Scars of survival: Moving series of portraits captures the brutal effects meningitis inflicts on chi

Scars of survival: Moving series of portraits captures the brutal effects meningitis inflicts on children and young adults Photos capture 15 young people who lost limbs to meningococcal disease The meningitis-related illness seems like a flu but can be near-fatal Photographer Anne Geddes wanted to portray them as beautiful survivors  Jamie Schanbaum (pictured 2nd row, on the left) was 19 when she fell ill with what seemed like flu. Within weeks she had lost both legs and all her fingers to meningococcal disease - a meningitis-related illness.  But six years later, staring stoically into the camera, she is now the star of a striking series of photographs honoring survivors. The 25-year-old is one of fifteen young adults and children to pose for the revered photographer Anne Geddes. In her case, she was fashioned as a Helen Of Troy character. And a set of twins (pictured 5th row) embraced lovingly - one having lost her limbs, the other unaffected. The project started as part of a campaign being jointly run by charities including Meningitis Now and the Meningitides Research Foundation. It has since grown, however, into a what Geddes sees as her best work to date.  ‘I’ve been photographing for 30 years and I think this would be the most significant project that I’ve ever done,’ the Australian photographer told CBS. 'I wanted the images to be timeless. The vast majority of the 15 survivors [photographed] don’t have legs.  'So I had to find a way to portray them, to give them a sense of strength and their own sense of individuality.'  The disease is caused by an infection of the meninges cells in the brain and spinal cord which can lead to blood poisoning. Symptoms include a severe headache, fever, vomiting, blotchy skin and usually cold hands or feet. Viral meningitis - the other type - is far more common but less serious. Other children appearing in the photographs are Harvey Parry, eight, who contracted the condition when he was one, and Ellie-May Challis, who was infected at just 16 months. In an interview with the Daily Mail last year, Geddes said: ‘As a mother and passionate advocate of children, I want to empower parents to understand meningitis and know how best to protect their children. ‘You only need to look at Amber, Ellie and Harvey to understand the impact of this devastating disease. It really would be your worst nightmare to see any child go through such an ordeal. ‘But at the same time, these children and their families are overcoming huge obstacles to rebuild their lives and these beautiful pictures capture their strength in the face of adversity.’  adoptpets: This is some of the most beautiful photography that I’ve ever seen. And the young adults and children are absolutely gorgeous. These photos are just breathtakingly beautiful. This is a great reminder too to get the meningitis vaccine. If you are an adult consider it, and if you have children definitely get them vaccinated. According to Wiki: “The most important form of prevention is a vaccine against N. meningitidis. Different countries have different strains of the bacteria and therefore use different vaccines. Five serogroups, A, B, C, Y and W135 are responsible for virtually all cases of the disease in humans. Vaccines are currently available against all five strains, including the newest vaccine against serogroup B. The first vaccine to prevent meningococcal serogroup B (meningitis B) disease was approved by the European Commission on 22 January 2013. The vaccine is manufactured by Novartis and sold under the trade name Bexsero. Bexsero is for use in all age groups from two months of age and older. Menveo of Novartis vaccines Menactra, Menomune of Sanofi-Aventis, Mencevax of GlaxoSmithKline and NmVac4-A/C/Y/W-135 (has not been licensed in the US) of JN-International Medical Corporation are the commonly used vaccines. Vaccines offer significant protection from three to five years (plain polysaccharide vaccine Menomune, Mencevax and NmVac-4) to more than eight years (conjugate vaccine Menactra).” -- source link

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