Author Michael Rosen appeared on Good Morning Britain to discuss the death of his 18-year-old son Eddie from meningitis C in 1999, amid a current meningitis outbreak in Kent. Rosen, known for works such as We're Going on a Bear Hunt, described how his son initially complained of flu-like symptoms.
Rosen, familiar with meningitis, checked Eddie for a rash but found none visible until after his death, as it was only in his armpits. He put Eddie to bed with ibuprofen and paracetamol, and found him dead the next morning. 'It really was that quick and quite, dare I say, simple,' Rosen said, recounting the moment he discovered his son had rigor mortis.
Eddie had not received the meningitis C vaccine as it had only recently been developed. Rosen explained that writing helped him cope: 'I write things for myself and I write things for other people. And the great thing about writing is that you take stuff out of your mind, put it on a page in front of you, and then you can look at it.'
Viewers were deeply moved, with one posting on X: 'That description of Michael finding his son dead was so raw. Hit me really hard.' Another viewer compared Rosen to Roald Dahl, who became a vaccination advocate after losing his daughter to measles, saying: 'Thank you.'
