For eight years, tears marked Kaya's birthdays. Meningitis altered her life forever, but resilience, love, and determination painted a vibrant new journey.

In July 2011, when Declan was a little over two months old, his Mum, Samantha, was admitted to hospital where she later learned she had Swine Flu (H1N1), a strain of influenza virus. She had developed pneumonia and both lungs collapsed. She was in the fight of her life when she was told that an ambulance had been called for Declan.

At fifteen days old, Amie was a healthy baby. The next day she was sleepy and not feeding well. Overnight she developed a runny nose. Amie’s Mum was concerned and took her to the GP who recommended an X-Ray and check-up at Prince of Wales Hospital, in Sydney. To her parent’s surprise, Amie was diagnosed with pneumonia.

Tahlea’s life changed forever when, at six months old, she narrowly survived Invasive Meningococcal Disease (IMD) or ‘meningococcal’. For Tahlea and other Aboriginal children, the incidence of meningococcal is forty times higher than for other children in Australia.

Measles can affect nine out of ten people exposed to the virus, if not immune. Laine was too young to be vaccinated when she got the measles at ten months old. She survived, but at seven years of age she complained to her Mum, Cecily, she felt ‘dumb’ and was having trouble following instructions. Cecily was worried. Weeks later Laine was diagnosed with Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis (SSPE) as a complication of Laine’s measles.

In 2012, Melanie and Sean’s daughter, Mylee, was a healthy fifteen-month-old baby. When she went to bed, after her busy day at day care, she smiled at Sean and went to sleep. When they tried to wake her the next morning, she was unresponsive. Despite CPR and emergency services intervention, Mylee passed away.

Mabel had a great day exploring her new swing at her Brisbane home. She was six months old and Mum, Carly, had ensured Mabel was up to date with all recommended vaccinations. Later that night she vomited several times. In the morning Carly took her to the Queensland Children’s Hospital. After another unsettled night, tests confirmed, Mabel had pneumococcal meningitis.

Pneumococcal is a vaccine preventable disease.

Lily narrowly survived but lost her kidneys and adrenal glands. After nine months on dialysis, she received a kidney donation from her sister, Grace. Today, she is a strong voice for immunisation and organ donation and wants all adults to protect against vaccine preventable diseases.

Meningococcal is a vaccine preventable disease.