Survivor warns of dangers of meningitis

A MENINGITIS survivor wants to raise awareness in Warrington of the symptoms of the killer bug to help minimise the impact of the disease.
To mark Meningitis Awareness Week (September 17 to 23) Amanda Hull wants to ensure the local community knows the symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia, as she has first-hand experience of the disease.
Amanda, (pictured) of Golborne, near Warrington, says the disease affects around 3,600 people in the UK and Ireland annually.
One in 10 die, and a quarter of survivors have life altering after-effects ranging from deafness and brain damage to loss of limbs.
She said: “I didn’t realise I had meningococcal septicaemia, I just felt like I had really bad flu with an unbearable headache. By the time we got to our walk-in centre I couldn’t walk properly, my lips were blue, my fingers completely white, and I was having trouble putting sentences together – within just two hours of waking up and noticing a very odd rash.
“The quick thinking of the staff at the centre saved my life. I spent 10 days in hospital and am now on the road to recovery. I have to wear hearing aids in both ears, but it could have been so much worse.”
Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF) estimates that it costs the Government about £3million for the life-long care of each person seriously disabled by the disease.
Almost 18,000 people signed the charity’s petition calling on the Government to pursue the widest and earliest implementation of vaccines to prevent all types of meningitis and septicaemia.
To find out more about the symptoms visit the MRF website on www.meningitis.org or download the free iPhone App from: www.bit.ly/MRFapp