Anthony Mills from Kidderminster lost his son Aaron, 18, to meningitis and is now campaigning for vaccination awareness among university students after the Liverpool John Moores student died on January 3
A father says he feels as though he’s living in an ‘alternate reality’ after losing his ‘ Liverpool FC-obsessed’ son to meningitis. Aaron Mills, an 18 year old student at Liverpool John Moores University, passed away on January 3 following a battle with the infection.
Aaron’s father Anthony, from Kidderminster, spoke about how he and his son were devoted Liverpool supporters and said following the Reds had become his son’s ‘religion’.
Mr Mills said: “I had taken Aaron to go and see Liverpool vs Barcelona in 2019; famously when the corner was taken quickly, and that’s when I knew that he felt it like I did. I looked over and he had tears in his eyes.”
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Mr Mills explained that he and his wife Deniz had strived to give their son the best opportunities and spoke about their excitement for him to discover himself during his time at Liverpool John Moores University. He said: “Me and his mum made a near-perfect human. He was kind and funny, and he always left the house as the best version of himself. He had become my best friend.”
Aaron had been studying sports science at LJMU and had returned home a day earlier than planned from the winter term to surprise his father for his 50th birthday, treating him to a night out in Worcester with friends reports the Liverpool Echo.
The family then celebrated Christmas together, but Mr Mills recalled first spotting signs of illness in his son on December 29 when Aaron became confined to bed. His father said he appeared “tired” and “run down” but attributed his symptoms to freshers’ flu. Mr Mills revealed: “I went into his room to tell him off because he woke me up moaning; that’s when I realised something was wrong.”
He recounted how Aaron’s basic brain function began to deteriorate, describing him becoming “delirious”, and stated that the time frame was around 30 or 40 minutes from him speaking to his mum, to him settling down in the ambulance and then losing all brain function.
He added: “He didn’t know that we were there.”
Just an hour later, Aaron was placed into an induced coma at Worcester Hospital. Doctors couldn’t perform surgery due to the swift advancement of his condition. He was kept on life support for a few days before he tragically passed away.
As Mr Mills grapples with his son’s death, he implores parents of university students to get vaccinated against meningitis – particularly after witnessing the lethal outbreak of the infection in Kent.
He added: “Aaron would be alive now if he’d had it”
Following his passing, Aaron’s family consented to donate his organs; since then, they have received letters stating that his son saved six lives. He described the news as “bittersweet”. The bereaved father was in parliament on Tuesday, deeply troubled by the significant outbreak in Kent. He spoke to MPs about his son’s death and is also hoping to meet with Health Secretary Wes Streeting.
He believes awareness of the meningitis threat needs to be far more widespread, stating: “Not a lot of people know about it, and neither did we”. He’s calling for the information to feature more prominently in student health packs for those starting university.
Discussing the Kent outbreak, Mr Mills revealed he stayed awake worrying until the early hours when the news first emerged, frantically attempting to contact universities. He described feeling deeply concerned about the outbreak, remaining awake until 2am after the news broke while trying to reach all the universities.
Reflecting on coping with his son’s death, Mr Mills said: “It feels like I’m living in an alternative reality; even now, I still can’t accept it.”
Around 300 people attended Aaron’s funeral in a community where he remains deeply missed. His father explained how his son’s kindness had earned him a strong reputation through supporting grassroots football teams and coaching youngsters in the sport.
