I caught meningitis at uni – it cost me my fingers and legs

As I looked down at my hands and feet, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

They had turned black; and they felt like they weren’t real, stiff and cold.

It was November 2018, six weeks after I’d started at the University of Southampton, and I’d just woken up from a coma.

I didn’t know what had happened to me. I certainly had no concept that two whole weeks had passed while I’d been in the coma.

Doctors soon told me I had contracted meningitis; I later found out this was specifically Meningitis B – also known as MenB – which is the same strain currently linked to the outbreak in Kent.

Meningitis is a dangerous infection, affecting the protective membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

Not only did I have meningitis, though; the infection had resulted in Meningococcal septicaemia. This is a type of blood poisoning – and for me, it meant that my organs had nearly failed. It had also affected my blood flow, causing patches of skin and my extremities to die.

As I stared at my feet and hands, I felt numb – like I couldn’t process this was my body now. I knew the damage was done and that my fingers were beyond saving; but at the same time, I felt so spaced out that I didn’t really feel any emotions.

I now have two prosthetic legs and have had a hand transplant. And, while I’m doing much better, I want people to know about the very real dangers of meningitis.

Getting into university to study medicine was so exciting. I had finally made it after all the stress of applications, interviews and sitting my A-levels. I loved my new friends and was enjoying living in a new city away from home.

When my symptoms first started, I’d had a normal day – but at some point in the early hours, I woke up and started vomiting.

Luckily a friend, Niamh, was staying with me – and, after a couple of hours, she and I started to think ‘something’s not quite right here’. The vomiting just wouldn’t stop.

Niamh called 111. They sent an ambulance and I was taken to hospital.

Once there, I was given some medication that helped with the vomiting but soon things took a bad turn.

I collapsed and became quite confused. I was clammy, shaky and had a raging fever – the staff tried to cool me down, at one point with six ice packs and two fans – but nothing worked.

My heart rate was high, and my blood pressure had plummeted.

My friends sat with me, stroking my hair, but I was already confused enough to be unaware of how worrying my symptoms were.

After a few hours of these symptoms getting rapidly worse, I was put in an induced coma and moved to intensive care. At this point, doctors thought I had sepsis.

Eventually, I also got a rash while I was in the coma – and that was the first time the doctors looked into it being meningitis; a diagnosis that was soon confirmed, followed by my official diagnosis. 

I was in the coma for two weeks, during which my family were told to prepare for the worst. By now, my organs were failing.

When I woke up from the coma, I was out of life-threatening danger – the antibiotics had kicked in just in time – but it was clear that the damage had been done.

I couldn’t stop looking at my hands – my fingers were completely black and stiff.

The doctors told me that I would lose them; that there was no choice to be made there. I knew they were right, but it was hard to imagine what my future might be like.

I was so bandaged up after the surgery, I didn’t know what I had left of my fingers after they were amputated. I asked the surgeon to draw on my godmother’s hands to show me what was left of mine.

That’s the first time I remember crying.

The doctors spent several weeks operating on my feet, trying to save them – but a few weeks later, they told me I would lose both my legs as well.

As well as losing both my legs below the knee and fingers on both hands, I also needed my skin damage to be repaired through debridement (removing damaged skin tissue) and skin grafts. This was a gruelling process, sometimes very painful – my skin was red and raw and nearly my whole body was bandaged.

I’ve been left with extensive scarring that looks like chemical burns.

I spent nearly four months in hospital and then seven weeks in rehabilitation, learning to walk on prosthetic legs.

After being discharged, my recovery continued at home – I slept a lot and tried to build up my strength.

I was determined to make a life for myself again, but I found daily tasks so frustrating. For example, getting dressed took forever, tying shoelaces was almost impossible and I was still very weak and tired.

It was nearly a year later that I first heard about the possibility of a hand transplant.

It was a two-year-long process of meeting the team, going through medical and psychological testing and getting onto the list; but I was fortunate to receive a hand transplant in 2023, which has been absolutely amazing.

I returned to university in 2020 to complete my degree. I am now 26 and a medical student once again – I’m hoping to graduate as a doctor in 2027.

I am now desperate to help support other families affected by this disease – especially in light of the current outbreak in Kent.

It’s vital that young people are aware of the risks. They need to know the signs and symptoms, both in themselves and their friends; and they need to know that, if you had the MenACWY vaccine as a teenager in school, this does not protect against MenB.

That’s why it’s so important for anyone reading this to learn the symptoms of meningitis and to seek medical help as early as possible if you feel unwell.

I’m very fortunate to be back living my life now – but I know others are not so lucky.

I wouldn’t wish this devastating disease – not to mention its cruel after-effects – on anyone.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing Ross.Mccafferty@metro.co.uk. 

Share your views in the comments below.