Olivia Griffiths said she went through the worst experience of her life
Robert Rowlands Deputy editor, money and lifestyle hub
10:44, 10 Apr 2026Updated 15:54, 10 Apr 2026
Olivia in hospital(Image: Jam Press/Olivia Griffiths)
A secondary school teacher has revealed how what seemed like a headache became the ‘worst experience of my life’. Olivia Griffiths’ health ordeal was so severe that she believed she was going to die. Her family were also told to prepare for the worst.
What made matters worse for Olivia was that this wasn’t her first encounter with this trauma. She now wants to highlight the symptoms – and has described in detail the serious effect the condition had on her life.
It began while Olivia was employed as a teacher at a secondary school. She was suffering intense head and neck pain for hours without recognising the symptoms warranted serious concern.
Olivia has been through a gruelling health battle(Image: Jam Press/Olivia Griffiths)
Less than 24 hours after the pain started, Olivia was rushed to intensive care and her family was cautioned to “prepare for the worst” as she received a diagnosis of bacterial meningitis. “My body couldn’t work properly – I thought I was going to die and that was the end, it felt like my body was giving up,” said Olivia, who hails from Bangor in North Wales, but now lives in Sheffield.
“My family came up from North Wales and they were told it could go either way and to prepare for the worst,” she said. “I just remember the panic.”
Olivia was merely 27 when her symptoms initially emerged in 2022. She experienced head and neck pain she had put down to workplace stress, alongside light sensitivity, sharp pain when moving her neck and more, reports the Mirror. The now 30 year old remembers her symptoms deteriorating “progressively worse” during the evening: she had become sluggish and disorientated, the discomfort “unbearable” to the extent that she awoke being sick. Olivia phoned her doctor the next morning and was told to “immediately” visit her GP practice.
Olivia at a friend’s wedding in 2025(Image: Jam Press/Olivia Griffiths)
While her doctor suspected viral meningitis, she was informed that bacterial meningitis is “rare”, before being dispatched to hospital, where she endured a punishing 12-hour wait. Bacterial meningitis was verified through a lumbar puncture, which Olivia characterised as “the most horrific experience”, and she was later moved to ICU.
‘I thought it was the end’
Remembering the instant she learned of her diagnosis, Olivia said: “I was told when I was in a really bad way. My body had given up and I couldn’t speak properly, but in my mind I thought that it was the end.
“I also couldn’t understand due to the delirium and my hearing was getting worse. I was also on steroids and this made my eyesight severely blurry and my head felt like it was vibrating with pain.”
Olivia remained in hospital for several weeks and received treatment with medication for both viral and bacterial meningitis, together with steroids to diminish the swelling on her brain. Her ordeal with meningitis resulted in Olivia developing severe hearing impairment, fibromyalgia/myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), post-meningitis syndrome and a series of chronic ailments including crippling migraines.
Just two years later, in September 2024, it struck again when Olivia was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis for a second time. She claims it was as though her “body and mind knew” she had it again as she experienced the exact same symptoms.
Having spent nearly two years recovering from her initial ordeal, Olivia had recently accepted a full-time teaching position after “sorting her life out” and working supply shifts to gradually ease herself back into her career. Yet she had been feeling the strain and pressure of the new role, which she believes may have weakened her immune system. She added: “I had the exact same headache, my partner wasn’t home but I texted him saying ‘I think I have meningitis again’.
“He instantly came home, rang 111 and they said go to hospital. We went to the hospital and I explained my symptoms – I was almost turned away and was told it wouldn’t be meningitis again as it ‘isn’t something that reoccurs’.”
Olivia heeded the hospital’s guidance and returned home – until two days later when her condition worsened and she was admitted and treated with medication and another lumbar puncture. She added: “This was the worst experience of my life as the lumbar puncture failed three times.
“It was so painful as it felt like there wasn’t enough anaesthetic. My partner wasn’t allowed in the room with me and said all he could hear was screams.
“I was told they would leave the lumbar puncture for a couple of days due to my experience, but I said if it is meningitis I don’t want to wait, so eventually had it done again. To everyone’s surprise, it confirmed meningitis again, a different strain.
“I was again hospitalised for weeks, but after this I felt my life and identity had actually been taken from me.” Olivia’s world was turned upside down following her second bout of meningitis.
‘I was told I wouldn’t be the same ever again’
Forced to abandon her teaching career, her days became dominated by “countless appointments” and being told she ‘wouldn’t be the same person again’. She describes the period between September and December 2024 as “the bleakest of her life”, having been diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety and depression.
Prescribed seven different medications, Olivia claims these actually aggravated her symptoms, including brain fog, chronic migraines, inflammation, anxiety and “lack of self awareness or control”. She firmly believes that people routinely fail to treat meningitis with the seriousness it deserves.
She added: “It felt like my illness and the disease wasn’t taken seriously enough. I do believe it’s because not enough awareness is made around it and people don’t understand the detrimental impact it has.
“I felt like my life was over because I was practically told it would be. I was living with chronic pain, deafness, I couldn’t do anything, I didn’t want to go anywhere, I had no drive which was unlike me.
“My career was taken, my hearing was taken, I felt I had no purpose.” However, Olivia refused to accept defeat, taking control by investigating solutions for those managing chronic illness and medical conditions.
‘It was the best thing that ever happened to me’
She made many lifestyle changes, including transforming her diet and removing processed and unhealthy foods, which ultimately enabled her to restore her vitality and even begin pilates – eventually resulting in her establishing her own pilates and nutrition coaching enterprise.
She explained: “I genuinely cannot believe where my life and business is at now. I haven’t taken a single medication in over a year, haven’t had a flare up in over a year, haven’t felt much stress or any negativity since putting my health and well-being first.
“I am busier than ever but feel in control of my life now and my feelings and health. Meningitis was, weirdly, the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Olivia is currently preparing to compete in the London Marathon in April to generate funds for the Meningitis Research Foundation. She said: “If someone told me two years ago you would be running the London Marathon in 2026 I would have laughed in their face as I was in no state to do so.
“I do count my blessings everyday and love life now!” Amidst the UK’s current meningitis outbreak, Olivia has voiced her perspective on the meningitis B jab, which she believes people should contemplate if they choose to.
She continued: “The key thing I believe is keeping your immune system up and healthy through nutrition and exercise. Putting this first has evidently healed me from the darkest time of my life, no medication did that!”
Olivia has also implored anyone displaying symptoms to seek help immediately. She stated: “You know your body, if something does not feel right, do not wait to get it checked.
“If it was a weekend and I had been out drinking, I probably would have thought I had a hangover. The fact it was midweek was what raised alarm bells for me.”
NHS meningitis symptoms watchlist
The NHS highlights warning signs that could suggest meningitis. The health authority notes these can appear rapidly and include:
a headacheseizures (fits)drowsiness or unresponsivenessbeing sicka rash that does not fade when a glass is rolled over it (but a rash will not always develop)a dislike of bright lightsa high temperature (fever)a stiff neck
The NHS website explains: “Meningitis is usually caused by a bacterial or viral infection. Bacterial meningitis is rarer but more serious than viral meningitis. The viruses and bacteria that cause meningitis can be spread through close contact with a person who has them.”
This can include:
contact with the person’s spit, such as kissing them, or sharing drinks or vapesbeing in close contact with the person for a lot of time, such as living in the same home