Vaccinations could have prevented death of a young man

MOTHER OF CHILD WITH MENIGOCOCCAL MENINGITIS WISHES SHE COULD

HAVE DONE MORE FOR HER SON BEFORE HE DIED

PROVO, Utah, Oct. 4, 2016. Instead of watching her son pitch for his college baseball team,
Lynn Bozof was watching nurses disconnect him from the machines that were keeping him alive.
Evan was 20 years old, a college junior, honors student and pitcher for his baseball team at
Georgia Southwestern University when he contracted meningococcal meningitis. Bozof worried
about her son being on his own and taking care of himself in college things most moms stress
about. However, she never thought she would be worrying about her young, healthy and active
boy contracting a deadly disease that ultimately could have been prevented.
When Evan complained of a horrible headache and feeling nauseous, Bozof did not really think
anything of it. Migraines ran in the family, so Bozof assumed that her son may just came down
with a fever. After symptoms persisted, Evan emitted himself in the ER to see what was really
going on in his body.
Bozof received a call from the doctor notifying her that Evan had meningococcal meningitis and
was in critical condition. I knew so little about meningitis that when the doctor said that it was
bacterial, I thought that was a better type to have. I thought, well, at least there were antibiotics,
said Bozof.
However, she didnt realize that bacterial meningitis, especially the meningococcal meningitis
that Evan had, would be much more deadly. Bozof and her husband immediately began their
three-hour journey to get to their son in hopes that he would still be alive when they got there.
When Bozof and her husband arrived to the hospital they were briefed on the next steps for Evan.
They were told that the next 24 hours would be critical.
Within that 24 hours Evan was transferred to a larger hospital, put on a ventilator, and put in a
drug-induced coma. His kidneys, liver, lungs and eventually organs began to shut down. His
fingers, toes, ears and nose all turned black.
After two weeks his arms and legs were amputated in hopes to stop the disease from spreading.
The next day Evan suffered 10 hours of grand mal seizures caused by irreversible brain swelling.
Evan was brain-dead.
This son of ours, loved more than we can put into words, had to be disconnected from the
machines that were keeping him alive, recalls Bozof. He had to be put into a body bag right in
front of our eyes.
Meningococcal meningitis, a type of bacterial meningitis, is a rare, but serious infection that
causes the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord to be inflamed. In some cases, it can
cause death or severe disability within hours. The disease may bring on many symptoms
however; all of them may not be presented immediately.

A healthy young person can contract meningococcal meningitis, grow desperately sick, and die in
as little as 24 hours after the first symptoms appear. In Evans case that time was crucial in
getting him the treatment that he needed to attempt to fight this disease off.
While Evans case was one of the rare ones, 10 to 15 percent of those who contract
meningococcal meningitis die. Among those who survive, approximately one out of five live with
permanent disabilities such as brain damage, hearing loss, loss of kidney function, or limb
amputations. However, these statistics can be avoided with simple vaccinations.
There are two types of vaccines needed; one protects against serogroups A,C,Y,W, and the other
protects against serogroup B. A serogroup is a group of bacteria containing a common antigen.
These vaccines that are given protect against these groups of bacteria taking over the body. The
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that all 11-12 year olds receive the ACYW
vaccine with a booster dose at age 16. They also recommend that in conjunction with your health
care provider, you discuss having the serogroup B vaccine between the ages of 16-23.
Dara Torres, 12-time Olympic swimming medalist, will be touring the state swimming a 24-lap
race against local high school swim teams, with Lynn Bozof, to raise awareness that
meningococcal meningitis could take a life in 24 hours, just like it did Evans. Learn more
information about the disease and prevention with vaccinations at the CDC and Voices of
Meningitis sponsored event taking place at Provo High School on October 17, 2016.
For more information about the event please visit: www.raceagainstmeningitis.com
Contact:

Tianalei Siufanua
tianalei_95@yahoo.com
(619) 971-2765

Caption: Evan Bozof as a young, healthy student athlete. Photo by Lynn Bozof.

Bacteria of invasive meningococcal meningitis. Photo by Joseph Domachowske.

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