3:00pm Saturday 20th March 2010
By Chris Wilkin
THE parents of a keen sportsman who died from meningitis are staging a week-long fundraiser to help find a cure for the killer bug.
Christopher Pollard died almost three years ago after being struck down with meningococcal septicaemia. He was just 23.
His mum Liz said: “It was horrendous. We went out on Friday evening for a quiz night and he was the life and soul of the party.”
Christopher was taken ill after going to work the next day.
He had already joked he had caught a throat infection from his parents and complained of pains in his leg, but no-one suspected they were early meningitis symptoms.
“He came home and deteriorated so rapidly,” said Liz, of Cambridge Road, Clacton.
“He became very tired and weary and by 9pm he was vomiting.”
Christopher went to Clacton Hospital before being rushed to Colchester General Hospital.
“At that point no one knew what was wrong with him. That was when we saw the rash,” said Liz.
“Colchester General put him in resuscitation, but unfortunately he deteriorated from there.”
Christopher lost consciousness at 4am on Sunday and died two hours later.
Parents Liz and Graham were devastated they hadn’t spotted his symptoms earlier, but were told there was nothing they could have done.
“He probably wouldn’t have survived – it was so tragic,” said Liz.
“A lot of people think it’s a childhood illness, but my son was 23.”
The Meningitis Trust helped Christopher’s family come to terms with what happened. The charity provided specialist counselling and even helped pay for a headstone.
The couple have raised money for the charity before, but now plan to become more active supporters. They are staging a week-long series of fundraisers at Ronnie’s Bar, in Old Road, Clacton, including discos, karaoke, live music and poker nights.
“The Meningitis Trust helped us out in so many ways – we want to put something back,” said Liz.
* Fundraising events will be held from March 28 until April 4. For information about meningitis, visit www.meningitis-trust.org
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