Meningococcal meningitis: Mum’s charity walk raises awareness after teenager’s sudden death

“He was a bit of a people magnet.

“He’d pull in those people that were on the outside and say, ‘Hey, come and be part of our group.’ He just included people.

“That’s just who Dion was,” she said.

Todd Horton aims to walk 172.6 km from Oamaru to Ashburton along SH1, honouring Dion’s memory. Photo / Supplied

As the anniversary of his death approaches, Horton aims to walk from Oamaru to Ashburton along SH1, a distance of 172.6km.

Her goal is to raise $7500 for the Meningitis Foundation on her Givealittle page.

“Someone messaged me and said, ‘Good luck for the walk, I can just see him now, his skinny little white chest puffed out, saying, ‘That’s my mum’.”

Todd Horton aims to walk the 172.6km stretch from Oamaru to Ashburton along SH1, honouring Dion’s memory. Photo / Supplied

‘If I had my suspicions, he wouldn’t have gone’

The tragedy began as a minor cough that Hodder brushed off because he wanted to attend a St John cadet camp on Motutapu Island.

Horton dropped her son off to catch the bus, extremely excited to see his long-distance girlfriend, who was also at the camp.

“If I had my suspicions, he wouldn’t have gone.

“He was bouncing off walls. He was eating normally, he’d been sleeping fine,” she said.

Hodder boarded the ferry to the island and told his friends he felt his heart beating fast, but it was thought to be because of his fear of water.

Dion Hodder, 16, was known for being kind and caring. Photo / Supplied

“The next morning, he was quite pale, wasn’t particularly hungry, which definitely wasn’t like him,” Horton said.

He was monitored throughout the day, but when he came in from lunch, staff could tell something wasn’t right.

About 5pm her mobile phone rang, and it was one of the leaders at camp.

She was told the Westpac Trust Rescue Helicopter was on its way because Hodder had been vomiting.

All his vital signs were good, but one of the leaders wasn’t happy with his condition and insisted he be airlifted to hospital.

The disease progressed rapidly – there were no skin blotches before the short helicopter flight, but they appeared by the time he arrived at the emergency department.

Meningitis can occur due to a viral, bacterial or fungal infection and requires emergency medical treatment.

At the time, Horton said she and her husband didn’t realise how serious the situation was when they jumped into the car in Kerikeri for the four-and-a-half-hour drive to hospital.

As doctors fought to save him, a friend of Horton’s who was already at the hospital called her during the drive and broke the news: her son was suspected to have meningitis.

Horton said she struggled to keep the news from her husband, wanting him to stay focused on the drive.

Dion was becoming agitated, and the decision was made to sedate and intubate him.

The couple arrived at hospital about 10.45pm.

“I don’t remember a lot of it. It’s a bit muddled … We shot up to the ward, and they were just wheeling Dion past us.”

He was on his way through for a CT at the time, and staff told them they could see him briefly.

“I remember the bed coming out and my gorgeous boy being on the bed and just tubes and wires and a non-responsive boy.

Dion Hodder was Order of St John Cadet of the Year in 2016. Photo / Claire Gordon

“I remember vaguely saying to him, ‘You fight. You’ve got this son. You’re strong and I love you’.”

Some time later, a nurse came in and told them that his heart had stopped.

She said she declined to watch the staff perform CPR because she couldn’t bear the image in her mind.

“They came through about five minutes later and said, ‘He’s gone.’

“I walked into the room, but he still wasn’t Dion as far as I was concerned.

“He didn’t look like him.”

She said she stood at the doorway and spoke to him from there.

“I don’t think my brain wanted to believe that he was gone. You’re not supposed to bury your kids,” she said.

Dion Hodder died aged 16 on October 20, 2018, from meningococcal septicaemia due to having meningitis. Photo / Givealittle

Symptoms in adults and children

A stiff, sore neck. A sensitivity to light, or a dislike of bright lights (an early warning sign of meningitis).  A severe headache. If the child or adult is difficult to wake, or in a drowsy and confused state. A fever, sometimes accompanied by cold hands and feet. Aching sore joints. Vomiting – a common symptom of meningitis in both children and adults.  Convulsive fits or seizures is characteristic of meningitis.  

Who is eligible for vaccines?

In New Zealand, you are eligible for a free meningococcal B vaccine if you are under 5 years old, or if you are a young person aged between 13 and 25 entering your first year of a close-living situation, such as a boarding school or university hall of residence.

The MenACWY and MenB vaccines are free for adolescents and young adults aged 13–25 in these close-living situations.

Other vaccines are also available for purchase through a doctor if you don’t meet the criteria for a free vaccination.