Meningitis is branded the “silent killer”. It strikes without warning and is capable of killing a perfectly healthy person within a few hours. Thanks to relentless research we now have vaccines for many strains of meningitis and it is hoped 2013 could be the year we see a jab become available for the most deadly – type B – which could save thousands of lives every year. Here families and friends of those who have been affected by meningitis share their stories

AS a firefighter, David Walpole has seen it all when it comes to tragedy. He has dealt with fatal road crashes and infernos yet he has never forgotten the shock of losing his childhood friend more than 20 years ago to a silent but deadly killer.

Every morning, David and his best friend James Johnson would knock for each other then catch the bus to school, larking about like any normal 15-year-old lads.

Then, one day in late April 1991, James didn’t show up and David never saw his friend again.

James had died of meningitis. His life was over in a heartbeat and before the promising youngster had even reached his 16th birthday.

David, now 36, and a father-of-three, says he’s never gotten over the sadness of that day.

He said “It was just so sad and I couldn’t believe he had gone.

I heard he was ill and thought it was the flu or something and the next day I heard he had died.

“I was devastated. We had been friends for ages. We lived around the corner from each other in Great Wakering and we’d become good mates.

“It’s been a long time but I still think about James a lot. I’m sure we would have stayed friends and gone to college together, but it wasn’t to be.

“Meningitis is so cruel. I am a father myself now and it’s something I worry about.”

David, who works at Basildon Fire Station, is now limbering up to run the London Marathon on April 21 in aid of the Meningitis Trust and to honour James’ memory.

“I’m hoping to raise at least £1,600, which will go towards research into meningitis and finding a cure for the disease.”

Just a month before James died, the pair enjoyed a school skilling trip to the Austrian alps together.

David recalled: “We spent the holiday together. It was brilliant, a lot of fun. We were both talking about what we wanted to do in the future.

“James was a lot more academic than me. He was so clever and he wanted to be an architect. I remember he also loved skateboarding and was so good at it. I’m sure he would have succeeded in whatever he did. It’s such a tragedy his life was taken from him.”

David and his family are still very close to James’ parents Bob and Barbara Johnson.

Since James, their only son, died Bob and Barbara have devoted their lives to raising money and awareness of meningitis.

The couple, of Whitehall Road, Great Wakering, were forced to go through every parent’s nightmare. One minute their son went to bed with a headache.

Two days later they were at his bedside in Southend Hospital being told there was no hope. Bob, 63, a retired Ford mechanical engineer, explained: “As a parent you cannot explain the pain of losing your child. You can’t ever see this coming.

“The day James died changed all our lives.”

James was at home with his parents when he complained of a headache. He went to bed but he continued to deteriorate.

Bob added: “He kept getting hot, so we would mop him down and give him some paracetamol. “He didn’t go to school the next day. We were concerned, but had no idea that it could be meningitis at the time.

“He didn’t have a rash at that stage.”

James then collapsed at home and began showing signs of a rash. Bob rushed him to Southend Hospital and from there, things got worse. James was diagnosed with B strain meningococcal septicaemia and was declared brain dead.

The couple had no choice but to let doctors switch off James’ life support machine after they received the devastating blow that their son would never wake up.

Bob has been a trustee of the Meningitis Trust since James died and Barbara is also a member of thenational charity.

The Walpole family are holding a charity meal at Zen City, in Hamlet Court Road, Westcliff, on Thursday February 21 at 7.30pm for the Meningitis Trust. For tickets, call Mary Walpole on 01702 217203. You can sponsor David on his run at virginmoneygiving .com/David Walpole

 

SYMPTOMS of meningitis in babies and small children include a stiff body with jerky movements, irritability, a dislike of being handled, a shrill cry or unusual moaning, refusal to feed, pale blotchy skin, rapid breathing and fever.
Symptoms in adults and older children include a rash that doesn’t fade under pressure, high fever, severe headache; stiff neck; dislike of bright lights; drowsiness; vomiting and confusion.
A rash that doesn’t fade when you press a glass to it is one of the most widely known symptoms of meningitis, however research shows this knowledge could be costing lives.The problem is a rash may not always appear.
More information can be accessed from www.meningitis-trust.org