A TV reality star who became a fan favourite after appearing on The Bachelor has shared her near-death battle following a brain infection.
Daisy Kent is being candid about her health journey to warn others.
The 25-year-old influencer, who boasts 984,000 followers, revealed how she contracted viral meningitis when she was just 19 years old.
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“My experience contracting viral meningitis not only affected me but also my family,” she said.
“It was scary and changed how my mom approaches conversations with our family pediatrician.
“Since my experience, I wanted to learn more and found that bacterial meningitis is preventable.
“Many parents may not know that there are different types of vaccinations needed to protect against the five vaccine-preventable serogroups of bacterial meningitis.”
The CDC confirms the five serogroups as A, B, C, W and Y.
In a clip, which has racked up 685,000 views, Daisy and her mum talk about her health battle.
Her mum says that she wasn’t aware of the severity of meningitis or how serious it can be when her child was first diagnosed.
She adds that her daughter’s battle was “scary and heartbreaking”.
The duo’s advice for other parents is to: “Talk to your doctor and ask if a meningitis vaccine is right for your teen.”
Daisy first discussed her health issues in an interview with Us Weekly.
Meningitis is spread through sneezing, coughing and kissing and affects the protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord, according to the NHS website.
If it’s not treated quick enough, it can cause permanent brain damage and in some cases, even death, as reported by Need To Know.
Daisy, who now works as an account executive, had worrying symptoms, including pain that “felt like knives” going down her spine, back and neck.
At one point, she truly believed it was the end.
Luckily, she has made a full recovery but her family were long fearful of the worst, with her little sister thinking Daisy was “going to snap in half” due to her 20lbs weight loss.
After partnering with Ask2BSure campaign, which spreads awareness of the accessibility of the bacterial meningitis vaccine, the reality TV star has taken it upon herself to share her knowledge with her fans.
In another video, Daisy describes her health battle as “one of the scariest moments of my life”.
The influencer also claims that doctors told her mum that her “white blood cell count was so high, that she might not make it”.
The star has also previously opened up about her other health issues, including having cochlear implants to help with her hearing loss after being diagnosed with Ménière’s disease – an inner ear condition – and Lyme disease.
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