By: Bethany Bjorklund RN, BSN, Immunization Nurse
Every year on April 24th, we recognize World Meningitis Day. Meningitis can affect anyone, anywhere, any time! It does not discriminate against age, gender, or where we live in the world. Every year more than 1.2 million people are affected by meningitis.
Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges (the protective tissue that lines the brain and spinal cord). There are two forms of meningitis; bacterial and viral. This means the disease can be caused by a virus or bacteria. The most severe forms of meningitis are caused by bacteria and can be prevented with vaccines.
I know what it feels like to have meningitis. The type of meningitis I had was viral, the more common and less severe of the two forms, but nonetheless still terrifying, painful, and frankly an experience I never want to go through again. This year for World Meningitis Day I wanted to share my story with you.
One morning in January 2003, I woke up with my right foot asleep. Gradually the tingling sensation traveled its way up my right leg, hip, arm, shoulder, and eventually the tip of my tongue. As a 16 year old, my mind was thinking I was fine and I continued to get ready and go to school since it was after all finals week. When I got to school, I just didn’t feel like myself. All of a sudden during my first class of the day, I got the worst headache I have ever had in my life. My head was throbbing; I was sensitive to light and felt like I was going to throw up. I ended up going to the school nurse’s office and was sent home.
That day, I made an appointment with our family doctor and was referred to a neurologist in town right away. I was diagnosed with a migraine headache and given medication to help ease the pain. Unfortunately, the medication did not make the pain go away and I found myself hibernating in a dark basement, throwing up and crying because of the immense amount of pain in my head. Meningitis can often be mistaken as a migraine headache or the flu.
After no improvement and beginning to suffer from dehydration, I earned a trip to the emergency room where it was decided I needed to have a spinal tap. As a 16 year old there is nothing scarier than the thought of having a large needle inserted into your lower spine to take out some spinal fluid. This procedure had to be done to determine what else could be causing me to feel this much pain. After the spinal tap was finished, I felt the best I ever did. The pain was gone. The results came back showing I had viral meningitis. I was admitted to the hospital for I.V. fluids overnight and was discharged home the next day feeling much better. Viral meningitis usually clears up on its own and my body just needed time to fight the infection.
As time progressed, this started to come back and I was not really getting any better. I began to develop double vision, tinnitus (ringing of the ears), and had lost 10 pounds. I was then referred to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota to see a pediatric neurologist. I was able to return back to school for half days. Shortly thereafter, I ended up being hospitalized for three more days and received I.V. steroids (not the muscle building type) for seven days, along with two more spinal taps. I recall moments where I wanted to give up, crying and telling my family, “I’d rather be dead” than suffer with this type of pain.
I was lucky. I had VIRAL meningitis. From what I remember, doctors were never able to determine which specific virus had caused this infection, but thankfully I did not suffer any permanent neurological effects from the buildup of pressure around my brain and spinal cord.
This terrifying and painful experience helped shape me into the nurse and person I am today. I thank you for taking the time to read my meningitis story, as there are many others out there who are not here to share their story.
Please contact me at the Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health today for more information on the bacterial meningitis vaccine. Our walk-in “no appointment necessary” clinic is open Monday-Friday from 10:00AM-Noon and 12:30-4:00PM.
