“Austin died.”
On October 10, my teenaged son had to say those words about a friend, a teammate. Then he and many other friends gathered to say good-bye to a buddy who had just started out on the same road they were following – recent high school graduates making their way into the world.
Austin, just 3 weeks past his 19th birthday.
A college athlete - a baseball player.
He pitched a baseball game on Thursday.
Told his folks on Friday that he thought he was coming down with the flu.
Saturday he went into a coma.
Monday, he died.
He had contracted bacterial meningitis. By the time it was diagnosed, the treatment was ineffective.
He died in a few hours from a disease that can be prevented by a vaccination.
I have added some information below – the factual stuff – and it is important to read it and understand the risk of the disease. But the more important message, the thing I hope that you consider from this message is that your healthy child can die or suffer life-long disability from an infectious disease that can be prevented with a vaccination.
A disease that moves quickly to devastate the body.
A disease that by the time you realize you are sick enough to need help, it may be too late to help.
As they attempt to cope with their loss, Austin’s parents have established the Austin Thomas Phillips Memorial Foundation Fund with the mission to educate college freshmen about the threat of meningitis and to encourage vaccination against the disease.
They want parents and students to understand that this disease strikes quickly and can be prevented with a vaccination.
It’s okay with them if you remember it as Austin’s Vaccine.
Donations can be made to Gary Phillips – Trustee, 1411 Whispering Water, Mansfield, TX 76063.
From health alerts, I learned that meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges, the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord. Bacterial meningitis is less common than viral meningitis but is usually much more serious and can be life-threatening if not treated promptly. Bacterial meningitis occurs in people of all ages but is more common in the very young (infants and young children) and the elderly (people above age 60). Teenagers and college students are also slightly more at risk for the disease because of time spent in close contact with many of their peers.
The long-term outlook for people who develop meningitis varies greatly and depends on age, the microorganism causing the infection, any other complications, and the treatment the person receives. The complications of bacterial meningitis can be severe and include neurological problems such as hearing loss, visual impairment, seizures, and learning disabilities. The heart, kidneys, and adrenal glands may also be affected. Although some people develop long-lasting neurological problems from bacterial meningitis, most who receive prompt diagnosis and treatment recover fully.
The first symptoms of meningitis may surface several days after a person has had a cold and runny nose, diarrhea and vomiting, or other signs of a bacterial or viral infection. Some of the more common symptoms of meningitis include fever, lethargy (decreased consciousness), or irritability. Older children may complain of a headache, photophobia (eye sensitivity to light), and a stiff neck, which is often noted by the doctor during a physical exam.
Most cases of meningitis result from infections that are contagious. The infectious agents usually spread from person to person in tiny drops of fluid from the throat and nose of someone who is infected. (This could be a person with either meningitis or, more likely, the common infection caused by that germ.) The drops may become airborne when the person coughs, laughs, talks, or sneezes. They then can infect others when people breathe them in or touch the drops and then touch their own noses or mouths.
Sharing food, drinking glasses, eating utensils, tissues, or towels may all transmit the infections as well. Some infectious organisms can spread through a person's stool, and someone who comes in contact with the stool - such as a child in day care - may contract the infection.
The infections most often spread between people who are in close contact, such as those who live together or people who are exposed by kissing or sharing eating utensils. Casual contact at school or work with someone who has one of these infections usually will not transmit the infectious agent.
Routine immunization of young adolescents will help prevent this rare but serious infection. Experts now recommend that kids who are 11 years old get vaccinated for meningococcal disease, a serious bacterial infection that can lead to meningitis. The vaccine is called quadrivalent meningococcal vaccine, or MCV4. Children who have not had the vaccine and are 15 years old, or entering high school should also get the vaccine. People who are entering college, and will be living in a dormitory setting should also get the vaccine.
THE VACCINATION IS AVAILABLE THROUGH YOUR DOCTOR OR LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT!
I first read about this disease and the need to vaccinate on this very web site and am so thankful that someone took the time to share this vital information. We do not need to bury any more of our children due to a preventable disease.
Please tolerate the length of this post but it is an important message for all parents especially as they prepare to send their sons and daughters off to college where kids don't think about washing the dishes and freely pass around the water bottle in the middle of a practice.
And please keep the family in your prayers.
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