Worcester University student in meningitis warning after collapse
A student rushed to hospital after being found collapsed by his father has warned about the dangers of bacterial meningitis.
Matthew Griffin, of Stourport-on-Severn, had assumed he had flu or food poisoning after feeling "shivery" and vomiting but became seriously ill. He woke up in hospital four days later and had missed his 21st birthday. He said he wanted to make others, especially young people, aware of how serious meningitis can be. "I thought I'm young, I'm healthy, I'm fit, I'd never have anything like that," he said. "I would say to people, just make yourself aware of symptoms." A film and screen-writing student at Worcester University, he began to feel unwell during a shift at his pub job. He finished early after finding the lights in the kitchen were bright and "disorientating". He was sick later that night and felt too unwell to go to university the next day, telling his parents he would "be okay and sleep it off". But he got an intense headache, his neck began to stiffen and was "violently" sick and eventually his father called 999 after he collapsed on 14 October, the day before his 21st birthday. "I don't remember being in the ambulance or anything," he said. "I just remember waking up and seeing these nurses around my bedside smiling at me and asking how I was." He was in the hospital for about 10 days but is now on the way to recovery. He advised students look into the MenACWY vaccine, which can protect against serious infections like meningitis and is available through a GP to patients until their 25th birthday. Government advice advises students to be aware of symptoms of a stiff neck, fever, headache and vomiting. Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, on Twitter, and sign up for local news updates direct to your phone.