In 1997 I had an episode of viral (aseptic) meningitis. The doctors aren't sure how I got it. I certainly wasn't aware of being exposed to anyone who had it. I had been sick a few weeks before with a virus that I never seemed to get over. I had a mini-vacation and trade show scheduled in Belgium and Netherlands and flew there even though I wasn't feeling good. By the last day of the trade show in Netherlands I had a very high fever and was extremely weak with a killer headache. I had to fly to Detroit for another trade show and spent Halloween weekend in Detroit flat on my back in a hotel room. Somehow I managed to get to the convention center, set up the booth, and get through the first day of the show even though I felt incredibly sick and was so dehydrated that I couldn't say more than a sentence or two without drinking water. That night I went to the emergency room and was admitted to a downtown Detroit hospital with meningitis.   I was hospitalized for three days and then flew back to Minneapolis and stayed with my brother for a week, flat on my back for most of that time. For many months afterwards I had no resistance to disease, was very fatigued, and had worse headaches than I'd had previously. Now, three years later, the only lasting side effect I have is some mild numbness in my left leg.

I didn't know much about meningitis and have found some good sites to help me learn about it.

Meningitis Foundation of America: has lots of good information and a forum for communicating with other meningitis sufferers.
Centers for Disease Control (CDC)