On May 23 2003, the
unimaginable happened to Pete Rowlands and his family. They received
a call from their son Gareth's boarding school, informing them of the
tragic news that he had died, aged 16, after contracting meningitis.
Gareth was immensely fit and had represented North Derbyshire at cross
country, skippered the schools 2nd XV at rugby and during July and August
2002 toured South Africa with the school rugby team for three weeks.
He had recently returned from a two-week skiing venture with the school
at Easter 2003 and sat his AS Level Sports Studies exam the day before
his death. He had definite plans to attend university on completion
of his A Levels and lived life to the full. His only complaint on the
day of his death had been a headache.
For Pete, his wife Helen and daughter
Sian, the Meningitis Trust has provided much-needed help and support
- as it does for countless other families and individuals whose lives
are affected by this disease.
“What the Trust did
for me, my wife Helen and daughter Sian following Gareth’s death
was nothing short of amazing,” recounts Capt Rowlands. “Sadly,
it’s what they’re good at because meningitis continues to
claim lives.
“Raising funds for them
is a display of gratitude. Moreover, it will allow other families to
benefit from their understanding of the disease.
“And through their disease
awareness work it might even prevent another family experiencing the
loss of a loved one,” Capt Rowlands points out. |
