Lucas Martin, who studied at the University of Liverpool, died aged 21 after the shock diagnosis
19:40, 07 Oct 2025Updated 19:41, 07 Oct 2025
Lucas Martin with his parents
A family has urged university students to be vigilant after a man dismissed deadly meningitis as symptoms of flu. Lucas Martin studied at the University of Liverpool and had just graduated in international business in 2023 when he fell ill.
The 21-year-old was staying at his family’s home in the Isle of Man when he started suffering with fever-like symptoms and bad headaches. The graduate insisted he was fine and was home alone as his brother Connor returned back to his house in Birmingham, while his mum and dad visited their eldest brother in Edinburgh.
Lucas’ uncle was sent around to check up on him to find his condition had deteriorated, which prompted the family to return home. He was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with meningitis and put in an induced coma.
Lucas’ brother, Connor, has opened up on the family’s devastation as he died on September 12, 2023, aged 21. He said: “We all rushed home and we got told it could have been meningitis and I think we were in denial that was life-threatening.
“But that was it, none of us ever spoke to him again. He was put in an induced coma and on life support as there was fluid on the brain. It was a horrific ordeal for all of us.
Connor said the family initially thought it was freshers’ flu and urged people of university age to be vigilant that the term, often used to describe a host of illnesses that strike down students during the first few weeks of a new university year, could be something much worse.
Lucas Martin (middle) with brothers Connor (left) and Bradley (right)
He said: “”He had no distinct signs of any illness. He became poorly a week or so before he was admitted to hospital and we all thought it was the equivalent of freshers’ flu.
“He was up in his room a lot of the time and we weren’t monitoring him on a super close basis unfortunately.
“We and he just assumed he had a bad bout of the flu. He would go up and down and we’d think he was on the mend and then he’d regress again, but never to a pint where we were seriously concerned.
“There’s a set list of symptoms with meningitis and he didn’t have the rash or an aversion to light – the rest are typical flu symptoms.”
Lucas paid tribute to his late brother as he said: “He was home for the summer and working out his next steps in life.
“He was working for our uncle doing part time work and a number of other jobs. He was working hard so whether that contributed to it at all, I don’t know.
“We describe him as a force of nature. He was very entrepreneurial, and he could’ve set his mind to anything and he would have made a success of it.
“Just a very driven, personable young man. He was taken too soon.” Connor now wants his brother’s story to encourage others to get seek medical attention if they are concerned.
He said: “I think the one thing that could have maybe saved him was just us insisting that it could be something else – it didn’t really close our minds until he was in the ambulance.
“I want kids of university age to have it in the back of their minds that if they get poorly don’t just always be dismissive. If you’re worried, take action.
“We work hard not to blame ourselves in any way. It’s not like we had a moment where we thought it was meningitis, and we didn’t act on it, we just didn’t think of it.”
You can read more about Lucas’ story and support the charity set up in his name at https://www.lookys-aid.org/