“I was given a 30% chance of survival” - Dorset woman urges us to know the symptoms of Meningitis
Meningitis Now has reported that 205 people were diagnosed with meningitis between July 2021 and June 2022
Last updated 15th Feb 2023
A meningitis survivor from Poole has shared her near death experience saying “her parents were told she might not come out of her coma.”
Melanie Corney is urging people to make themselves aware of the symptoms such as a high temperature, vomiting, drowsiness (or unresponsiveness), a stiff neck, blotchy rash or a headache.
Melanie said: “The headache I had was horrendous and it wasn't until I'd been in hospital for a couple of hours that my breathing started to change.”
Once she started to struggle to breathe, she was taken to a resuscitation room and that’s when doctors realised the septicaemic-type rash on her legs.
She said: “I remember a consultant coming to see me and saying they were going to have to put me on a life support machine but by that point, I really didn't care…
“Quite frankly, they could’ve shot me. I was in so much pain and I couldn't breathe.”
Melanie was given a 30% chance of survival and remarkably lived to tell the tale, she said: “There aren’t many people in this world that can say they had a 30% chance of survival but that's a difficult thing to have to deal with afterwards.
“It wasn't until I got discharged from hospital, I realised how severely ill I’d been. It was at that point it hit me… I nearly died.”
This comes after a meningitis charity, Meningitis Now, warned that "very concerning" new data shows cases of meningitis have more than doubled in a year in England.
They reported that 205 people were diagnosed with meningitis between July 2021 and June 2022.
The charity’s chief executive, Tom Nutt suggests the increased number of cases is due to lockdown restrictions easing.
He said: “As these restrictions eased, meningitis cases have in turn risen from what had been an historic low in the previous year.
"We did expect that cases of meningitis would increase following the pandemic, but these new figures indicate that there is still more to be done.”
Since being discharged from hospital over 20 years ago, Melanie is still dealing with psychological toll meningitis had on her.
She has also been left with long lasting side effects, she said: “Meningitis is classed as an acquired brain injury which means my brain has been damaged in some form. For example, my brain doesn't work as quickly as everybody else’s, and my memory isn't as good as it was.”
“I’ve had to grieve the person I once was.”
Findings by Meningitis Now show 179 of the total cases were caused by MenB (meningococcal group B) with 84 in those aged between 15 and 24. Another third of MenB cases occurred in children under five and 32% affected adults.
Melanie added: So many people think meningitis is something that only affects kids and yes, they are a high-risk group, but anybody can get it. It doesn’t care!”