A devastated mum has told of her horror after her teenage daughter died in her sleep when she returned home from a UK festival with the ‘worst headache’ she’d ever experienced.
Livia Wilson, 19, had attended Manchester’s popular Parklife festival with her pals in June 2022 before she began complaining of continuous pain.
Her mum, Alison Goude, explained she simply thought the youngster had ‘overdone it’ while partying at the music event.
But tragically, the teenager suddenly passed away in her sleep just a few days after arriving back home in York – leaving her family heartbroken and desperate for answers.
Livia had managed to make it to her shift at a local restaurant on 15 June, 2022, but was sent home by her boss due to her persistent headache and the fact she felt ‘generally unwell’.
Alison explained: “She came back after the weekend, and she was straight back into work.
“She did say it was the ‘worst headache‘ she’d ever had, but she would do a Covid test in the morning because she felt generally unwell.
“She had paracetamol, went to bed, and that was it.”
The mum, who works as an assistant accountant, explained that Livia never woke back up.
Livia Wilson passed away in her sleep after complaining of a painful headache and feeling unwell (SWNS)
“[The next day] an ambulance came and then the police came, because they treat it as suspicious when there’s no explanation,” Alison recalled.
Livia’s loved ones faced an agonising 16-week wait to get answers about the 19-year-old’s untimely passing, but tests later revealed that the teen had contracted meningitis B.
This deadly bacterial illness can quickly turn sinister, as when meningococcal group B bacteria has infiltrated the body it begins to target the brain and spinal cord.
The strain can also cause other serious illnesses such as septicaemia and sepsis.
Alison said: “We asked, ‘Was she suffering, was she in pain?’ and they tried to explain that it’s just so fast with the brain.
“It just shuts your main organs down… she was alone. You just didn’t ever expect it.”
There is a vaccine available in the UK and Ireland which can protect people against meningitis B – however, it is only administered to babies.
The NHS explains that three separate doses are offered to tots when they are eight weeks, 16 weeks and one-year-old, alongside their other routine vaccines.
It states: “It’s best to have the MenB vaccines on time so children are protected when they’re most at risk of getting MenB illnesses.
“They can still have the MenB vaccine up to the age of two.
“Research has shown that the vaccine is very effective at preventing illnesses caused by these bacteria.”
Alison said she initially thought the 19-year-old had ‘overdone it’ at the festival with her friends (SWNS)
Now, Alison is calling on the NHS to roll out the drug to teenagers so that other families don’t have to experience the same heartbreak as hers.
She went on: “To know there is this vaccination out there, it hurts. You beat yourself up, like what could I have done to protect her?”
The mum reckons that a lot of people believe they are protected from meningitis B due to other vaccines they had as a child, but she emphasised the fact that this is a ‘different strain’.
Meningitis B is usually transmitted via mucus or saliva, meaning it is easily spread while sharing things like drinks, food, utensils and toothbrushes.
Alison wants to warn youngsters who might attend also festivals like dance student Livia did to be aware of the risks that close contact at these kinds of events brings.
She urged parents to consider getting their children vaccinated with the MenB vaccine, explaining that although it can cost £220 if done privately, she believes it is worth every penny.
In a post on Meningitis Research Foundation, Alison added: “We would have definitely paid for Livia to be vaccinated, and as Liv’s Grandad said, it would have been the best money we had ever spent.
“Just please get it, protect them and don’t be in the position that we are. We just don’t want anybody to have to go through what we are.
“Your life is never the same. If I couldn’t afford it, I’d give up anything to be able to protect my child.”
Featured Image Credit: SWNS
