Jacob Blackwell was "the sickest person" in John Hunter Hospital for a fortnight last year. Login or signup to continue reading Doctors feared the now 21-year-old wouldn't survive, after he was rushed to hospital suffering from meningococcal disease . Jacob, who contracted the disease in August last year, is part of the Know Meningococcal awareness campaign.
His mum Chelsea Blackwell knew something was wrong when she noticed her son wasn't on Instagram. "I used to jump up every morning and check to make sure that he got up in time for work. You'd see the time on Instagram," Chelsea said.
"I'd be like, 'he's up, he's gone to work'." Jacob would always text her at night "love ya mum" or "goodnight", but she hadn't received a message. "I found my beautiful boy on the floor, on his back," she said.
"I tried to open the door and couldn't. I had to really push because his leg was up against it." Meningococcal disease is rare.
Hunter New England recorded only one case this year, five last year and six in 2022. A high of 39 cases occurred in the Hunter district in 2002. One in 10 patients who contract "invasive meningococcal disease" may die, usually within 24 to 48 hours from the first symptoms.
Up to one in five survivors may develop long-term disabilities. After his mum found Jacob, an ambulance came "really fast". "They were there within a couple of minutes.
Then they told me to go wait in another room while they worked on him," Chelsea said. "Then all I remember was the ambulanc.