FAMPDX⌗

During a vacation to Costa Rica in spring 2018, I inexplicably contracted bacterial meningitis. Within 24 hours of showing symptoms, I was admitted to an ICU in San Jose, verging on the brink of death.

When I eventually emerged from the abyss of comatose existence, utterly amnesiac and oblivious to the duress my body endured whilst I was insentient, my life had been forever changed. Thanks to my partner’s fortitudinous intervention and the preeminent skill & care of my neurologist, neurosurgeons, otolaryngologist, infectiologist, and many other doctors and nurses (along with a sufficient dose of luck) I had survived one of the world’s deadliest & disabling diseases.

Left untreated - which is likely due to the rapid onset of symptoms similar to the common cold or flu - meningococcal meningitis has a 50% fatality rate. Even if early antiobiotic treatment is administered, 15% of people will die from it (typically within 48 hours). Of those that survive, 20% will live with permanent disabilities.

I am one of those in the 20%.

As a long progression of (still ongoing) treatments and therapies rehabilitated me, I resolved to make efforts to educate others on meningitis and support the individuals and families that have been impacted one way or another, as I and mine have. Slowly, that has shifted to a slightly broader focus on disability, community, and local action.

It may not be a vast empire, but it is work that I hope will benefit my two young children and the world they are inheriting.

The two main channels for these efforts:

• FAMPDX
• DeafPDX

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