Hi My Name is Jonathan Provis and this is my story I am 49 years Old Contracted Meningococcal Septicaemia in May 1994 I was a very fit and very active 19 Year Old and was working for Royal Mail as a Postman I had played a big football tournament over the weekend and went to get up for work on the weekend aching all over and just thought I was aching because I had played a lot of football so went to work in my car.
But over the day started to feel worse but managed to struggle through my first delivery went to do my second delivery and felt awful and said to my manager there was no way I could do my 2nd delivery as I was burning up and had no energy and ached all over so I went home and said to my mum I don’t feel great am going to bed which was very unlike myself.
A few hours later I went to get up to go to the toilet and fell on the floor and started vomiting my mum heard me and called up the stairs and noticed that I was covered in a rash and was drifting in and out of consciousness so she called our emergency GP who came out to look at me and was not sure what it was he thought I had the flu so got a second opinion and this Doctor told to call an ambulance straight away as he was not sure what it was either but my temperature was dangerously high and I was now unconscious.
So I was taken to Edgware General Hospital where I was eventually diagnosed with Meningococcal Septicaemia and was taken to the intensive care ward and my mum and brother were told that I was seriously ill and my not make it through the night but if I did would probably lose both my legs and fingers due to septicaemia fortunately I Made it through the night but was still very ill and was in a coma and must have my legs amputated to stop the infection so I had one below knee and one above knee amputated and three fingers on my right hand I was in a coma for a few days but gradually got better and eventually was taken off the ventilator and slowly began to get better and was eventually taken out of intensive care after several weeks and moved to another ward and then was transferred to Mount Vernon hospital.
I was transferred to Mount Vernon hospital to have skin grafts on my right leg as the septicaemia had eaten so much of my skin away this meant around another three months in hospital until the skin grafts healed and I was well enough to be let home and to only come back as an outpatient every week until they completely healed.
Once my skin graft has completely held I was able to go to Stanmore Orphapedic Hospital to be fitted with prosthetic legs and finally be able to walk again after many weeks of intensive physiotherapy every day to learn to walk I finally left the hospital walking out of the ward using two sticks which was something that I never expected to do after contracting this terrible disease overtime I was able to walk with one stick and eventually no sticks indoors and have had much better prosthetic legs over the years which have made me live as normal life as possible doing a full time job and do most things an able bodied person can.
But the Meningitis did live me with more underlying conditions than just being an amputee I have been left with a very weak immune system which left me very susceptible to pick up viruses and hard to fight them also I was told I would find it very difficult to have Children due to being in contact with lots of radiation with my treatment, but I am married with two beautiful children so they were wrong about that. But with age things have become more difficult and am only can where prosthetic legs occasionally as my stumps break down regularly due to wear and tear and my low immune system so am using a wheelchair most of the time but still live a fully active life although sometimes is a struggle and unfortunately due to my increased problems with my legs and immune system have been recently ill health retired but managed to work for twenty two years.
Hope this story makes you realise how terrible this disease can be I was very lucky to live but some people are not so lucky.
Jonathan Provis
