Chvojan, Allison Elizabeth LSU ID: 895033655 MC 2010 Final Feature Story It was mid-July in 2010.

Katie Chaisson, 17 at the time, had just come home from working at The Pie, a pizza restaurant in her hometown of Mandeville, La., with a raging headache. She was prone to migraines, so she shrugged off the pain, not thinking anything of it, despite the piercing pain she felt from such minor activities as laying down or watching television. Suddenly, when she became violently and physically ill, she knew something was not right. Her parents were out of town and not wanting to bother them, she called her sister who works in a doctors office and made an appointment for the next day. Her sister suggested she take migraine medicine and get some sleep. When the pain went from intense to excruciating, she called her parents to come home, getting no sleep throughout the night. Every time I moved my eyelids at all I thought I was going to die, Chaisson said, it was a pain I cannot even describe. Chaisson did not know that the agony she felt would eventually be diagnosed as meningitis, a life-threatening bacterial infection that affects the body by attacking it sneakily, through common-coldlike symptoms, leading up to an internal swelling of the brain, which can kill a person within 24 hours of diagnosis. As Chaisson lay in agony, fighting off what she assumed was a migraine, her body was working to combat the swelling of the membranes of the inside of her brain. Meningitis directly affects the meninges covering the brain and spinal cord, causing them to swell. Around 6 a.m., when Chaisson woke up, she realized that she could not move and began to scream for her parents. They rushed her to the hospital where the doctor in the emergency room recognized the problem as something neurological and extremely urgent. The doctor decided to do a CT scan and a spinal tap, where Chaissons white blood cell count registered 274, when it was supposed to lie low, around zero. Chaisson was close to death. I just shut down; hearing that was the scariest thing Ive ever heard in my life. After waiting for the test results, the doctor finally diagnosed Chaisson with streptococcal bacterial spinal meningitis. Chaisson was put on heavy duty antibiotics and observed. After about a week in the hospital, Chaisson was released, still weak and sensitive to light, the only leftover symptoms of her battle. My mom felt guilty and blamed herself for not bringing me earlier, but she had no clue how serious it was, Chaisson said, You cant always put off feeling bad for something else. Meningitis is an infection that causes the inflammation of the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord. Meningitis is either bacterial or viral, and treatment differs between the two. Viral meningitis is typically the less severe of the two and will clear up without specific treatment. Bacterial meningitis, however, can cause death within 24 hours of inception and may result in permanent brain damage, hearing loss or learning difficulties. Symptoms creep up, much like a common cold, which makes diagnosis difficult, as it is typically confused for a cold, severe migraines or the flu. Symptoms range from chills to headache to nausea to sensitivity to light. Meningitis is highly contagious by

ingesting any foreign bodily fluids and can be transmitted from sharing utensils, beauty products or simply living in close quarters. Because of its contagious qualities and potentially deathly outcomes, many colleges are requiring students to get the vaccine. To diagnose of either type of meningitis a spinal tap is necessary. Spinal fluid is collected and examined, and doctors are able to distinguish between the two types. Meningitis affects approximately 1 in 30,452 people in the United States, yearly. I guess almost dying kind of puts your life into perspective, Chaisson remarked, staring blankly back at me over a large sweet tea. Her round fingers swirled the straw around in her drink, a ring set with a bright amethyst rock gleamed and glittered as the light hit it. The doctor told me I would have only lived for between 3 to 4 hours had I not come in when I did. Chaisson, the Mandeville native, and current Louisiana State University student, put down her drink and redirected her attention to her hair, twirling her chocolate brown hair in her finger, speckled through with bits of bleached blond that had been long since up kept, checking the ends for splits. Looking up from her hair with large chestnutcolored eyes, bright and alive, she appears to be your typical college student, despite having gone through a health scare that compromised her life not even two years before. In the scheme of things, petty arguments and disagreements that appear major become minute. Friends become solid support systems, even old boyfriends, Chaisson smiles, glancing back down at her sweet tea coyly, revealing a shy sweetness. I didnt even know he knew I was sick. We hadnt talked in six months. He came to visit me every day when I was in the hospital. Death becomes the ultimate leveler; it becomes everyones shared destination. Life becomes clearly illuminated in the face of death; the things that are truly important, and lifes ultimate truths, shine brighter than ever before. I could have died; it really proved to me that holding grudges really is good for nothing. I learned not to take advantage of the relationships and the life that God has given us, Chaisson said. Chaisson looks forward to getting to live her life to its fullest and graduate from LSU in four years and become an elementary school teacher.