She Came Home Exhausted, Complained of a Headache… and Then This Happened

When 19-year-old Livia Wilson returned from a music festival with a pounding headache, her mother, Alison Goude, thought she had just “overdone it.” Livia, a waitress from York, took some paracetamol and went to bed, hoping to feel better in the morning. But tragically, she never woke up.

It wasn’t until later that tests confirmed Livia had contracted meningitis B, a deadly bacterial infection that causes swelling in the brain. Her sudden death left her family in shock and sparked a call for better vaccine access. Now, Alison is urging the NHS to offer a potentially life-saving vaccine to teens who, like Livia, may be vulnerable to the disease.

In the UK and Ireland, infants receive the Bexsero vaccine—a vaccine that protects against meningococcal group B—at 8 weeks, 16 weeks, and one year old. However, this protection is only offered to children born after 2015, leaving older children and teenagers unprotected under the current NHS guidelines.

“To know there is this vaccination out there, it hurts. You beat yourself up, like what could I have done to protect her?” Alison said. Livia had just returned from Parklife, a Manchester festival in June 2022, when she began feeling ill. Although Alison initially thought it was a case of exhaustion from a busy weekend, the events of June 15 would be her last moments with her daughter.

“She came back after the weekend, and she was straight back into work,” Alison shared. Livia was scheduled to work late at her restaurant job, but feeling unwell, she was sent home. “She did say it was the ‘worst headache’ she’d ever had, but she planned to do a Covid test in the morning,” Alison explained. Livia went to bed after taking painkillers, and that was the last time Alison saw her daughter alive.

Meningitis B can spread through close contact, such as sharing drinks, food, or utensils, and often strikes without warning. It can lead to symptoms like fever, severe headache, vomiting, and a rash. According to Alison, her daughter’s sudden death has been an unimaginable loss. “She loved life,” Alison recalled. “It took a long time to find out what caused it… You just didn’t ever expect it.”

Alison now advocates for parents to consider paying privately for the MenB vaccine, which can cost around £220, to protect teens and young adults. Teens are particularly vulnerable due to their frequent close contact at gatherings like festivals, where infections can easily spread. “Just please get it, protect them, and don’t be in the position that we are in,” Alison pleaded. “If I couldn’t afford it, I’d give up anything to protect my child.”

Despite Alison’s pleas, the MenB vaccine remains unavailable to teens on the NHS. Dr. Andrew Lee, Regional Deputy Director of the UK Health Security Agency, noted that while the NHS does provide a meningitis ACWY vaccine for adolescents, it does not currently cover MenB. “MenB is a rare, but terrible disease, and this is yet another devastating reminder of how serious it can be,” he said. However, he noted that the MenB vaccine does not prevent the transmission of the bacteria, meaning it wouldn’t contribute to herd immunity. “Our thoughts are with Livia Wilson’s family,” he added.

Brian Davies, Head of Health Insights and Policy at Meningitis Research Foundation, emphasized the need to protect teenagers, who are also at high risk for the disease. While the introduction of a MenB vaccine for infants in 2015 was a breakthrough, Davies believes more can be done. “Alongside this, it’s also important to know that meningitis vaccines offer protection against the different types of bacteria that cause meningitis, but no one single vaccine protects against them all,” Davies stated. He urged parents to familiarize themselves with the symptoms of meningitis to seek urgent help when needed.

Symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia can escalate quickly and be life-threatening. Key warning signs include fever, vomiting, confusion, a severe headache, sensitivity to light, and a rash that doesn’t fade under pressure. Septicaemia, or blood poisoning, can cause symptoms like pale skin, muscle pain, rapid breathing, and cold hands or feet. Both conditions can be fatal within hours, so it’s essential to act fast if symptoms appear.

Although Alison faces the devastating loss of her daughter, she remains hopeful that awareness will encourage other parents to vaccinate their teens against meningitis B. “We just don’t want anybody to go through what we are,” she said.