'I feel really happy to see myself at meningitis exhibition'

A man who was left paralysed from the neck down after contracting meningitis on his gap year said he feels "really good" to see himself featured at an exhibition.

Jonathan Brough from Minchinhampton is one of 40 people featured in Meningitis Now's "40 Years of Hope" photographic exhibition, which began on Wednesday at Three Storeys in Nailsworth.

The Stroud-based charity was set up following a local outbreak of the disease in the 1980s and the exhibition chronicles the stories of affected families along with the work of doctors, scientists and volunteers.

Tom Nutt, CEO, said: "As the Kent outbreak in the last few weeks has shown, sadly the work of the charity isn't over."

Brough was 18 and training to be a ski instructor in Canada when he went to bed feeling unwell in 2007, and was ultimately left paralysed from the neck down.

He has received help and support from Meningitis Now, including counselling for his mental health and physiotherapy so he can play boccia, a precision ball sport designed for athletes with severe physical disabilities.

"I feel really happy to see myself at the exhibition," Brough said.

"I feel a bit emotional as well because of everything that happened; to have gone from where I did to playing boccia. I feel really good about myself for pushing through."

The exhibition is free and ticketless, and will tour the country.

Photographer Carmel King documented the people whose stories are chronicled in the exhibition, one of whom is the mother of Ryan Bresnahan.

Ryan was 16 when he died of meningitis in Bristol in 2010, an hour after complaining of an upset stomach.

Michelle is featured in the exhibition as the family set up A Life for a Cure, a charity which has since raised more than £610,000 for research into the condition, following Ryan's death.

"I'm hugely proud, but it's not just me, it's my daughter, all of Ryan's friends and family who've been there with us every step of the way," Bresnahan said.

"The stories here are really all about hope and the way they're displayed make you so engaged in everybody's, dare I say it, journey."

Meningitis Now was set up following the Stroud outbreak, which saw 65 cases and claimed two lives.

Although a lot has changed in 40 years - including the release of the meningococcal B vaccination in 2015 - Nutt said more needs to be done.

The exhibition runs until Sunday.

Nutt added those featured in the exhibition are "40 amazing people".

"I many ways, its been a good news story since 1986 because we estimate there's about 75% less bacterial meningitis in the UK now than there was [then]," he said.

"That's a function of partly the research we've done as a charity, our awareness raising, and support we've given to other people."

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