Follow your instincts on signs of meningitis, widow urges
A WOMAN who lost her husband to meningitis has claimed that the public do not know the warning signs about the condition as she pledged to raise its profile to prevent a repeat of the tragedy.
Lesley Chandler-Clare’s husband, Kevin Leaver, died at the age of 50 in January 2000 from meningitis after his family had initially thought he was suffering from flu symptoms.
But 20 years on, Mrs ChandlerClare, of Guiseley, Leeds, claimed that there is still an ignorance about the condition which could cost lives.
“The disease took a very special man,” said Mrs Chandler-Clare. “I didn’t realise, until after his funeral, all that he did for people.
“With meningitis, the early symptoms can be anything,” she added. “You don’t think, if you’ve got a headache, and that’s what makes this condition so dangerous.”
Mrs Chandler-Clare has been campaigning throughout the past two decades since the death of her husband, who was a hugely popular geography teacher at St Mary’s School in Menston.
Mr Leaver died just four hours after he was taken to Airedale Hospital and consultants later confirmed that his death was caused by meningitis and septicemia.
“I’m talking 20 years later and I still can’t describe how awful that moment was,” said Mrs Chandler-Clare, who had two daughters, Claire and Laura, with her husband.
“I’d heard of the rash you get with meningitis, it never occurred to me to do it on Kevin.”
Yesterday, she completed a fundraiser, taking part in the charity’s Winter Walk, sponsored by many of Mr Leaver’s past pupils. Now remarried, Mrs Chandler-Clare was joined by her husband, Jeff, and his family, raising funds for further research and in the hope of raising awareness of symptoms.
The risk is often associated with babies and young children, she said, while the reality is that it can and does affect adults too.
“You’ve just got to follow your instincts, look out for each other, tell someone,” she said. “Meningitis doesn’t hang around, it can kill in hours.”