Dad and daughter both survive meningitis - now he's taking on a half marathon

Chris Beer from Crawcrook, Tyne and Wear, is set to take part in the Great North Run this year to raise funds for Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF) because both he and his daughter experienced the disease.

Chris (32) said, “When I was eight years old I almost died from meningitis. I remember being out playing on the street on a sunny Saturday, feeling on top of the world, then boom...I was ill in bed. 

“My mam rang the doctor not knowing what was wrong with me. He came out to the house and seeing the symptoms sent me to hospital knowing something was not right. Meningitis wasn’t as well known then as it is today, but I was lucky enough to be assessed at hospital by a nurse who had been studying meningitis and spotted the signs. By this time I was drifting in and out of consciousness and was sent straight to intensive care. The doctors told my mam and dad to prepare for the worst saying I only had hours left to live.

“However after a few days I was taken off life support and eventually made a full recovery. I was very lucky. Other people have lost limbs and worse.

“Many years later, my daughter Molly was born. Three weeks into her life, she became unwell, so we took a trip to the walk in health centre thinking it was just a cold but wanting to get her checked anyway. We were seen by the nurse and doctor and sent by ambulance to the Royal Victoria Infirmary. 

“I remember going in to the waiting room reading a poster on the wall about meningitis. The list of symptoms was the same as Molly’s. I did not say anything at the time. I didn’t want to be the dramatic parent and obviously we were in the best place for help - but it turned out that’s what she had. After a long few days Molly, my little wonder woman, was on the mend having beaten meningitis with the help of the wonderful staff at the RVI children’s ward. She is now a happy, healthy two year old.

“So here I am preparing myself to run this half marathon for MRF to try and help find ways to combat meningitis and also to keep raising awareness of the Illness.”

If you are able to sponsor Chris you can visit his fundraising page at: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/chris-beer2.

Public entries sold out quickly for the Great North Run, which takes place in Newcastle on Sunday 8 September, but you can still enter with an MRF charity place and join the fight against meningitis and septicaemia. Anyone looking for a new challenge is welcome to apply regardless of whether they’ve been affected by the disease personally or not.

To find out more, visit www.meningitis.org/GNR or contact Lauren on laurenf@meningitis.org.