Matthew Griffin, a film production and script writing student, was fighting for his life in a coma on his 21st birthday after he came down with deadly meningitis.

Matthew woke up with an agonizing headache following a shift at a pub the night before. Instead of attending his lecture at Worcester University, he tried to just sleep off. He then violently vomiting up green bile, but went back to bed thinking he was either suffering from the flu or food poisoning. His parents found him lying unconscious on the kitchen floor just hours later. He was rushed to hospital where he was diagnosed with potentially deadly bacterial meningitis.

The onset of bacterial meningitis symptoms is fast, within 24 hours and if allowed to progress, can be fatal in one in ten cases. Matthew wants to warn others not to dismiss their symptoms, especially students who are at a high risk. Older teenagers and university students are encouraged to get the MenACWY vaccine available to all those starting university.

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