Advocate Profile, Olga Pasick

Olga Pasick’s son David was 13-years-old, when meningococcal disease tragically took his life. One evening in September of 2004, David came down with flu-like symptoms. He first felt cold, spiked a high fever, and vomited throughout the night. In the morning Olga called his pediatrician to have David seen. Everything ached, and David needed help getting dressed. That’s when Olga noticed purplish spots on David’s chest and arms. As soon as the doctors saw David, they knew he had meningococcal disease. He was rushed to the ER, but unfortunately the disease spread quickly and his organs failed. David died within 24 hours of his first symptoms. Olga never thought she would lose David, as healthy as he was. It was only after her son’s death that she learned meningococcal disease is potentially vaccine-preventable.

“I wish I could have helped my own son by getting him vaccinated against meningococcal disease before this tragic event.” said Olga. “I hope that sharing my story will help other families be spared.”