When the Laughter Dies: Meningococcal Meningitis

ALEX KNUTTER HAD a keen sense of humor. Friends say the outgoing 17- year-old high school senior could make you laugh, even when the joke was on you. He had a talent for sketching, often filling notebooks with his artistic creations. Boisterous in the way of teenage boys, Alex also had a vivid imagination and gregarious personality — even in a crowded room, his was the voice that carried. He had good friends, a loving family and a bright future. As it turns out, one thing Alex did not have was a meningococcal vaccination. It was the one thing that might have saved his life.

On Friday, Feb. 23, 2007, Alex became ill. Although he seemed healthy for the better part of the day, at 7:30 that evening he complained of a headache and flu-like symptoms. His parents, Jeff and Donna, recall suggesting he take some Tylenol and rest. But by the next morning Alex’s condition had worsened; he’d vomited much of the night and seemed strangely disoriented and unresponsive. That’s when Donna began to suspect something was seriously wrong.

“So much of what happened is a blur,” she says. “I remember calling 911 and telling my husband to do CPR. I remember it taking way too long for the ambulance to arrive. I remember the police asking lots of questions and I remember letting the dog out because she was going crazy. I remember praying.”

Alex was rushed to the hospital, and in a matter of hours, the situation turned from worrisome to dire. Donna and Jeff were stunned when a hospital chaplain suggested calling family members; the rapidly unfolding events seemed impossible to comprehend. Doctors wanted to transfer Alex to Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee, but were unable to do so unless his condition stabilized. Despite their best efforts, Alexander John Knutter passed away at 10:36 a.m. on Feb. 24, 2007, a victim of meningococcal meningitis. He died just 16 hours after he first displayed symptoms.

Meningococcal disease strikes about 3,000 Americans each year and is responsible for approximately 300 deaths annually. About 10 percent of people who develop meningococcal meningitis die, and another 10 percent suffer severe complications including hearing and limb loss and mental retardation. At a glance, those numbers can seem relatively small, which may partially account for the widespread lack of awareness about the disease and its vaccine. Of course, those numbers are not small to the parents, grandparents and friends of those whose lives are cut tragically short by a merciless disease that preys on infants, teens and young adults. Those statistics are anything but insignificant to Donna and Jeff Knutter.

“As we were making funeral arrangements for our son, we learned for the first time that there was a vaccine that could have prevented his death,” says Jeff. “We couldn’t understand, given the swiftness and severity of this disease, why the immunization was not required, why no one had ever talked with us about it.”

Donna agrees. “We were up-to-date on all scheduled vaccinations, and had we been aware of this deadly disease, we would have protected Alex against it. We are now learning everything we can about all forms of meningitis; we want to do whatever we can to prevent another family from having to go through this nightmare.”

Today, the Knutters devote much of their time to spreading the word about the importance of having children and teens immunized against meningitis. On April 25 of this year, they organized a 5K walk in their community to commemorate World Meningitis Awareness Day. The walk drew 135 participants and raised more than $10,000. “We spread the word wherever we can, anyplace people will listen,” says Jeff. “We really want to educate people about how devastating this disease can be.”

For any family, the loss of a child leaves an empty place at the table and a profound emptiness in the heart. For the Knutters, though, it is their home’s newfound silence that resonates the loudest. “Every day we miss his smile and the sound of his laughter in the house; it’s just so quiet now,” Donna says. “It constantly reminds us how important it is for doctors to provide vaccine information to their patients. Ultimately, parents have to make their own decisions, but they should at least be given the choice. If we had been given that choice, Alex would be alive today.”