Advocate Profile, Ryan Bozof

Ryan’s brother, Evan was a junior at Georgia Southwestern University when he lost his life to meningococcal disease. He was pitcher for his college baseball team and in excellent health. On a Wednesday morning in March 1998, Evan, called their mother, Lynn, to say he had a terrible migraine headache. When the symptoms worsened, Lynn suggested he go to the emergency room. Hours later, he was in intensive care. For weeks, Evan struggled to fight the infection. Evan’s family were surrounded by doctors and medical teams, clinging to any indication that he might live. But one complication followed another – extremely low blood pressure, damage to the lungs and liver, gangrene of the limbs followed by amputation of all his limbs, seizures and finally, irreversible brain damage. Evan died 26 days later. Ryan and his family were not aware that adolescents are at increased risk for contracting meningococcal disease and that it is potentially vaccine-preventable.