The very good news is that my wife's cousin (who is more like a sister to her as they grew up together after my wife's mother committed suicide) has made a stunning recovery from bacterial meningitis, having spent almost a month in a coma. She's out of intensive care and into rehab, has recovered movement down one side of her body and seems to be mentally OK. It's going to be a long road to whatever degree of normality she can attain though, with twice-weekly therapy sessions.
The bad news is that she lives in the US. Even after maxing out on their insurance, she and her husband are left with a medical bill of around $35,000 and ongoing bills of more than $1,000 a week for the therapy. He's a pastor at the local church and is "paid" by donations from members; she homeschools their five kids. Suffice it to say, they are going to struggle.
I'm not a Christian but I have been amazed at the grace with which they have taken all of this and the support they have received from their church community. It's sobering to think how things would be here without the NHS.
