Look at those two little monkeys below, full of mischief! Isn't it funny how things look from the outside and how things aren’t always as they seem?

Meningitis and meningococcal B have played a large part in our family’s lives. There are three stories to tell here, mine and my two boys’, Andrew and James. I suffered viral meningitis and Andrew and James meningococcal B. 

The thing is, we don't fit people's normal view of who gets the disease. We aren't Maori or Pacific Islanders. We don't live in overcrowded housing conditions. We have good health and we lived in Ponsonby, Auckland — so why us? I can't answer that question other than to say we were unlucky.

But what I can tell you is our stories. Our hope is that by sharing our stories with you it may save someone’s life some day. 

Two very special boys        -       Andrew and James (Their story)

I love my two little monkeys; they make me laugh and they make me cry. Andrew is turning seven this June and James turns eight ten days later. Besides being the same age for around ten days each year, they have another common bond, meningcoccal B.

This horrible disease nearly took Andrew from us, and over the last five-and-a-half years we have worked our way through its legacy.

The boys’ story starts back in December 2000, when Andrew was just six months old and James 17 months old. We had sold our house in Ponsonby and were due to move up to Snells Beach. With the movers due in a couple of days, Paul and I decided that my parents could look after Andrew and James while we organised the shift. That would only leave us with Matthew and Sophia and the moving to worry about. 

The day before the furniture movers came we got a ring in the afternoon. It was my mother, who was in Starship Hospital with Andrew. We were told Andrew was in the Intensive Care Unit and fighting for his life. What happened in the previous four hours was to save our son's life.

Four hours earlier my mother had been worried about Andrew, as he just wasn't well. So she took him to her local GP, Dr Miller of Whangamata Medical Centre. Dr Miller couldn't see anything that was making him sick, but because Whangamata is some two-and-a-half hours from Auckland, thought it was best to have him sent to Starship Children’s Hospital for observation overnight. It took my parents half an hour to pack a bag and be on their way to Auckland. An hour-and-a-half had passed. Andrew showed no physical signs of meningitis at this stage. Over the two-and-a-half hours of the drive Andrew's crying grew quieter until finally it stopped. In that short space of time, Andrew had become unconscious, with the deadly blood-clotting spots consuming his little body. He would spend the next 48 hours fighting for his life. 

Andrew did win his battle, with little physical evidence of how close he came to dying. Besides a slight hearing loss and some minor developmental delays he has little to show for his fight. 

Now it would be enough for any parents to watch one child fight for their life, but within a few days we got another call. James was on the Westpac Rescue Helicopter with suspected meningococcal disease. James had caught the disease, we believe, because he had picked up Andrew's baby bottle and drunk from it. I remember sitting in isolation with my two babies. One, Andrew, sleeping peacefully, the black spots still covering his body. The other, James, trying to tear the hair from his head because of the horrible headache. His body was so sore, I could not hold him to comfort him. What makes it worst is I knew how much pain he was in, and I could do nothing to help him.

Today James is doing well and, although there have been some developmental delays, he, like Andrew, has little to show for his ordeal. But, for me, each day is a blessing and I do love my little monkeys so much!

My Story - Gaye Miller

In 1997, when I had only two children, Matthew aged 19 months and Sophia aged 12 weeks, I got the flu! Well, that is what I was told at the Accident and Emergency clinic. I should add here that we went to the A & E clinic because my husband, Paul, thought I had the symptoms of meningitis. At the time I had a stiff neck, hot and cold sweats and flu like symptoms. I was told to go home and take some Panadol! So back home we went.

Early the next evening I decided not to go out for a farewell dinner with our friend Joe, as the 'flu' was still hanging around and I really wasn't feeling very well. So I sent Paul and Joe off and stayed at home curled up on the couch. The thing with meningitis is that, when it finally hits you, it can hit very fast. In my case, I had sent Paul and Joe off and within an hour I was ready to call for an ambulance. My eyes had become sensitive to light and I had one mean headache. I remember ringing the same Accident and Emergency clinic, only to be told this time I must have a migraine! 

The meningitis headache is something else. Now bear in mind I had had two babies, one only 12 weeks ago, so the pain of childbirth was still very much in my mind. The meningitis headache was like someone had taken a carving knife, stuck it in my head and was slowly, painfully moving its sharp blade around my skull. I couldn't cry; the slightest sob made me nearly black out due to the intense pain. Somehow in that hour I must have rung Paul, because he turned up at home. While he stayed home with our two babies, Joe (who was flying out at 5am the following morning!) took me to the A and E clinic. This time they said it might be meningitis and told him to take me to the hospital. 

From here I don't remember much. I know that I asked Joe to turn the lights off in the hospital cubicle because my eyes hurt like hell. This meant that for an hour we were left because they thought that the cubicle was empty! The last thing I remember for two days is telling Joe that I was scared, something was terribly wrong. From there Joe did the rest and I woke up in isolation, diagnosed with viral meningitis.

Recovery took a year, with my niece Sarah coming to live with our family to help me with Matthew and Sophia. I have no memory of the first ten years of my life, no childhood memories and no memory of my engagement to Paul. Even now I look at some family photos and movies and it’s as though they are from someone else’s life. Even though they have me in them, I do not recall a thing about them. Some of my memories are second-hand ones from other people, mine are lost!