Barry's Virtual London Marathon 2021 - The County Antrim edition page
Barry Patrick is raising money for Meningitis Now
Story
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
My name is Barry, and I am a Meningitis survivor - twice. In September 2015, I took a bout of Bacterial Meningitis. The cause was unknown, despite revision surgery on the Cochlear Implant in my left ear just 5 days previously. I spent 11 days in hospital, including 3 in the Intensive Care Unit.
Less than a year later, in September 2016, I was struck down by a second bout of Bacterial Meningitis. I'm told that shortly after arriving at hospital that I had slipped into a coma, and quickly became totally unresponsive, even to pain. I was told afterwards by my sisters that some doctors did not think that I would survive. They were also warned that if I did survive, that there was a real possibility of an Aquired Brain Injury (ABI), possible brain damage, paralysis, learning difficulties, behavioural problems, hearing loss, sight loss, among other things. I did suffer from weakness in my left arm, but that corrected itself over time. I also suffer from sleep problems, which can cause fatigue. And although not violent, my temper is certainly shorter. On my 9th day in hospital, I was visited by the Infectious Diseases team, and told I had Staphylococcus and Pseudomonas infections, which I'm told were consistent with infection caused by a Cochlear Implant. I had surgery to remove the Cochlear Implant on Day 20, and spent a total of 28 days (4 weeks) in hospital, 5 of those days in ICU,, and 3 or 4 days in a coma.
My aim for this marathon, is to raise money for Meningitis Now, to try and help others who have been affected by Meningitis, whether through personal experience, or affecting a friend or loved one
The charity that I am raising funds for, Meningitis Now, provides support for all of those affected by Meningitis, whether through disabilities caused by the disease, the psychological impact of having Meningitis, whether on the patient, on a loved one, or both. The funding also provides support for those who sadly, have lost loved ones to Meningitis, through bereavement counselling, financial support or both.
The funds raised also go towards vital research into new treatments and vaccines. Over the last 30 years, Meningitis Now, it’s predecessors (Meningitis UK and the Meningitis Trust), among other Meningitis charities throughout the world, have provided funding into research which has produced more effective treatments in treating Meningitis. Funding has also gone into development of effective vaccines into various strains of Meningitis, such as Meningitis A, C, W, and Y, Meningitis B, HIB and some strains of Pneumococcal Meningitis. But even with that said, there are still many, many strains to which there are currently no vaccines available, and continued research is needed to produce new vaccines for those strains.
As it stands in the United Kingdom, vaccines for Meningitis B (sometimes known as Men B) are only available on the NHS to those aged 8 weeks, 16 weeks and one year. There had been a campaign to expand the Meningitis B vaccine on the NHS to all those at 11 years and under, and to those adults with health problems who would be considered at increased risk. It was a campaign that I fully supported, and I am still proud to have signed that petition. The Men B Vaccine can be obtained privately,, but they don't come cheap. To give examples, Superdrug have their Men B vaccine priced at £109 per dose. Boots have theirs priced at £110 per dose. Some private clinics can charge considerably more. Personally, I think that is too expensive, especially for those on a low income. For some part time workers, £110 is a weeks wage.
Meningitis Now is entirely funded by donations (private and public) and through various channels of fundraising, whether through coffee mornings, cake sales, jumble sales, car boot sales etc., though sponsored walks, treks, hill walking, mountain climbing, triathlons, marathons, half marathons, and fun runs etc., among many other initiatives.
So, why am I so willing to do this challenge? I have no doubt that the research previously undertaken to find more effective treatments, as well as vaccines, certainly at least played a part in saving my life, as well as that of others. Simply, I want to try and give something back. I've never done a Marathon walk or run before, and I also see this as a personal challenge.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.