"It's not just the person with the disease affected, it's everyone," said Bob Werner of the Becky Werner Meningitis Foundation. Werner was guest speaker at IDEAS Academy on April 4.  The topic, meningitis and how it affects lives. "There are 36 million people In the U.S. And there are 3,000 cases of meningitis reported a year," said Werner. 

 

 Karen Robison, life science teacher, invited Werner to speak to her science students.

 

 "It's important because I could tell you and teach you about the disease but I think you'd learn more from someone who's lived through it," she said.

 

 The presentation was during Robison’s Human Anatomy and Physiology class. It was open to others to attend and learn more. Ali Chapman, junior, was one of the attendees. 

 

 "I didn't know that meningitis spread so quickly and that you could die within a day," she said. 

 

 Along with giving facts and statistics, Werner also shared his personal facedown with meningitis: when his daughter died from the disease 5 years ago.  

 

 "It was a sad story, but it was also filled with a lot of information that can be useful in the future," said Mikki Steinhardt, sophomore.  

 

 This disease can be stopped with just a vaccination, but that vaccination was unheard of just a few years ago, according to Werner. 

 

 " For those of you that got the shot, go home to mom and dad and give them a hug; but for those who don't have it, go talk to mom and dad and take them to our site and share Becky's story. It’s important to get the word out," Werner said as the presentation was winding down.