Family and friends of Lloyd Sutton who sadly died last October from bacterial meningitis, aged just 18, have spent the last year raising funds and awareness of the signs and symptoms of meningitis.
Tomorrow (OCT 5), is World Meningitis Day and Lloyd’s family wanted to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of meningitis to help others. This year, his family and friends have raised a phenomenal amount of money for the Meningitis Now charity and the Intensive Care Unit at the West Cumberland Hospital, part of North Cumbria Hospitals NHS Charity.
They have fundraised by climbing all 214 of the Wainwright Peaks since he died and are expecting up to 100 people to join them for the last walk on Latrigg fell on 12th October.
Bacterial meningitis is a more rare and serious form of meningitis which is an infection and inflammation of the fluid and protective membranes that surround the brain and the spinal cord.
Lloyd, of West Cumbria, was found unresponsive in his room by his parents one Thursday morning last October. His alarm was going off but he hadn’t knocked it off.
His parents, Louise and Tony, found Lloyd on the floor and called an ambulance. He was rushed to the West Cumberland Hospital with suspected meningitis and put into an induced coma.
A scan confirmed severe swelling on the brain and his parents were told that afternoon that he had just a 10 per cent chance of survival. If he did survive he would likely be severely brain damaged.
His dad said: “He was unlucky. His symptoms had flared up during the night and had it been during the day at work then he could have been treated a lot quicker and the outcome could have been very different
Sadly, Lloyd, who was an active lad, was pronounced dead on the Saturday following brain stem tests, with his devastated family all around him. He never regained consciousness.
“We had so much support from people in the weeks following,” said his mum, Louise.
A fundraising page was set up on Much Loved straight away and £2,000 was collected at the funeral.
Tony said: “On the original Much Loved page there has been £19,500 raised to date. £4,000 of this went to WCH ITU and the remainder to Meningitis Now. To date, we have also raised £17,000 on the Walk for Lloyd Justgiving page, so in total, £32,500 has been raised for Meningitis Now. I know for sure that at least another £5,000 will go on the Walk for Lloyd page by the end of the year.”
The family continue to fundraise and are now tackling all of the Wainwright peaks.
“Walking keeps us going,” said Louise. “Each week I look forward to what the weekend walk will bring and where we will be going. I don’t know what I would have done without the walks. It has helped me to stop my mind from wandering to bad places.”
Tony said: “So far we have completed 211 of the fells. We are doing two this weekend and the final one on 12th October. We are expecting up to 100 people joining us for the last one on Latrigg fell.”
Tony and Louise remain in regular contact with Meningitis Now and this year met other families in a similar position to themselves.
AJ, one of the eight organisers of the weekend walks, said: “Lloyd was a very important person in a lot of people’s lives who had the pleasure of knowing him and sharing many happy memories and laughs with him. He always knew how to put a smile on people’s faces.
“To us he was someone we could call a best friend and we have done for many years now, some of us growing up with him since nursery at Beckstone and some of us meeting him in secondary school at Workington Academy.
“We are all thankful to have been able to call Lloyd a best friend and had the honour of sharing many funny and joyful memories with him and him always being there for us.
“Now we want to raise as much money for Meningitis Now as we can and to spread awareness about this disease along the way.”
You can visit their fundraising page here.
What are the symptoms of bacterial meningitis?
- Painful, stiff neck with limited range of motion.
- Headaches.
- High fever.
- Feeling confused or sleepy.
- Bruising easily all over the body.
- A rash on the skin.
- Sensitivity to light.
DO NOT wait for a rash. If someone is ill and getting worse, trust your instincts - Get medical help immediately.
For more information visit: https://www.meningitisnow.org/
Find out more about raising funds for our charity, or like our North Cumbria NHS Hospitals charity page on Facebook.