Alex Adams is a man whose energy and enthusiasm seem to know no bounds - in fact he puts most of our youngsters to shame in terms of his sheer vitality. So the news that he had taken ill recently, let alone very seriously ill, was greeted with sheer amazement by most of us. But as news spread and we began to become aware of just how serious his situation was, concern grew very quickly, and news of his condition was at the front of everyone's mind. The 'grapevine' has, as ever, done a great job of keeping everyone informed but in order to ensure that everyone has access to accurate, up-to-date information, Julie Adams has very kindly taken the time to provide us with a detailed explanation of Alex's situation (which is paraphrased below) and has agreed to keep us posted with information about his recovery. I would like to thank Julie personally for taking the time to forward this detailed information when I'm sure she has so many other things on her mind and to thank all of Alex's family for allowing us to keep everyone informed of his progress through the site. Alex contracted a form of meningitis and, alarmingly, the bacteria got into his blood stream to cause meningococcal septicaemia. This is one of the most dangerous forms of meningitis and has resulted in severe blood poisoning which in turn has caused damage to his major organs. (Julie pointed out that further information about the illness can be found at the www.meningitis.co.uk website by following the 'About the Diseases' and 'Meningococcal' links...) His condition was obviously extremely serious in these early stages and doctors were even concerned initially about his prospects for any form of recovery. To complicate matters further, he developed pneumonia whilst in intensive care. Despite the very serious nature of the illness and the real concerns of the doctors, Alec's vitality and determination carried him through this very dangerous and worrying initial period. Whilst he is still in intensive care, he has started to make slow and steady progress. Within the last week, he has been taken off sedation and is now managing to communicate with those around him, although it may take some time before regains his speech. He is undergoing daily dialysis to help rid his body of the toxins caused by the blood poisoning. At this point, he remains dependent on a ventilator but spends some time each day away from the ventilator to gradually build up his ability to function without it. Thankfully, it is possible to make a full recovery from this illness and now that Alex is over the worst and is making steady progress, there is every possibility that he will do so. There can be some side-effects to the illness and, while these can be quite serious in themselves, in comparison to the terrible reality of what might have been, they pale somewhat by comparison. I can say from my own experience that everyone related to the Club that I run into has Alex and his family firmly in their thoughts. We are hoping against hope that his recovery is both full and speedy and that he'll be back in amongst us before too long!