// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Brothers who both had meningitis within a year lucky to be alive
Two brothers who contracted meningitis within a year of each other say they are lucky to be alive.
Saul and Drew Darlington from Wrexham, now 29 and 26, initially thought it was a "weird" coincidence they both caught the illness as teenagers but later learnt they had a rare condition which meant they were susceptible to it.
"The day I had it, if I had gone to sleep that night, I'd have probably died," said Saul who, along with his brother, now wants to raise awareness of the symptoms of meningitis, particularly among young people.
Nearly 20,000 young people have been vaccinated in Wales through catch-up clinics, following a deadly outbreak of meningitis B in Kent earlier this year.
Drew spent two weeks in hospital with regular visits from family members including his other brother Joel, pictured beside him
Saul was 17 and on a school trip when he first started feeling cold and experiencing sensitivity to light, but when a purple rash developed, the family went to A&E.
"When my mum used the word meningitis, I could see how worried she was. It was really concerning - it was all so alien to us."
Saul spent a week in hospital and said the experience was "really scary", especially as he was so young.
Almost exactly a year later, his then 16-year-old brother Drew began to feel unwell as he was studying for his GCSEs with a high temperature but no other obvious symptoms.
Things escalated quickly following a trip to the GP.