I was 18 when I developed a niggling headache at work - then I woke up in hospital with a deadly disease. These are the symptoms I wish I knew sooner

Claudia Gill knew something was terribly wrong when she woke up dazed and confused, squinting under bright lights in a hospital bed while hooked up to monitors. 

The last thing the then 18-year-old remembered was talking to someone in a hospital hallway hours earlier after she had arrived in an ambulance with a severe headache, stiffness, vomiting and sensitivity to light and noise. 

The 20-year-old, from Wollongong, had been placed in an isolation ward because she had contracted the contagious and potentially deadly meningococcal disease despite never developing the tell-tale purple rash.

She survived, albeit with lingering tinnitus and headaches, but doctors said if she had turned up to hospital just 30 minutes later she probably would have died. 

Now the ringing in her ears and pain in her head serve as a persistent reminder of the illness that almost took her life. 

Claudia Gill (pictured), from Wollongong, contracted the contagious and potentially deadly meningococcal disease 

The 20-year-old's first symptoms were a headache, light and noise sensitivity, vomiting and stiffness. She started slipping in and out of consciousness when she was on the way to hospital

Claudia told FEMAIL she wants all Australians to familiarise themselves with the signs and symptoms of meningococcal.

'I was so incredibly lucky - my story could have ended very differently. I urge people to learn the signs and symptoms and stay alert,' she said.  

In May 2022 when she was 18, Claudia had returned to her casual retail job after a family holiday in Queensland when her symptoms started. 

She had a bad headache and found she was sensitive to the lights and music. When she went home, her condition deteriorated further. 

'I got a stiff neck and I was nauseous then I ended up vomiting and passing out,' she recalled. 

'I was laying in my parents' bed really stiff. I couldn't move much because my head felt so swollen and sore. My dad was trying to get a doctor's appointment, but we couldn't get one.'

Claudia's dad, Sam, called an ambulance and the paramedics immediately suspected  she had meningitis. 

'I don't get sick that often so we thought it could have been the flu or an infection of some sort. I don't think the thought ever crossed any of our minds that it could have been meningococcal,' she said. 

'I managed to walk to the ambulance up my driveway into the ambulance. Looking back, I don't know how I walked but once I got into the ambulance, I just kept getting worse and worse.'

In May of 2022 when she was 18, Claudia had returned to her casual retail job after a family holiday in Queensland when her symptoms started

On the way to the hospital, paramedics were asking Claudia questions but she found it difficult to speak and she was slipping in and out of consciousness. 

The next thing she remembers was talking to a doctor in the hospital hallway and then waking up in an isolation ward hours later.

She never got the tell-tale purple rash (stock pictured)

'I had just the hospital gown on and all these monitors all over me. I remember thinking it was so bright and so loud and I was confused,' she said. 

While she was asleep, doctors had run a bunch of tests and a notoriously painful and unpleasant lumber puncture which she said she was happy to be unconscious for.

Tests confirmed Claudia had contracted invasive meningococcal disease, a bacterial infection affecting the blood or the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. 

It is spread by tiny drops of fluid from the nose and throat via coughing and sneezing. Cases go up in autumn and winter as cold weather drives gatherings into enclosed, indoor spaces. 

Meningococcal is commonly thought of as something that affects young children who break out in a rash however it is also prevalent in teenagers and young adults.

Doctors treated Claudia for the disease based on her symptoms but before it was confirmed as meningococcal can cause disabilities or even death if it isn't treated quickly enough.

While a rash that looks like red or purple pinprick spots or a larger bruise is a sign of meningococcal and often associated with the illness, it only develops in the later stages of the infection. 

Claudia said she only ever noticed two small red dots on her arm.

'I only got a tiny bit of the rash on my arm, but it was just a couple of red dots rather than that purple rash everyone knows about,' she said. 

Doctors treated her for the disease based on her symptoms but before it was confirmed as meningococcal can cause disabilities or even death if it isn't treated quickly enough. 

'Doctors said the time was pretty much what saved me. If we'd been half an hour later, it would have been a lot a lot worse,' she said. 

Claudia spent five days in hospital on antibiotics she responded well to and was able to return home and slowly start back at work. 

However, she has been left with lasting effects. 

'The headaches are worse than they were before, but they're manageable. I also have a bit of damage in my ears. If I go to a concert or an event where there's loud music, I have to wear earplugs,' she said. 

Claudia wants people to educate themselves on the signs and symptoms so they know when to go to hospital before it's too late(pictured with her parents Sam and Katrina and sister, Alice)

To this day, Claudia has no idea where she caught meningococcal even after medical staff tried to trace the cause to curb its spread.

'They did some tracking of where I'd been but we couldn't find anything so it's totally unknown where I got it,' she said. 

Claudia wants people to know how serious meningococcal can be and educate themselves on the signs and symptoms so they know when to go to hospital before it's too late.  

'It's interesting because I get one of two reactions, people are either like, "Oh, my God, that's so scary. I can't believe that happened", or they have no idea what it is and how serious it is,' she said. 

'If you've got any of the symptoms take it seriously and go get it checked because it can happen to anyone at any time.'

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