Meningitis in your words

Katherine Marie Howell's story

  • Location: USA
  • Categories: Bacterial meningitis
  • Age: Baby 0-1
  • Relationship: Self
  • Outcome: Recovery with after effects
  • After effects: Learning difficulties
Katherine Marie Howell

It was 1960 when I was sick.

My cousin had just died from same thing, and about two days later as my mom said, the dog dragged her to the crib were she said I was all blue and she thought I was dead too. Called doctor and had me taken to hospital for treatment.

"All my life I thought of myself as some kind of freak because I had such a hard time learning anything"

All my life I thought of myself as some kind of freak because I had such a hard time learning anything, and now at 57 to find out it could have been the meningitis..... I'm glad my parents didn't tell me as a child, but if they knew, it would have been nice to not have been called lazy or stupid. Because I'm not, I just learn a little differently than most people.

Only took an eleventh grade teacher I thought hated me, to teach me that. He caught me ditch his class at Disneyland on the day he took a union day. Worked security there also.

Katherine Howell
June 2018