He said it started with a persistent headache, but his symptoms moved in an “aggressive nature” and soon involved a loss of appetite, hot and cold flushes and sensitivity to light.
Vomiting and a rash came later. Luckily, his mum recognised the symptoms and rushed him to hospital.
The 21-year-old student, who also developed sepsis, spent the next 10 days in intensive care before his condition began to improve.
The local health board was able to issue emergency vaccines to people who he had been in close contact with, preventing further spread.
Ross has felt sadness seeing the situation unfold at the University of Kent – but nevertheless feels a sense of relief that his own experience was not worse.
He continued: “It’s definitely kind of weird when you look at the faces of the people that have passed away, they were the same age as me.
“When you look at one case and look at another, one person has passed, one person hasn’t there’s a really, very fine line.”
He warned his fellow students against sharing drinks and vapes on nights out and said anyone with concerns should seek medical help.