Victim Stories
When Jimmy Williamson woke up for his morning bodyboard session with a headache, he had no idea he would be
fighting for his life hours later.
The 16-year-old was driven to Duranbah on Sunday but never entered the water, instead returning home to Burleigh and becoming progressively ill as bacterial meningitis took hold in his brain.
At first his parents thought he was coming down with a common bug but when he began thrashing about, screaming and falling over, they knew something was seriously wrong and called an ambulance.
The up-and-coming bodyboarder was given a dose of antibiotics and put into an induced coma at Gold Coast Hospital on Sunday night but when he showed no neurological response the following evening his parents were warned to prepare for the worst.
Continue reading his story here...
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"My name is Joel and I am 18 and live in Narooma on the south coast of N.S.W.
I was at work when I first felt sick on the 12th January 2007, I had a fever and felt so ill I was unable to keep working. I rang my boss to tell him I was going home. When I arrived home I just wanted to sleep so went to bed and I woke up that night at 6:00pm and vomited and I was confused and thought it was the next morning.
I also had really sore joints and muscles so I went back to bed to sleep some more thinking I must have picked up some sort of virus.
The next morning my father woke me to go to golf but I was still feeling the same way as the day before and had a thumping headache also. I got up and went to the bathroom and it was then I noticed I had a purple rash on my stomach in blotches, I walked out to dad and asked what he thought it was and he wasnt sure so thats when I started to panic and told him I thought it was Meningococcal."
Continue reading his story here...
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It was July 2004 when Cameron aged 17 came home from work, he went for a swim and then for a run. After dinner he said he was not feeling well and thought he might have the next day off work. As parents trying to teach our son honourable work ethics we said this was not the right thing to do and off he went to work on Thursday morning.
He came home at 8.30am and said he had been sick and vomiting but as other work mates had been unwell we just assumed he had picked up a bug. Cameron said he was just feeling off. So Cameron had a bath and went to bed with a headache I asked if he needed a Panadol and at that stage he said no.
Continue reading his story here...
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Little Dakota was born in September 2007 and was a mere seven days old and not long home from hospital before a little spot found on her face turned the familys world upside down.
Dakotas three year old brother Dylan had gone to bed with what appeared to be a cold and parents Lindy and Rob had settled in with baby Dakota. At 6.30am Lindy woke to feed her newborn daughter and noticed a small purple spot between her chin and lips. When they began to undress Dakota for changing their worst fears were confirmed upon seeing purple spots all over her tiny body.
Continue reading their story here...
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"Taj Kay 8 Months Old 5 December 06 - Taj had been up through out the night with a temperature. He woke for his usual morning feed at 7am but he seemed sleepy and as if he was coming down with something so I put him back to bed.
At about 9am I had this horrible feeling that something was wrong I went and checked on him and he was really burning up so I got him up and gave him some paracetamol and changed his nappy that’s when I saw the spots. There was about 10 of them on his belly they looked like light purple bruises about the size of 5 cents (we were told it did not look like the typical meningococcal rash) I didn’t know what they were but I felt sick when I saw them...."
Continue reading his story here...
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"My name is Jennifer, I am 56 years of age and live in Warburton, Victoria. This is my story of my contact with Meningococcal disease.
Saturday 5th August 2006 I had a full day and attended a seminar and went to bed feeling fine.
Sunday 6th August 2006 Woke about 3:00am freezing across my shoulders so I put on a warm top, went to the toilet and then back to bed and to sleep. Woke at 7:00am feeling very hot, nauseas with a very stiff neck and the worst headache I have ever experienced..."
Continue reading her story here...
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