NANCY FORD SPRINGER INSPIRATION AWARD RECIPIENTS
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Melanie Benn was home from college on Christmas break on December 24, 1995, with what
she thought was the flu. Only it wasn’t the flu, it was a deadly form of meningitis causing all of
her limbs to be partially amputated to save her life. She endured numerous surgeries and
months of rehabilitation. Melanie finished college, got her Masters degree and is now a clinical
social worker. She loves swimming and won silver and bronze medals in the 2000 Paralympic
Games in Australia and the 2004 Paralympics Games in Athens, Greece.
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John Kach was a college freshman in March of 2000 when a high fever sent him to the
emergency room, where he was diagnosed with a rare blood disease caused by meningococcal
meningitis. Near death for weeks, he lost his right leg, below the knee and all his fingers. His left
leg suffered such severe nerve and tissue damage; he decided to have it amputated for a
better quality of life. Persisting, John graduated college, owns his own computer business and is
a public speaker.
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Nick Springer was 14 year-old at summer camp when he fell ill in August 1999
and was diagnosed with meningococcal meningitis. Doctors put him in a drug-induced coma for
two months and after awakening, discovered he underwent partial amputations of both of
his arms and legs. From the beginning he's been independent and has participated in disabled
sports in sled hockey and wheelchair rugby. In September 2008, Nick competed as a member of
the U.S. Wheelchair Rugby Team in the Paralympics in Beijing winning a Gold Medal. He's
finishing his senior year in college.
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HONOREES
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Paul A. Offit, M.D. is the Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases and the Director of the
Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. As co-inventor of the
rotavirus vaccine, RotaTeq, recommended for universal use in infants by the CDC, Dr. Offit
received the Jonas Salk Medal, among others. Widely published in scientific journals, he is the
author of five books and the recipient of numerous awards for his work.
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Nancy Snyderman, M.D.,is Chief Medical Editor of NBC News, and travels throughout the
world, reporting on a wide-range of medical topics for “Today,” and "NBC Nightly News with Brian
Williams," among other broadcasts. She is on staff in the Department of the Otolaryngology-
Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania. An award-winning journalist, book
author and writer, Dr. Snyderman is also the recipient of numerous research grants.
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National Meningitis Association Gala 2009
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