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I'll never know exactly how I contracted meningococcemia. The evening before that New Year's Eve, we were in a crowded auditorium for a show with my family. It could have been something as innocuous as standing next to an asymptomatic infected person who coughed or sneezed on me in a crowded room.
One of the gifts that came from this vicious disease: I've achieved a better balance in my life, between work, home and community. Also, I always knew that Donna was a remarkably capable and strong woman. But after this experience, I realized that relationships aren't measured by just the good times. How you respond to great challenges, even to loss, can define a relationship. It certainly strengthened the already strong bond between us.
I've got my athletic spirit back, but now I compete in 10K's or triathlons to raise awareness and funding for challenged athletes. I'm also active on the advisory board of the National Meningitis Association, a nonprofit organization founded by five parents whose children died or live with permanent disabilities from the disease. If I can prevent one other person from suffering from this, it will be worth it. I also hope to use my return to running and biking to raise awareness about meningococcal disease and the new vaccine that can help prevent it.
For more information about the symptoms and effects of deadly meningococcal disease, who's at risk, and how you can prevent it with the vaccine, go to rd.com/meningitis.
An Expert's View of This Case
This is a classic, not so rare, example of how tough it can be to definitively diagnose meningococcal disease. When someone has disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and goes into septic shock, there is often no time to do a spinal tap. To preserve life, the acceptable medical practice is to administer broad-spectrum antibiotics as rapidly as possible," says Paul A. Offit, MD, chief of infectious diseases at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and author of Vaccinated: One Man's Quest to Defeat the World’s Deadliest Diseases.
A New Way to Run:
After additional elective amputations on both legs to improve his mobility, Mike LaForgia was not only on his feet again only six months after surgery, but he was running and cycling with the help of high-tech prosthetics. Erik Schaffer, CP (certified prosthetist), owner of A Step Ahead Prosthetics & Orthotics in Hicksville, New York, helped fit Mike with custom-fabricated carbon graphite legs that enable him to compete once again in running and triathlons. Mike is a member of Team A Step Ahead, a team of challenged athletes who receive specialized coaching and physical therapy from the company.
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