The mother of a young DJ who died from meningitis is releasing his last messages in a bid to warn youngsters of the telltale signs of the disease.
Professor Sue Astley Theodossiadis has published the final messages and calls sent and made by her 25-year-old son Alex Theodossiadis, who died five years ago after contracting meningitis.
The heartbreaking messages Mr Theodossiadis exchanges with friends and family detail his symptoms and show his condition deteriorating before a final message which read that he was ‘in and out of naps’.
Mr Theodossiadis began displaying flu-like symptoms on January 16, 2020 and developed severe migraine headaches, leaving him unable to eat and confined to bed.
On January 20, he struggled to get a GP appointment at The Light practice, in Leeds city centre, eventually managing to book one for three weeks later on February 10, .
He visited the Shakespeare walk-in clinic on January 24 where he was given strong painkillers for his migraine-type headaches by a nurse practitioner who told the inquest into his death, held in 2021, that she did not see any signs of meningitis or she would have sent him to hospital.
A day later, Mr Theodossiadis was so ill his flat-mate – Leeds artist Sam Jeffries – took him to the A&E at Leeds General by taxi. He was later transferred to the city’s St James’s Hospital, where he fell and banged his head in his confused state.
He was put on a ventilator after he stopped breathing and subsequently died.
Alex Theodossiadis began displaying flu-like symptoms on January 16, 2020 and developed severe migraine headaches, leaving him unable to eat and confined to bed
Professor Sue Astley Theodossiadis has published the final messages and calls sent and made by her 25-year-old son Alex Theodossiadis, who died five years ago after contracting meningitis
Mr Theodossiadis was a fit and healthy young man who lived for his DJ work, for which he was developing an international reputation
Professor Theodossiadis, a medical imaging expert at Manchester University, was able to plot her son’s declining state through the messages he sent to friends and family.
A timeline of Alex’s final messages
January 9 – Facebook message to his mother Sue
‘I’ve been using these drops and my right ear has been totally blocked for 4 days now. Can’t hear anything at all. So I went to the GP but they can’t [see] me for free on the NHS till the end of the month. I’ve booked in for a private appointment tomorrow morning but its £70.’
January 16 – Facebook message to a friend
‘I’ve been the most ill I’ve been for YEARS. Tonsillitis and flu. Been eating a lot of codeine today. Sorry I lost my train of thought lol! Basically I felt like my body was about to fall apart then Marlon turned up with some codeine and I feel much better now.’
January 17 – Facebook message to a friend
‘And I’m ooook, feeling a bit better. My lips have chaffed so badly though they’re a proper dry mess.They split in the night and I woke up with blood all over my pillow.’
January 18 – Facebook message to a friend
‘Just getting to bed. Not much of a flu now just a tight chest and horrendous cough. Managed to play my set and found it quite enjoyable despite being sober and a bit poorly.’
January 18 – Facebook message to his mother Sue
‘Been really ill this week and have struggled to eat anything the last few days. Have you any tips on how to get nourished. I just have like two bites then can’t do anymore.’ Sue advised to eat soup for nourishment and see a GP, and asked if it was flu. Alex replied: ‘Yeah a combo of flu and tonsillitis.’
January 19 – Facebook message to a friend
‘I’m feeling relatively normal again! Got some food cookin and watching the footy.’
January 20 – Facebook message to a friend
‘Have you ever had a migraine? (have you been hit by one?) Yeah I thought I was clear and I’ve had the worst headache of all time since 3am lol. ‘Whhhhyyyy (painkillers/water doing nothing? Only brief respite.’
January 20 – A summary of phone calls between Alex and his mother
‘Cleared the flu and tonsillitis. Then developed a really debilitating migraine at 3am’. We said that congestion could cause sinus pain and asked him where the pain was – ‘centre left temple’. We suggested trying a decongestant – ‘It’s still going on now’. We asked if he had a GP – ‘I signed up to the local one, there’s no appointments till the 10th Feb.’ We advised trying the NHS 111 website and entering his symptoms on the grounds that it would advise him to see a GP and he could use that to bump him up the list, and to go to a pharmacy to seek help. He agreed. Half an hour later he said ‘Can I take aspirin?’ and we advised he could, but stick to the instructions, also suggesting he take a decongestant.
January 20 – Facebook message to a friend
‘Have you ever had a migraine? I’m having one ATM and want it to stop more than anything in the world.’
January 23 – Facebook message to a friend
‘Feeling a bit dodge still like.’ When corrected after confusing which day of the week it was, he replies: ‘Lying motionless all week sure isn’t great for sense of time.’
January 23 – Facebook message to a friend
‘I’m really struggling to eat atm. I went like four days barely eating and my stomach is just churning up anything I put in there. When asked if he was vomiting he replied: ‘Nah I got to the yellow bile stage retching then been teetering at the edge of that for like three days.’
January 24 – Facebook message to his mother Sue
‘Am still incredibly ill. I went to the walk-in doctors just now. They’ve sent me to get some stronger medicine. Naproxen.’
January 24 – Facebook message to a friend
‘I’ve taken a turn for the worse (somehow) and have cancelled my set. Can’t believe how mentally sh** I’m feeling.’
January 24 – Facebook message to a friend
‘I’ve been incredibly afflicted with the flu and migraines this week and it shows no sign of letting up. I really don’t know how up for recording radio I am tbh so how would you feel about doing a two hour takeover? Aye I’ve cancelled tonight because I can barely stand up without getting a blinding headache.’
January 24 – Facebook message to a friend
‘Feeling worse if anything. These extra strong painkillers are doing fook all.’
January 25 – Facebook message to a friend
Throughout the messages and calls, Mr Theodossiadis said that he suspected he had tonsillitis and flu.
He then developed a debilitating migraine, which left him unable to eat properly or leave his flat.
At an inquest into his death, Professor Theodossiadis said he had trouble booking a GP appointment before he was taken to hospital and had instead been seen by a nurse practitioner at a walk-in centre who only prescribed painkillers for the migraines he was suffering as a result of the meningitis.
She said she had rushed to Leeds from her home in Hale, Greater Manchester, with her husband, also Alex Theodossiadis – a consultant psychiatrist at Royal Oldham Hospital.
She said they later went home to eat because they were told her son’s condition had not changed in the hours they had been there, a CT scan was normal and he was not being recommended for neurosurgery.
She said they would have stayed at the hospital if any of these three things had been different.
Professor Theodossiadis said they took a call at home from an ‘incredibly panicky’ nurse who told them they needed to get back to Leeds urgently.
Around 50 of their son’s friends had gathered at St James’s, where they found Mr Theodossiadis on a ventilator and they was told he had fallen, banged his head and stopped breathing.
She told the coroner: ‘We found he was on a ventilator and showing no real signs of life we had just a few hours before.’
Professor Theodossiadis said this was a ‘dramatic deterioration’.
She said: ‘Our view is that Alex was very alive. He was poorly, but alive.
‘He had a chance of life before he fell. After he fell, he had no chance of life.’
She also told the inquest her son was a fit and healthy young man who lived for his DJ work, for which he was developing an international reputation.
‘It was his life; it gave him joy,’ she said.
Professor Theodossiadis has been working closedly with Meningitis Now, a charity dedicated to raising awarness and devoted to research, to design a lesson for schoolchildren in a bid to raise awareness of some of the lesser known symptoms of Meningitis.
A resource pack will also be made available which aims to help young people recognise serious illness, and provides the knowledge to navigate the healthcare system on their own when they reach adulthood.
She told the Mirror staff at a walk-in clinic Mr Theodossiadis visited wrote that he had ‘cough and cold’ symptoms and did not recognise ‘his most concerning symptoms including a new, debilitating headache’ as possible Meningitis.
She added that she felt that ‘all healthcare professionals, including receptionists, need to be aware of the difficulties young people have in explaining themselves’ when they self present in clinics or surgeries, saying Mr Theodossiadis had previously only visited the GP with her when he was younger.
‘He was so ill he couldn’t even climb the stairs to his bedroom, but the duration and severity of his symptoms wasn’t discussed at the appointment’, she added.
Dr Tom Nutt, director at Meningitis Now, told the newspaper: ‘Young people are an at-risk group of meningitis and research tells us that up to a quarter of 15 to 24-year-olds carry the bacteria that cause meningococcal meningitis in the back of their throats, compared with one in 10 of the general population.
‘It’s important that young people have the confidence and the knowledge to understand what may be happening to them when they are unwell and to know when to seek medical help or the help of others.
Meningitis is an infection of the protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord. It can affect anyone, but is most common in babies, young children, teenagers and young adults.
The bacteria that causes the diseases are usually spread by close or lengthy contact. Most cases happen individually, but outbreaks sometimes occur in schools or where people share living space, such as university halls.
Many of the early signs, including vomiting, fever, aches, general tiredness and headaches, are also signs of less serious illnesses like colds and flu.
Symptoms develop suddenly and can also include a rash that does not fade when a glass is rolled over it, a dislike of bright lights, drowsiness or unresponsiveness and seizures.
The symptoms can appear in any order, and those with the illness will not always get all the symptoms.
People with suspected meningitis will usually have tests in hospital to confirm the diagnosis and check whether the condition is the result of a viral or bacterial infection.
Bacterial meningitis usually needs to be treated in hospital for at least a week.
Meanwhile, viral meningitis tends to get better on its own within 7 to 10 days and can often be treated at home.
Most people with bacterial meningitis who are treated quickly will make a full recovery, although some are left with serious long-term problems which can include hearing or vision loss, partial or full, problems with memory and concentration, epilepsy, issues with balance and co-ordination, or in severe cases, amputation of limbs.
Overall, the NHS estimates up to one in every 10 cases of bacterial meningitis is fatal.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust previously apologised for the standard of Alex’s care.
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