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Leslie Maier’s son Chris was living his best high school senior life. He had lots of friends and was on the honor roll. He especially loved playing on the varsity high school soccer team and had been selected ‘Athlete of the Week’ for his winning kick in the state soccer championship. His future was looking bright, with plans to attend college in Arizona, pursue a business degree, and play club soccer. And Leslie? She was the proud mom, taking comfort in knowing that Chris would be enrolling at the same school as his sister. “We were on top of the world.”

As a mom, Leslie was prepared for the bittersweet bon voyage of moving her son into a dorm. What she wasn’t prepared for was the heartbreak that was about to unfold.

With less than two and a half months of high school left, life had become a whirlwind. School was busy, soccer season was finishing, and Chris had just returned home from a snowboarding trip with his friends.

At school the next day, Chris started complaining about a headache but claimed to still have the energy to show up to his scheduled soccer practice. While he was there on the field, his coach noticed Chris’ condition worsening; he had chills and couldn’t get warm. “The flu had been going around really bad that time of year,” Leslie said, assuming that it was something that could be dealt with at home.

That night before bed, Leslie checked with Chris to ask if he wanted to go to the ER. Chris declined, saying he just wanted to sleep. They decided that the next morning, he would go to the doctor if he wasn’t better. But when that time came, Chris’ dad found him lying on the bed, saying he couldn’t feel his feet. Shortly after, he lost consciousness.

Chris’ dad rushed to call 911, and the family arrived at the ER at around 9:45 a.m., where doctors ran tests, attempted to resuscitate Chris, and tried to rule out cardiac issues. By noon, doctors sat Leslie and her husband down to deliver the devastating news: Chris had lost enough oxygen to his brain to never be the same. At 12:20 p.m. — less than a day after he began displaying any symptoms — Chris’ mother and father made the heart-wrenching decision to let their child go.

Doctors determined that Chris had contracted meningococcal meningitis, a highly contagious — and serious — infection that causes inflammation around the brain and spinal cord. Meningitis is a form of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) which is caused by the bacteria Neisseria meningitidis, and spreads through respiratory droplets and saliva of an infected person. That means sharing water bottles, kissing, and just being around someone who’s infected can qualify as risky behavior.

Though the spread happens in such an everyday manner, meningitis can become fatal in less than a day. “I didn’t think there was a disease that could kill a healthy child in less than 24 hours,” Leslie says. Now, she’s on a mission to make sure no other mom feels this grief.

Scary Mommy connected with Leslie to share what she’s learned since losing her son, and to spread awareness about the disease. Here are four crucial things to know about meningitis, so you can protect yourself and your loved ones.

1. Kids, Teens, And Young Adults Are In Environments That Make Them Vulnerable

Meningitis is an unpredictable and potentially devastating disease. Even with treatment, up to 18% of those cases are fatal globally. Anyone can get meningococcal disease, and one of the age groups that experience a peak is adolescents. Among adolescents and young adults, those 16 through 23 years old have the highest rates of meningococcal disease, so when you consider how they go through life — sharing food or water bottles and hanging out in close quarters — you see that adolescents and college students are especially vulnerable.

2. Early Symptoms Mimic The Flu

The first red flags Leslie noticed in Chris seemed like cold or the flu symptoms: headache, fatigue, and chills. But she was unaware that these mirror early meningitis symptoms, making it challenging to discern if something more serious was going on.

3. It Can Be Fatal, Fast

Meningitis can progress from mild to fatal rapidly, and in some cases, it can cause death within just a few hours of symptom onset. Hardly a day had passed between Chris’ signs of his initial headache and his death, leaving almost no time for his parents to react. For survivors, other consequences of meningitis include brain damage, hearing loss, learning disabilities, and even limb amputations, meaning it’s not a disease to mess around with.

4. The Best Protection Against Meningitis Is Vaccination

The threat of meningitis is scary, but there’s good news. According to public health experts like school health expert Megan Carlson, DrPH, MSN, RN, PPCNP-BC preventative measures like vaccinations can significantly decrease a person’s risk of contracting meningitis. “For persons not at increased risk, public health experts and professional medical organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend the first vaccine at age 11 or 12, with a booster at 16,” Carlson says. “This doesn’t just protect you and your family. It protects the community.”

It sounds simple, but plenty of families just aren’t aware that one simple preventative measure can go a long way. “You can't stop your child from sharing water bottles as much as you might try,” Leslie explains. “Vaccines are the best way to prevent meningitis.”

The Takeaway

What does Leslie want other parents to learn from her experience? “Make sure you check with your doctor that your child is up to date on vaccines each year.” It’s one extra appointment that could literally save their life.

Notebooks, backpacks, and water bottles aren’t the only things to add to your back-to-school prep routine. Make an appointment with your healthcare provider to discuss the meningococcal meningitis vaccination and meningitis booster.

Dr. Carlson and Leslie Maier were compensated by Sanofi for their participation.

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