‘You can’t price your life’: Ex Manchester student and meningitis survivor urges vaccine

Days after celebrating her 19th birthday, a student was left fighting for her life after contracting meningitis B.

Sophia Speirs, now 22, was studying Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Manchester when she first started feeling unwell. She initially thought it was norovirus.

Within hours, her condition rapidly worsened.

via Facebook

Sophia, from Harpenden, said: “I woke up feeling achy and didn’t go to uni. Then it progressed really fast – I was being sick every half hour and couldn’t keep anything down.

“I had a fever, I was shivering, and I was really sensitive to light. I remember trying to watch TV and it actually hurt my eyes. I just thought it was norovirus — I’m a student, that sort of thing happens all the time.”

After a sleepless night of worsening symptoms, Sophia texted her mum, who realised something was seriously wrong and called an ambulance.

Sophia was rushed to hospital, where she spent several days in intensive care and more than two weeks overall.

“It’s all a bit of a blur,” she said. “But being put on antibiotics straight away saved my life.”

Despite recovering, Sophia has been left with lasting effects. She is now deaf in her right ear and has had a cochlear implant fitted. She also developed septic arthritis in her hip, which required surgery.

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She said: “I’ve never felt so awful in my life. It was the worst time of my life and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

“I feel lucky to have got away with my life.”

Now, Sophia and her family are urging students to consider getting vaccinated against MenB, especially following recent cases in the UK.

The MenB vaccine has been part of routine NHS childhood immunisations since 2015, meaning many current students are not covered. However, it is available privately.

Sophia said she had no idea she could have paid for the vaccine.

“If I’d known, I would have got it – you can’t put a price on your life,” she added.

She is now encouraging other students to look into getting protected, warning how quickly symptoms can escalate.

Featured image via Canva and Facebook