Advocate Profile, Jan Caliman

In July 2003, Jan’s daughter, Harmony, had just turned 19. She was a single mom to her daughter Sophia and studying to be a nurse. Harmony arrived at her job at a local nursing home early one morning in good spirits. However, a few hours later she complained of a fever and headache. As the fever grew worse, she was sent to the local ER where she was diagnosed with the flu and released to a friend. When Jan arrived at the friend’s home, she knew something was very wrong. Harmony could barely stand, had spots on her face and was burning with fever. They returned to the ER, where Harmony was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis. She died before the end of the night.

Harmony was not vaccinated. Even if she had been, the vaccine available at the time covered most strains of the disease but not serogroup B, which Harmony had. Currently available vaccines protect against five major strains of the disease, including serogroup B. Jan now participates in charity bike rides in her daughter’s memory and is a loving grandmother to Sophia. She is dedicated to educating healthcare providers, parents and adolescents about meningococcal disease.