Meningitis in your words

John N. Lovell's story

  • Categories: Bacterial meningitis
  • Age: 60+
  • Relationship: Self
  • Outcome: Recovery with after effects
  • After effects: Other
John N. Lovell
An outbreak of meningitis in Toronto in 1953 left myself and eleven other children in the hospital. Ten died; one had severe brain damage and my spinal meningitis left me crippled at four years of age.

"My spinal meningitis left me crippled at four years of age"

After nine months in the hospital I heard the doctors tell my mother I would never walk again. Needless to say she didn't accept this and spent the next two years making me work my leg muscles and doing exercises she invented. In that time I went from a wheelchair, to crutches to finally walking on my own. The doctors verdict-A miracle.

Within the last fifteen years I've suffered from permanent numbness and and pain in both legs without many answers from the experts. Polio victims from fifty years ago are now coming down with crippling problems but I can not find any case studies done on bacterial meningitis patients.

John N Lovell
September 2012