A 23-year-old left paralysed after she contracted meningitis is walking for the first time in nearly five years.
Jemma Pressman, from Eastleigh, Hampshire, has described her ’emotional’ journey back to mobility as ‘like being reborn’.
Miss Pressman spent more than a year in rehabilitation at a hospital in Southampton and had to learn everything, from the ‘little things to the massive things’.
And moving video footage, released to give fellow victims hope, shows her using a metal walking frame to help her take a few steps.
She said: ‘Mum was so pleased when she saw me walking, she whipped out her camera and started filming… it was very emotional. She just couldn’t believe it.’
Miss Pressman fell victim to meningitis – which can strike with similar symptoms as ‘fresher’s flu’ – and encephalitis, swelling of the brain, in September 2013 while studying at Leicester University.
The law student, who was getting ready for her second year, developed a fever and vomiting – but the then 19-year-old wasn’t concerned.
Jemma Pressman, from Eastleigh, Hampshire, has described her ’emotional’ journey back to mobility as ‘like being reborn’
Her journey to walking again
Miss Pressman, who had to give up studying, spent a year relearning how to walk in Western Community Hospital, Southampton.
Speaking for the first time about her ordeal, she said: ‘I couldn’t walk at this stage. I had to learn how to speak, eat, brush my hair – all sorts.’
And when she was finally discharged, in October 2014, going back to live with her mother, she realised her mental health had been affected by her ordeal.
Miss Pressman added: ‘When you’re in hospital, you don’t feel different. But when you get home, it reminds you how life once was.
‘I was so, so scared to go out. I felt like I couldn’t. I was stuck in a wheelchair.
‘On top of this, all my muscles wasted away, I had to build them up again, it was like being reborn.’
Then, after intensive rehabilitation, a short while ago Miss Pressman started walking. At first slowly, she gradually built up her steps.
Now, with the aid of a metal walking frame, she can move about her home.
Miss Pressman fell victim to meningitis – which can strike with similar symptoms as ‘fresher’s flu’ – in September 2013 while studying at Leicester University (pictured in an induced coma)
Miss Pressman said: ‘I’m feeling a lot more confident. Initially, I didn’t realise how awkward I looked, walking about.
‘I was scared I would fall, but I’m not anymore.
‘I am positive about the future. I can walk around indoors. One of my goals is to be functional and get things out the fridge. It’s what I aim for.
‘You always get moments where you think, “Why did it happen to me? My life was fine before, I was doing everything right.” But you can’t let that hold you back.’
Recalling the night she fell ill
Miss Pressman, who now hopes to train on the job to become a lawyer, remembers how she started feeling sick on the night of September 13, 2013.
Her mother, Shev, thought it was mumps and drove 130 miles to collect her and take her back to Hampshire to look after her.
The law student, who was getting ready for her second year, developed a fever and vomiting – but the then 19-year-old wasn’t concerned (pictured in hospital)
Miss Pressman said: ‘I had a stiff neck, I ached, I was vomiting and felt generally unwell.
‘Concerned, literally the minute she finished work, Mum drove straight up to collect me.
‘I thought I was feeling better, but in the early hours of the Saturday morning, I started being sick.
‘I had a really bad headache, I couldn’t stand light and I ached so much.’
Her mother, 51, dialled the NHS non-emergency number, 111, and was told to take her straight to casualty at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester.
‘Things went downhill quickly’
Miss Pressman added: ‘The last thing I remember is speaking to the triage nurse at the hospital. But, after that, things went downhill quickly.’
Placed in an induced coma, Jemma was taken for a CT scan. There, doctors realised something was drastically wrong.
Miss Pressman said: ‘Medics realised there was swelling in my brain and they rushed me in an ambulance from Hampshire County Hospital to the bigger Southampton General Hospital.
Miss Pressman, who also had to relearn how to speak, eat and brush her hair, now recalls her horrific ordeal at universities across the UK
Miss Pressman, who now hopes to train on the job to become a lawyer, remembers how she started feeling sick on the night of September 13, 2013 (pictured with her twin sister, Leah)
‘They put a drain in my brain to reduce the pressure, leaving it in for about three weeks. Afterwards, when I was taken out of sedation, they realised I had meningitis and encephalitis.
‘I don’t know if the two illnesses were linked. Maybe because I was run down, it was easier to catch two infections.’
So she could be closer to her mother, Miss Pressman was transferred back to Winchester, spending nearly four months in intensive care, reliant on a ventilator.
She added: ‘This period of my life is very hazy. I was deeply confused and didn’t understand why I was in a hospital bed.
‘Initially paralysed by the infection, when the feeling came back in my right side, after a few weeks I had to learn to swallow, make sounds and even blink again.’
Encouraging students to get the jab
She now recalls her horrific ordeal at universities across the UK to try and encourage other students to get the MenACWY vaccine, available on the NHS.
Older teenagers and university students are encouraged to get the vaccine to protect themselves against the deadly bacteria.
This group is thought to be at a higher risk of infection because they mix closely with lots of new people – some of whom may unknowingly carry the meningococcal bacteria at the back of their noses and throats.
For more information about meningitis, visit Meningitis Now – who Miss Pressman is an ambassador for.
Speaking for the first time about her battle with meningitis, she said: ‘I had a stiff neck, I ached, I was vomiting and felt generally unwell’
Moving video footage, released to give fellow victims hope, shows her using a metal walking frame to help her take a few steps
Miss Pressman said: ‘I’m feeling a lot more confident. Initially, I didn’t realise how awkward I looked, walking about’
Her mother, Shev, (pictured together) 51, dialled the NHS non-emergency number, 111, and was told to take her straight to casualty at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester when she picked her up
Older teenagers and university students are encouraged to get the jab to protect themselves against the deadly bacteria (pictured on her 18th birthday with her sister and a friend)
For more information about meningitis, visit Meningitis Now – who Miss Pressman is an ambassador for
WHAT IS MENINGITIS?
Meningitis is inflammation of the membranes that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord.
Anyone can be affected but at-risk people include those aged under five, 15-to-24 and over 45.
People exposed to passive smoking or with suppressed immune systems, such as patients undergoing chemotherapy, are also more at risk.
The most common forms of meningitis are bacterial and viral.
Symptoms for both include:
- Pale, blotchy skin with a rash that does not fade when compressed with a glass
- Stiff neck
- Dislike of bright lights
- Fever, and cold hands and feet
- Vomiting
- Drowsiness
- Severe headache
Headache is one of the main symptoms
Bacterial meningitis
Bacterial meningitis requires urgent treatment at hospital with antibiotics.
Some 10 per cent of bacterial cases are fatal.
Of those who survive, one in three suffer complications, including brain damage and hearing loss.
Limb amputation is a potential side effect if septicaemia (blood poisoning) occurs.
Vaccines are available against certain strains of bacteria that cause meningitis, such as tuberculosis.
Viral meningitis
Viral is rarely life-threatening but can cause long-lasting effects, such as headaches, fatigue and memory problems.
Thousands of people suffer from viral meningitis every year in the UK.
Treatment focuses on hydration, painkillers and rest.
Although ineffective, antibiotics may be given when patients arrive at hospital just in case they are suffering from the bacterial form of the disease.
Source: Meningitis Now