Anyone who has ever recovered from profound loss will say staying active and involved makes grief more bearable.
For Michelle and Talbot Elkins, whose 15-year-old daughter, Jessica, died Dec. 26, 2007, of bacterial meningitis, the answer has been to become the state representatives for Meningitis Angels. The couple traveled to Texas in October for a conference of the group.
Frankie Milley founded meningitis Angels.org in memory of her son Ryan, who died of meningitis. The site is intended for awareness and educational purposes and does not disseminate medical advice. It is also a fundraising effort for the Meningitis Foundation. The group advocates vaccinating children against the disease.
“Our goal is that all children get a meningitis shot,” said Michelle Elkins. “We would like it mandatory for every child in Alabama. Our oldest daughter got the shot at 15 and Michelle was scheduled to get the shot at her annual checkup that would have been in March.”
Menactra and Menomune are two widely used vaccines against bacterial meningitis.
“We recommend that children get vaccinated at the age of 11,” said Michelle. “We talked to drug representatives at the conference and they said it is not too soon to use as an infant booster.”
Michelle said meningitis inoculations are mandatory in Texas. She said she and Talbot will lobby legislators to make the shots mandatory in Alabama.
“Meningitis is out there and it is affecting so many people daily,” she said.
According to the Web site keepkidshealthy.com, about 2,600 people get meningococcal disease each year in the U.S. Five to 10 percent of these people die, in spite of treatment with antibiotics. Of those who live, another 11to19 percent lose their arms or legs, become deaf, have problems with their nervous systems, become mentally retarded, or suffer seizures or strokes.
“It’s up to us as a community to go to our legislators and get this passed in Alabama,” said Michelle of the effort for mandatory shots.
“I never want another family to go through what we did,” she said. “We never dreamed that it would hit our family. We are hoping that September 23—Jess’s birthday—can be declared Meningitis Awareness Day in Athens.”
For more information on meningitis, visit Meningitis.org
Local News
December 26, 2008
Activism provides solace for grieving parents
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