A 21-year-old law student at the University of Kent endured a harrowing meningitis infection that temporarily robbed her of sight and speech. Annabelle Mackay credits her survival to swift medical intervention after being rushed to the hospital.
Mackay believes she contracted the infection during a night out at Club Chemistry in Canterbury on March 5 or the previous evening. She initially mistook symptoms for Covid-19 and tested negative. Soon, delirium set in, along with extreme sensitivity to light, signaling a serious issue.
Terrifying Symptoms and Hospital Rush
“Then I started to be quite delirious, and I wasn’t really making any sense and I was also really sensitive to light, so then that’s when I thought something was really, really wrong,” Mackay recounted.
Video footage captures Mackay, blindfolded and wearing headphones, being guided out of a house by a woman supporting her arms. She lost her ability to speak and has no memory of the ambulance ride to the hospital. “I was still in quite a state of delirium, and at that time I lost my sight as well, which was really scary, especially for my friends and family,” she said. Overwhelmed by bodily pain, Mackay struggled to process the blindness at the time.
“I feel so grateful to be alive and be here. I’m still dealing with the after-effects now, but I think I just need to focus on my recovery and getting better and back to myself,” Mackay added.
Common Meningitis Symptoms
Meningitis and sepsis present various warning signs, including:
- High temperature
- Cold hands and feet
- Vomiting
- Confusion
- Quick breathing
- Muscle and joint pain
- Pale, mottled, or blotchy skin (may be harder to see on brown or black skin)
- Spots or rash (may be harder to see on brown or black skin)
- Headache
- Stiff neck
- Dislike of bright lights
- Excessive sleepiness or hard to wake
- Seizures
Outbreak Response at University of Kent
More than 100 students lined up for meningitis vaccines on the Canterbury campus Friday but were turned away. Kent County Council’s director of public health, Anjan Ghosh, warned of potential sporadic household clusters elsewhere in the UK.
The UK Health Security Agency reports 29 cases tied to the outbreak, including 18 confirmed and 11 probable, all connected to Kent.
