Alchemy Virtual Assistance - Founding Franchise Partner, Glasgow.
Anyone who knows me knows that I am not at all comfortable in the limelight. I don’t enjoy talking about myself and I can’t bear the thought of pestering people about things.
HOWEVER, I make no apology for banging on about the symptoms of meningitis. The driver behind this is the will for other people not to go through what me and my family went through 10 years ago...
On the run up to my husband’s 40th birthday in 2016 he felt unwell. He had flu-like symptoms such as earache, sinus-ache, headache and fatigue. He consulted medical professionals and they also presumed it was a cold / flu type virus.
The next morning, I found him having a seizure and he was taken to hospital by ambulance, where he was quickly transferred to ICU.
It was later ascertained by the wonderful medical team in the hospital that a bacterial infection had made its way to the meninges, thus causing meningitis, no activity in his brain and his organs were starting to shut down.
I was informed he was going to die.
I have supported Meningitis Now since then, raising money via various fundraising activities over the years. When I was approached to assist in the organising of an inaugural Gala Dinner in Scotland in aid of Meningitis Now’s 40th anniversary I didn’t hesitate to agree. Coincidentally, this year is Alchemy Virtual Assistance’s 10th birthday.
When Alchemy VA's Franchise Partners all came together in person earlier this year, we decided that in celebration of a decade in business, we would like to give back, and we all agreed to raise some money for a charity of our choice.
It made perfect sense for me to combine the two, and preparations began….
It’s been a lot of late nights and stressy moments, and a lot of juggling family, work, mum’s taxi duties and the occasional rest, but it was incredibly satisfying to see it all come together at the start of September. Being in a room with over 200 people learning about meningitis gave me a strange sense of comfort, knowing that they were being made aware of the symptoms and the awareness was growing.
Of course, raising over £51,000 on the night also gave me a huge sense of achievement!
Meningitis Now will put this money to great use and carry on the vital work they do. Meningitis Now fund research, raise awareness and provide support for everyone in the UK whose lives have been affected by meningitis, completely free of charge.
My default position is always to look on the positive, which I will continue to do. But in matters of health, I will always check, double-check and triple check now.
Bringing together two important parts of my life together recently was very special. I had so much support from my Alchemy colleagues, my networking colleagues (some of whom came along on the night), and even some of my clients who donated money and prizes. My friends and family were also there to support me on the night, and I can’t quite put into words the feeling of being so supported from different aspects of my life.
From a dreadful event, positive aspects have grown. It’s difficult to imagine at the time that anything positive can come from something such as this, but I’m both relieved and proud that it has. My husband lives on in the memory of all who knew him, and my son is his double in so many ways, he definitely lives on in him.
With love,
Laura
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