January 25, 2008
Long Island Teen Dies of Meningitis
A 17-year-old student at Massapequa High School died of bacterial meningitis yesterday. Michael Gruber had gone to bed with flu-like symptoms on Wednesday and on Thursday morning his parents were unable to wake him up. He died at New Island Hospital.
Gruber was also in the St. Rose of Lima Catholic Youth basketball league and worked part-time at a King Kullen in Massapequa Park. The Nassau County Health Department is notifying people who had close contact (especially between January 13 and January 23) with him to seek treatment. Nassau County acting Health Commissioner told Newsday that it was "unusual" that Gruber died so quickly but added "the disease is rapidly progressive."
Here's an FAQ on bacterial meningitis from the NYC Department of Health. Symptoms, which usually appear 5 days within infection (sometimes within 2-10 days), include fever, headache, vomiting, stiff neck and a rash. Gruber's aunt urged people to be aware of the symptoms, "He went to bed fine and he woke up dying."
Update: WNBC reports a woman who is a school counselor at a Queen public school has also died of bacterial meningitis; health officials do not believe it is related to Gruber's death.
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So sad. I think this kid was trying to be too tough. I had meningitis in 2004, and I went to two doctors in the same day before I was admitted to the hospital. I had a headache like no other, and I made them know it.
It would be nice if you mentioned that there is a vaccine to prevent meningitis and that young people (HS/college students) or people who work in institutional settings should get it.
Kids going to Summer camp should also be vaccinated.
When my brother was in college, one of his classmates died within about 8 hours of showing symptoms.
The worst about meningitis is, that due to its similarities to a common flu it's often diagnosed too late. I went through it 20 years ago. High fever, expanding fluid hammered my brain in & caused murderous headache, vomiting, stiffness of the neck, then small blood vessels started popping on my partially paralysed arms ( it's not really a rash, but a series of small subcutaneous haemorrhages). I spent 3 weeks in hospital bed & left it looking like a skeleton.