the holidays and can take action fast to save lives. We also need funding to supporting research to understand if people with wintertime infections, like flu, are more likely to carry high numbers of meningitis bacteria and therefore be more infectious. You can help fund this vital work."

Visit the 12 Days of Christmas campaign to find out more.