Two of the biggest stars in rugby have teamed up to spread awareness about meningitis, a rare but serious disease that affects the lining of the brain.
Former England player Matt Dawson and Irish rugby captain Rory Best are using their influence for the Tackle Meningitis campaign. Tackle Meningitis aims to increase public understanding of the disease, symptoms and the different strains.
Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges, or linings of the brain, and can be followed by septicaemia, or blood poisoning.
The campaign was created by pharmaceutical giant GSK and is backed by Irish charities, Meningitis Research Foundation and ACT for Meningitis. According to a new survey conducted by GSK, 44 per cent of Irish parents think a distinctive rash is the first symptom of meningitis, despite the fact it often appears after other symptoms, or not at all.
The 2 weeks of hell we've just had cos of Meningitis. Sami lucky due to amazing people @GreatOrmondSt#vaccinateNOW pic.twitter.com/JMJ4X2h8r2
— Matt Dawson (@matt9dawson) February 17, 2016
Last February, Matt posted photos of his then two-year-old son Sami battling the effects of meningitis. He described it as his ‘two weeks of hell’. Dawson and his wife Caroline debated over whether to post the photos, which showed the sick tot in a distressing condition, but eventually decided to. He said his son was ‘lucky’ to have beaten it, and praised the interventions of the ‘amazing people’ that treated Sami.
Sami was infected with the W135 strain. The strain kills 30 people a year – mainly children under five – and leaves 10 times that number with lifelong health problems.
“Some victims have to have limbs amputated because of blood poisoning, while others suffer long-term brain damage,” Dr. Philip Cruz told MummyPages. "It's very important to remain vigilant when your child starts to show symptoms."
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Matt has found support in the form of his friend and fellow rugby star, Rory Best.
Rory spoke to MummyPages about his friendship with Matt and why he, as a father-of-three, decided to lead the campaign in Ireland.
“I would always watch rugby. I remember watching Matt playing games like the ‘97 Lions tour to South Africa and became a big admirer of him. I played against him a few times, got to known him as the rugby world is quite small.
“I’d read about what happened to Sami and could relate to him as a father. Seeing what happened to him struck a massive chord with me."
Rory was asked by Matt to use his profile as the Irish rugby captain to bring the campaign to Ireland, and to use his sporting influence to educate Irish parents about the disease.
Being involved in the organisation has allowed Rory and Matt to meet people whose relatives weren’t as lucky: “You talk to people and realise a matter of minutes can be the difference between someone telling a story about how lucky they were, and someone having a story about how devastated they were.”
Rory hasn’t always been one to play it safe. The 34-year-old has admitted to playing with injuries, including a dislocated rib during the 2014 Championship and a broken arm when playing against New Zealand in 2013.
“I guess it’s important to trust your gut. I have a higher pain tolerance [laughs]. But when it’s viral I tend to suffer.”
Rory and his wife Jodie have three kids: Ben, Penny and Richie.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Rory’s kids are interested in sport. He told us: “Ben is six. He loves rugby, football and golf. Penny is four and is into dance and golf. Richie is two and loves being on the tractor. My father sees him as the last chance to get a farmer.”
He continued: “We’ve been fortunate that nothing major like that ever happened to our kids, but that’s not a reason to stand back and wait. If this raises awareness and one less child dies of meningitis because of early detection, then that’s a major result.”
