A heartbroken wife has told of the catastrophic shock of losing her ‘fit and healthy’ husband to a devastating infection that killed him in three hours.
Pete Hynes, 40, went for a ‘lie down’ one Saturday morning in December 2022 after suffering a sudden earache, which he put down to a cold that had struck the rest of the family.
But moments later he collapsed.
An ambulance rushed him to the local hospital, where tests revealed he was suffering from the deadly bacterial infection, meningococcal meningitis.
The disease involves lethal bacteria called Neisseria meningitidis infecting the membranes that cover and protect the brain and spinal cord.
It progresses quickly, as the bug soon enters the blood and damages the walls of the blood vessels, causing bleeding in the skin and organs. Often, this triggers life-threatening sepsis.
Despite doctors’ attempts to save the father-of-three, Mr Hynes died within three hours, The Mirror reported.
‘We could never have known that our lives were to forever change from that day onwards,’ said his wife, Lou Hynes, 48, a careers coach.
Pete Hynes, 40, went for a ‘lie down’ one Saturday morning in December 2022 after suffering a sudden earache, which he put down to a cold that had struck the rest of the family
Despite doctors’ attempts to save the father-of-three, Mr Hynes died within three hours
Meningitis, affects about 8,000 people in the UK each year.
Children, babies and young adults are most often affected, as their immune systems are weaker.
Meningitis can be caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi.
Bacterial meningitis is the most severe and rare, affects just one in 100,000 people. A quarter of cases in adults prove fatal.
Symptoms include a sudden onset of fever, intense headache, neck stiffness, nausea and vomiting – all of which can seem similar to a flu or stomach bug.
But the infection spreads quickly, and can develop into sepsis – a violent immune system response to the infection in which the body begins to attack its own organs.
Those with sepsis or meningitis will often develop a rash of tiny red or ‘pinprick’ marks which can turn into larger red or purple areas resembling bruises.
Most rashes will fade under pressure, such as when pressed under a glass, as blood supply is restricted and the skin whitens.
The infection has left a lasting impact on the Hynes family.
The family has so far raised over £6,000 for charity Meningitis Now, via a JustGiving page
Ms Hynes has described times since her husband’s death when she ‘just couldn’t get out of bed’.
‘I’d never experienced anything like it. The kids were coming in and talking to me, their mouths were moving, but I couldn’t hear any words and I literally couldn’t move,’ she said.
‘The paralysis was the culmination of all those months of not having processed Pete’s death at all.
‘Reality suddenly hit, This is my life now. It all culminated in that kind of breakdown.’
‘I honestly felt that anyone could have said or done anything and I wouldn’t have cared, I had completely zoned out.’
The family has so far raised over £6,000 for charity Meningitis Now, via a JustGiving page.
There is a vaccine for meningitis but Mr Hynes would not have been eligible.
The MenACWY vaccine – which protects against the four most common strains of meningitis – is offered at school and is available to anyone under 25.
And the MenB vaccine – protection against the bacteria that caused the infection that killed Pete – was introduced in 2016 but is only offered to babies on the NHS.
Research shows that teenagers are at high risk of the infection.
One in four 15-19 year olds carry the bacteria in their throat, compared to one in ten of the UK population so are more likely to spread it.
The UKHSA has previously warned that every year University students get ‘seriously ill, with some tragically dying’ from the preventable disease.
UKHSA consultant epidemiologist, Dr Shamez Ladhani, said: ‘With large numbers of students coming together from around the country and overseas for the first time, and closely mixing, infection can spread easily.
‘Ensuring you are protected against these deadly bugs is vital.’