Sparing another mother's loss.

• Author: Bozof, Lynn
• Position: MEDICINE & HEALTH - Lynn Bozof's loss of his son Evan

I STILL CAN REMEMBER the phone call that changed my family's life forever. It was from my son Evan on an otherwise ordinary Wednesday afternoon in March 1998. Evan was a junior at Georgia Southwestern University. He was a college athlete and honor student who, along with his younger brother Ryan, one day planned to become a doctor. I did not know it when the phone rang, but Evan's dreams never would be realized.

My son said he had a terrible migraine. When his symptoms grew worse later that day, I suggested he go to the emergency room. We were told he had a little virus, but that they would keep him overnight, so he did not have to go back to his dorm. Early the next morning the doctors called to tell us that Evan was in the intensive care unit. We were told he had meningococcal disease, a rare but potentially deadly infection. Evan lost consciousness soon after. His last words before that were, "Love you, Mom."

For weeks, Evan struggled against the infection. We were surrounded by doctors and medical teams, clinging to any hope he might survive, but one complication followed another. The bacteria poisoned Evan's blood and caused extensive damage throughout his body. I watched my son suffer through amputation of both arms and legs, organ damage, seizures, and, finally, irreversible brain damage before he passed away.

Evan was a pitcher for his college baseball team and in excellent health. Like most parents, I thought tragedies like this only happened to other people. After Evan died, I learned two things that would reset the course of my life and lead me on a journey I never could have imagined: college students are at increased risk for meningococcal disease and there was a vaccine available that could have prevented the infection.

The only thing worse than losing Evan was learning his death could have been avoided. My husband Alan and I had done everything in our power as parents to protect the health of both of our sons. They received every vaccine recommended for them as children. As a family, we observed good health habits--wash your hands, cover your mouth when you cough, eat well, exercise, etc. No one told us about the dangers of meningococcal disease. This is a bacterial infection that can invade the spinal cord and lining of the brain, leading to meningitis, or it can infect the bloodstream, leading to a form of sepsis called meningococcemia. Frequently, the disease simply is referred to as bacterial meningitis.

The disease moves...