West Sussex mum speaks out after meningitis battle
Jamini wants us to be able to spot the signs
Last updated 14th Sep 2020
A West Sussex mum is urging people to know the symptoms of meningitis, after contracting the disease in early 2020.
41-year-old Jamini Wright from Burgess Hill was admitted to hospital in January after experiencing joint pain and repetitive vomiting.
She had intitially been told by a doctor that the issue was most likely to be 'just a virus', but needed to be rushed to the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath after finding herself struggling to move her legs and the entire left side of her body.
‘My CRP levels a sign of inflammation were the highest the doctor had ever seen,’ said Jamini. ‘That was when I knew it was something serious.’
Jamini was given antibiotics as soon as she arrived at Princess Royal Hospital and tests were carried out. She was then transferred to the specialist Infectious Disease Unit in Brighton.
There, Jamini spent 4 weeks in hospital having contracted potentially fatal meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia (also known as sepsis).
She said: ‘When they said I had meningitis I was terrified, but by that point I was beginning to recover - so there was some relief in knowing what it was at last.’
Fortunately Jamini survived but lockdown created additional difficulties. ‘All of my follow up and physio appointments were put on hold,’ she said: ‘I had to teach myself to walk again, to use my wrists again, to try and get back to normal.’
Jamini continues to suffer after effects of meningitis, including limb pain, severe fatigue and headaches. ‘I don’t talk about it because I don’t want people to think differently of me, but I am different,’ she said.
‘Nobody talks about meningitis, but it can happen to anyone. It could’ve happened to someone sat right next to you, and you’d never know because not all after effects can be seen straight away.’
Jamini is now supporting Meningitis Awareness Week (14th – 20th September 2020), joining Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF) to remind people that meningitis has not gone away despite Covid-19 dominating the news.
The charity Meningitis Research Foundation expects cases of meningitis to increase in the next few months. With more cases usually being uncovered during autumn and winter, and post lockdown, as social distancing eases, it will become easier for the bacteria to spread.
Meningitis is spread through close contact and new figures from Public Health England Meningococcal Reference Unit show that cases of meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia dropped significantly in England and Wales during lockdown – currently at less than a third of cases compared to the same months in previous years. However, as restrictions ease, cases are expected to rise.
For example, MRF funded research shows that carriage rates of meningococcal bacteria in university students, one of the high risk-groups for the disease, increase rapidly in the first week of term as students begin to socialise.
On the first day, 7% of students carry the bacteria, on day one, 11% on day two, 19% on day three and 23% on day four. Among students living in catered halls of residence, carriage rates reached 34% by December of the first term.
‘The invisible after effects of meningitis and septicaemia are life changing,’ said Rob Dawson, Director of Communications, Advocacy and Support at Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF). ‘Jamini has been through a life changing ordeal, but you would never know that unless she told you.
"We’re working to defeat meningitis wherever it exists to help people like Jamini. Her story is a reminder that even in the midst of a COVID pandemic, urgent action against meningitis saves lives, so it’s vital people know the signs and symptoms and how to act if someone is ill.
"While the country is rightly staying alert for COVID, they must also remember to think about meningitis too."