A PORTRAIT of a smiling daughter takes pride of place over the mantelpiece in the Leecy household.

The picture is a permanent reminder of a young life that was cruelly snuffed out by the killer virus meningitis.

Karen Leecy, a former pupil of St Wilfrid's in Blackburn, was just 19 when the bug struck, killing her in just 24 hours.

"We thought it was flu at first," said Karen's mother Sheila, of Cambridge Drive, Knuzden.

"She had gone to work at McDonald's and she came home early because she didn't feel well. She went to bed saying she had a sore throat."

When Mrs Leecy went up to see her daughter several hours later, she realised there was something seriously wrong but by the time Karen was taken to hospital it was already too late.

"She had a beautiful face and it was covered with a blue rash. I rang for an ambulance and we never saw her alive again," Mrs Leecy said. "We will never forget that night. We thought they were going to tell us that Karen had pulled through but that was it."

Her husband Stephen said: "To see someone go so quickly is unbelievable and she was not weak by any means - she was a very good ballet dancer."

After the tragedy, Sheila and Stephen and Karen's brother Andrew set about doing all they could to help the battle against meningitis.

They quickly set up the Blackburn and District branch of the Meningitis Trust, whose national president is the Princess of Wales.

Since Karen's death seven years ago, they have helped raise more than £30,000 for research into the condition.

"If people are aware of the symptoms and can spot it early enough there is a good chance of a 100 per cent recovery," added Mrs Leecy. "One simple test is to put a child's head down onto their chest and see if it hurts."

Meningitis is no respecter of persons or ages and has struck celebrities such as Blackburn Rovers ace Colin Hendry and the son of rugby international Bill Beaumont.

Although many make a full recovery, the more serious strains of the bug can result in blindness, deafness and amputation of limbs.

The Leecy family will never get over the death of their daughter but at least they hope that greater awareness of the disease will help save other lives.

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