Family of Keiren Edney urge teenagers to get meningitis jab

Friends and family of Keiren Edney  are urging young teenagers who are eligible to have the meningitis ACWY vaccine but haven’t had it yet, to do so following the 21 year-old’s sudden death last month.

Keiren Edney, a teaching assistant at Melksham Oak, died  suddenly in September from a rare from of meningitis. His friends and family are now raising awareness about the importance of getting the meningitis ACWY vaccine and are urging young teenagers who are eligible to contact their GP.

A memorial event for Keiren has been organised by Melksham Town Football Club at the Conigre on 9th October. See page 19 for more details.

Keiren’s mum, Louise Edney said, “The one thing we would like to come out of this is to hopefully raise awareness about meningitis and how important it is to be vaccinated. At the moment, only young teenagers and first year university students are eligible for the vaccine.

“I truly believe everyone should be offered it but for now, those who have the opportunity should definitely take it.

“There are almost no warning signs. Keiren said he had a sore throat and felt sick the night before  he died but assumed he had a sickness bug. In the morning he said he still didn’t feel very well but still got ready for work.

“It was my daughter who said he didn’t look right, and when I saw him I called 999 straight away. His face was a funny colour and his lips and finger nails were blue. Then on the way to the hospital in the ambulance his heart stopped and there wasn’t anything they could do. He went downhill in just one hour; it happened very quickly.

“I never thought in a million years he would die. I thought once he was in hospital they would give him antibiotics and he would be fine, maybe spend a few days recovering. But I never imagined it would end like that. We still can’t believe it, we’re still in shock.

“The support we have received from the whole community has been incredible. The cards, flowers, messages of sympathy have helped.

“We can’t thank everyone enough for their kind words and support, it’s been quite overwhelming. Especially to hear all the lovely stories about Ned that we didn’t know about. It’s clear he was a very popular member of staff at Melksham Oak and helped a lot of students, especially those who were being bullied. Knowing how many people he made an impact on is wonderful and we are so proud of him.”

Lydia Williams, Keiren’s girlfriend said, “I would like to say thank you to everyone for their kinds words and support at this difficult time.

“Moving forward from this horrendous situation, we need to spread awareness. Please please, please go and speak to your doctor and get the meningitis ACWY vaccine. It’s so important and I don’t want anyone else out there to go through what we’ve all had too.”

Keiren’s dad, Dale Edney said, “It’s been a very difficult few weeks but with the support we’ve had from the community has helped. The messages on Facebook have been so lovely to read and we are grateful to everyone who has offered their sympathies. Especially Lydia’s dad Simon Williams. He read the eulogy at Keiren’s funeral and has been our rock.

“The meningitis ACWY  vaccine is currently only available to a sixth form students and ‘freshers’ at university but it’s not  compulsory and it should be. We strongly believe everyone should have the vaccine. There certainly needs to be more awareness about how dangerous meningitis is. You don’t think it will happen to you or your family member but we are proof that it does. We had heard of meningitis before of course, but never for one second thought we would be affected by it.”

A friend of Keiren’s, Larry Goddard, took to Facebook to spread awareness about the meningitis vaccine. His post has been shared over 800 times.

He said, “This post is to spread awareness and urge everyone who hasn’t already contacted their doctors to do so and get the meningitis ACWY vaccine as soon as possible to avoid any more tragedies.

“Please also be aware that there have been a few other reported cases recently of people around the same age as Ned passing away or getting very sick from the same thing so this shows that, although it’s rare, it’s not just a once in a blue moon thing.

Thanks for reading and make sure you share to spread word.”

Louise Edney added, “We fully support Larry’s campaign and hope everyone who reads it, does book an appointment at their doctors surgery straight away if they are eligible to do so.”