He was read his last rites by his priest and given a 30 percent chance to live but survived to tell others about his triumph over meningococcal meningitis.\nDespite the odds against him, Ryan Pike survived the same illness that currently has Ashley Lee in critical condition at an Indianapolis hospital.\nIn February of 1998, Pike was like any other IU student. He went to class and joined the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, but in one day the rest of his life changed. Pike, a Carmel, Ind., native, said his battle with the disease is the reason why he is development director for the Meningitis Foundation of America. His goal: to educate others about a disease that almost claimed his life.
Reporter's note: Pike tells his story in his own words of his fight for his life and painful recovery.
"I basically slept through class, thinking that I was coming down with the flu. After arriving at my IU residence, Sigma Phi Epsilon, I went straight to bed in the cold dormitory.\n"I awoke after 6 p.m. and asked a fraternity brother who was making his bed to bring me some water because my mouth was as dry as the Sahara Desert. After finishing the water and lying in bed for a few more hours, I decided to move down to my room. My vision was blurred and almost lost after I stood up, so I put my hands on the wall and used it as a guide to get from the third floor to the first.\n"As soon as I laid down on the couch in my room, my vision came back. My fraternity brothers were entering and exiting my room all night. A few brothers finally entered and turned on the lights, which didn't really wake me up because I was already having trouble sleeping. Nonetheless, I noticed purple pinpoint dots on my arms and legs. Others noticed them too, became concerned and tried to convince me to go to the hospital.\n"As stubborn as I am, I just wanted to sleep. One of my fraternity brothers gave me the ultimatum of going home to Carmel, Ind., or to the Bloomington hospital, so I called my dad and told him I was really sick and heading home. When I stood up from the couch, my feet were in more pain than I had ever felt in my life, and I was unable to walk on them. Corey Dodson was one of three people who carried me out of the house and drove me home.\n"The ride home was unbearable. I was dehydrated, water was not really helping and my feet were in the worst pain I had ever felt in my life. I knew that something was wrong with me, and I told my friends accompanying me that I would not see them for a while.\n"As soon as I arrived in Carmel, my dad took one look at me and told me to get in the car. (The doctor on call) began treating me immediately for several things, one being meningococcal meningitis. The pain was only getting worse, and I still had no clue what was going on. My parish priest, Father Fred of St. Elizabeth Seton, was present to read me my last rites.\n"I was transferred to St. Vincents in Indianapolis by ambulance. That's when I began to realize the seriousness of what was happening. I began asking doctors if I was going to make it, and they kept telling me to keep up the good work and hang in there. I didn't care if I was doing a good job. I just wanted to know what was happening and if I was going to live or die. I also didn't know why they all had masks on. Was I contaminated with something that they didn't want to contract? All I wanted was answers, but by that time the painkillers and antibiotics had kicked in. I prayed that I would wake up and everything would be fine.\n"I did wake up the next day, but everything was not fine. My face was inflated. I had lost feeling in my feet and toes due to blood clots, had lesions all over my body, spent about two weeks in the intensive care unit and was on a tremendous amount of antibiotics and painkillers.\n"The rehabilitation process was tough. I had lost 20 to 30 pounds, and my muscles were much weaker than normal. Each day I would walk a little bit longer distance or do a few more strength exercises. Still, there were nights when I laid in bed crying and wondering when I would be able to go home. I was going to lose nine toes, had a hole in my mouth, lost my front tooth, had some ugly scars, lost a lot of weight and muscle and was stuck in a room all day long.\n"I put the negatives behind me and looked at the positives. I was alive with many challenges facing me. My brother, Scott Pike, told me that I was his hero because my attitude was so positive. My brother is now a second year urology resident in Akron, Ohio, and is someone I've looked up to my entire life. My goal was to get healthy enough to attend school in Bloomington during the fall of 1998.\n"The bone in my foot was healthy, even though the toes and skin had died, so Dr. Hill Hastings of the Indiana Hand Center performed a latissimus flap surgery. The seven-hour surgery entailed Dr. Hastings removing my latissimus muscle from my back, connecting it to blood vessels in my ankle, covering the bone on my foot with the muscle and taking skin from my thigh to cover the muscle.\n"Doctors gave me a 30 percent chance to live because the bacteria that spread throughout my body were analogous to a piece of paper burning in a forest fire. I pride myself on the fact that I beat the odds, graduated from college, and today work for the Meningitis Foundation of America. I am a walking miracle who lives life to the fullest, unlike most meningococcal meningitis victims who do not live to tell their story. As a survivor of meningitis, I wish that no one ever has to experience what I went through, which is why I am a huge advocate for prevention through awareness and vaccination.\n"Life will never really be the same due to the loss of my toes and the hole in my palate, but will be appreciated more than I ever imagined"
