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| I lost my baby girl to meningitis – that’s why I’m passionate about vaccination | I lost my baby girl to meningitis – that’s why I’m passionate about vaccination |
| (6 months later) | |
| When I saw the recent pictures of Mason Timmins and Faye Burdett it upset me. I immediately signed the petition to nudge the government into giving the meningitis B vaccine to all children and not just to newborn babies. The petition gained more than 800,000 signatures, an amazing achievement. | When I saw the recent pictures of Mason Timmins and Faye Burdett it upset me. I immediately signed the petition to nudge the government into giving the meningitis B vaccine to all children and not just to newborn babies. The petition gained more than 800,000 signatures, an amazing achievement. |
| Last Thursday, though, the Department of Health rejected their call. | Last Thursday, though, the Department of Health rejected their call. |
| But the petition unlocked other emotions within me. In 2001, I lost my daughter Akira to meningococcal septicemia – a form of meningitis. It happened while she was on holiday with her mother. What was meant to be a short, relaxing stay in Dominica turned into a horrific series of events that ended with a phone call informing me my daughter had died. My Baby Girl had passed away two days before her third birthday. | But the petition unlocked other emotions within me. In 2001, I lost my daughter Akira to meningococcal septicemia – a form of meningitis. It happened while she was on holiday with her mother. What was meant to be a short, relaxing stay in Dominica turned into a horrific series of events that ended with a phone call informing me my daughter had died. My Baby Girl had passed away two days before her third birthday. |
| Akira had caught a virus that systematically shut down her body. The blood poisoning left her with marks that ravaged her tiny frame to a point where members of her own family could barely recognise her. In her last moments, her last breaths, I was told that Akira called out for me. | Akira had caught a virus that systematically shut down her body. The blood poisoning left her with marks that ravaged her tiny frame to a point where members of her own family could barely recognise her. In her last moments, her last breaths, I was told that Akira called out for me. |
| My heart broke. I went numb. My world, my very reason for existing, had gone. How was I supposed to deal with such terrible pain? | My heart broke. I went numb. My world, my very reason for existing, had gone. How was I supposed to deal with such terrible pain? |
| I didn’t do very well. A part of me died for ever. I ran away from the world and locked myself inside my house trying my best to figure it all out. After all, parents are not meant to outlive their children. This tragedy affected every aspect of my life, but I still had to get on with the day-to-day. | I didn’t do very well. A part of me died for ever. I ran away from the world and locked myself inside my house trying my best to figure it all out. After all, parents are not meant to outlive their children. This tragedy affected every aspect of my life, but I still had to get on with the day-to-day. |
| At the end of 2001, I was writing skits for the BBC1 show Lenny Henry in Pieces. I remember being in the BBC green room and everyone around me was enjoying the sketches on the screen. I remained solemn. Lenny came up to me and said: “Cheer up man. Your sketches are going to be on the telly.” I smiled meekly, but felt my loss – knowing full well that Akira would never see any of my successes and in turn, I would never get to see hers. I would never see her grow up. That’s why I am passionate about the meningitis B vaccine. It should be given to all children. No question. I don’t want to see parents go through the same pain I went through. It annoys me that the government is content with rolling out a restricted vaccination plan. What bright spark came up with that: let’s save some kiddies and screw the rest? Some supporters of the government’s plan cite the recent reductions in meningitis B cases: in 2001, there were fewer than 1,700 meningitis B cases, while in 2012 there were just over 600 cases. Others say that all health spending has to be rationed. Call me biased, but if one of those cases in 2012 resulted in a death, then in my opinion that is one death too many. | At the end of 2001, I was writing skits for the BBC1 show Lenny Henry in Pieces. I remember being in the BBC green room and everyone around me was enjoying the sketches on the screen. I remained solemn. Lenny came up to me and said: “Cheer up man. Your sketches are going to be on the telly.” I smiled meekly, but felt my loss – knowing full well that Akira would never see any of my successes and in turn, I would never get to see hers. I would never see her grow up. That’s why I am passionate about the meningitis B vaccine. It should be given to all children. No question. I don’t want to see parents go through the same pain I went through. It annoys me that the government is content with rolling out a restricted vaccination plan. What bright spark came up with that: let’s save some kiddies and screw the rest? Some supporters of the government’s plan cite the recent reductions in meningitis B cases: in 2001, there were fewer than 1,700 meningitis B cases, while in 2012 there were just over 600 cases. Others say that all health spending has to be rationed. Call me biased, but if one of those cases in 2012 resulted in a death, then in my opinion that is one death too many. |
| This year the anniversary of Akira’s passing was a particularly tough one. If she had lived, she would have been 18. We honoured her with a big party and remembered a beautiful girl who meant so much to so many people. I am sure my dramas with her would be entertaining. She would definitely be tapping me for money I don’t have, as well as refusing to move out my house; but I would have loved every minute because she would’ve been here. | This year the anniversary of Akira’s passing was a particularly tough one. If she had lived, she would have been 18. We honoured her with a big party and remembered a beautiful girl who meant so much to so many people. I am sure my dramas with her would be entertaining. She would definitely be tapping me for money I don’t have, as well as refusing to move out my house; but I would have loved every minute because she would’ve been here. |
| I may never fully recover from Akira’s loss. I sometimes think that maybe her death could have been prevented, but I’ll never know, as she wasn’t given that chance. This is why the meningitis B vaccine programme to vaccinate all children is important. We need to change the government’s thinking, as lives can be saved. | I may never fully recover from Akira’s loss. I sometimes think that maybe her death could have been prevented, but I’ll never know, as she wasn’t given that chance. This is why the meningitis B vaccine programme to vaccinate all children is important. We need to change the government’s thinking, as lives can be saved. |