WHEN mum-of-one Sarah Hayward started feeling “strange” after a night out with her pals, she wondered if she’d had her drink spiked.
But within 24 hours, she was being rushed to hospital in a semi-comatose state after contracting meningitis.
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Had it not been for her 16-year-old daughter Ciara, “the outcome could have been a lot worse”.
Sarah, from Gillingham, Kent, woke up the night after her evening out feeling distinctly unwell.
The 51-year-0ld waved Ciara off to college and after that, blacked out.
She said: “I have no memory of what happened next, but my daughter, who was only 16, started to get concerned that she couldn’t get in touch with me.
“We are very close and she knew something was wrong so she got her course tutor to drive her home.”
The college student found her mum semi-conscious hanging out of bed and called for an ambulance.
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Sarah said: “She saved my life. If Ciara hadn’t realised something was up, the outcome could have been much worse.”
Sarah was rushed to intensive care where she had a heart attack and her organs began to fail.
She remained unconscious for two weeks, after which docs had to amputate both of her legs below the knee.
The hospital administrator is now back at work after overcoming the trauma of the ordeal 18 months ago.
“I was really struggling to adapt to my new life.
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“It was like having three shocks, first falling ill, then doctors telling me I would lose my legs and finally dealing with losing my independence and basically being a walking health and safety risk.
“But when I read the stories of others who had suffered similar experiences it gave me hope and reminded me how wonderful it was to be alive.”
Sarah is now working with the charity Meningitis Now as part of its “Adults Get It Too” campaign, which aims to educate people on the fact that it’s not just babies and kids who are at risk of the disease.
She said that she was “ignorant” to meningitis before it happened to her.
“If I had been better informed I may have known to look for the discoloration in my legs instead of going straight to bed,” she said.
“Before contracting meningitis, I assumed the rash was the telltale sign.
“But there are so many other symptoms that I didn’t appreciate – like cold hands and feet, vomiting, a high temperature and just the general feeling of not being with it.”
Symptoms of meningitis
IT can be mistaken as the flu or even a hangover – but knowing the symptoms of potentially deadly meningitis could save your life.
The two forms of the disease have different symptoms.
Around 3,200 people a year get bacterial meningitis. One in 10 die and many more are left with life-changing disabilities.
Viral forms of meningitis are less common and rarely life-threatening, but can have lifelong effects.
The symptoms of meningitis develop suddenly and include:
- A high fever over 37.5 degrees – the average human temperature
- being sick
- a headache
- a blotchy rash that doesn’t fade when a glass is rolled over it
- stiffness, especially in the neck
- sensitivity to bright lights
- drowsiness, irritability or lack of energy
- cold hands and feet
- seizures
A recent report from the Meningitis Research Foundation found that GPs are putting children and babies’ lives at risk by giving inconsistent and poor advice about the symptoms.
Kids with meningococcal meningitis or sepsis can show vague signs in the first four to six hours, but can be dead within just 24 hours, the Meningitis Research Foundation said.
Meningitis Now found 95 per cent of adults over 55 thought they were safe from meningitis despite the risk rising as people age.
“Most people I know are misinformed,” Sarah continued.
“We all know the consequences but have assumed that it is something that only affects children. Maybe it’s because parents have been taught to check their kids for symptoms, but not themselves.
“Meningitis is a killer, and has life-changing consequences for the person and everyone around them.
“I don’t mean to panic people, just to use my story to keep the issue in the public eye and help people be aware of the signs.”
Since contracting the aggressive MenW strain, Sarah’s cousin has now paid to get her older children vaccinated.
Vaccinations are available at school and uni but Sarah believes that its best to get the jab ASAP.
She now has to drive a specially-adapted car and lives in a bungalow.
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MORE ON MENINGITIS
And despite everything they’ve been through, Sarah claims that daughter Ciara is “thriving”.
“What happened has made her stronger and she now grabs life by the horns. It has also helped our bond as mother and daughter grow.
“We now fully realise the importance of being with loved ones.”
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