Something many people don’t know about myself and our Daniel is how lucky we are to be in this world! When we were babies (8 Months old) we both caught Meningitis that was so bad the Doctors told my Mum and Dad we only had hours to live. 

How we made it with no after affects is a true miracle. About 10 years ago I met an amazing young man called Alex Williams who was an absolute inspiration. Alex caught meningitis on the day of his mum and Dads wedding only 7 years old and sadly passed away when he was 18 from the devastating after effects. He inspired me so much I even names my first child After him. 

When Alex was seven he contracted meningitis and ended up on life support, fighting for his life. He survived but his life changed forever. He ended up in a wheelchair with lots of after effects, but it didn’t stop Alex from doing what he set his mind to.

Alex spent three nights a week volunteering for a disabled dance group and was a sports ambassador for Tameside. He was also the Meningitis Trust’s first ever Young Ambassador and was passionate about making everyone aware of the symptoms of meningitis, spending every weekend giving out awareness cards.

Alex won lots of awards and regularly appeared in the media. He proudly carried the Olympic torch, the only person nominated more than once… in fact he was nominated 24 times! Alex then spent a whole month going to schools in Tameside talking to the children about his motto, “believe and achieve”. He really believed that if you put your mind to it, you could achieve anything! The children in the school loved it.

In August 2012, Alex had a stroke as a direct result of the after-effects of meningitis and passed away. The family realised the only way forward was to carry on his work, raising awareness of meningitis and support other young people like Alex whose lives have been affected.