Judy Miller uses her daughter’s death as an inspiration to help save others through the Beth Ann Miller Foundation.

Beth, a sophomore health sciences major at Eastern Illinois University, died March 12, 1999 of bacterial meningitis at age 19. She wanted to go into family counseling, Judy said.

The weekend before Beth died, she came home thinking she had strep throat, which she had in February and was not treated for, Judy said.

Beth was feeling worse by the end of the weekend, when Judy advised her to go to the doctor.

“At the time strep A was going around, so I told her to be careful of her symptoms,” Judy said.

Tuesday was the last time Judy was able to have a conversation with her daughter.

It was Judy’s birthday and she received an e-mail card from Beth and her pet iguana, thanking her for taking care of her during the weekend and wishing her a happy birthday. Judy asked her to visit a doctor again when they spoke on the phone, but Beth refused because of financial reasons.

By Wednesday morning, Beth became so sick during class she had to call her roommates to pick her up because she was too weak to get home on her own, Judy said.

Beth finally went to the doctor that day, but he misdiagnosed her and prescribed her penicillin pills, even though she could not keep anything down, she said.

Beth became so sick her roommates rushed her to the emergency room at 3:30 a.m. Thursday morning.

“Once she was in the emergency room, the doctors knew immediately what was wrong and did a spinal tap,” Judy said.

She was then transferred to Carle Clinic in Urbana.

“By the time we got there she was really out of it, like a brain patient,” Judy said. “Brain patients don’t know people, and get really agitated when people try to talk to you.”

On Thursday evening Beth was more lucid and the doctors thought she was going to get better, Judy said.

“Around 7 p.m. we went to eat figuring she was more or less out of the woods,” she said.

When they returned in less than an hour, Beth had suffered a heart attack from the brain swelling and it took the doctors 45 minutes to bring her back to life, Judy said. She was on life support when they returned to the hospital.

By midnight, the doctors declared Beth brain dead. She died on Friday.

When Judy found there was a vaccine available for the disease that night, she and her family began discussing a way to inform people about the forms of meningitis and the vaccines.

The solution Judy and her family had come up with was to form a foundation dedicated to informing people on the disease and prevention. Judy, her family and others close to Beth formed the Beth Ann Miller Health Foundation.

“[The goal is to] stop meningitis and make sure kids get their shots,” said Rose Ullrich, Beth’s grandmother who she called Nana.

The foundation helped to pass the Beth Ann Miller Meningitis Law, requiring all state colleges to inform first-year and transfer students of the disease and provide the vaccination on campus, Judy said.

They are now working on passing another law for elementary schools, she said.

In addition to organizing laws, the foundation provides financial assistance for bacterial meningitis vaccinations for those who cannot afford it.

To raise money for the shot, the foundation organizes an annual golf outing at Heritage Bluffs Public Golf Club in Channahon.

On average the outing collects about $7,000 every year with about 28 teams participating. Many of the team members participate every year including former Bears player, Brian Baschnagel, Judy said.

For more information on the golf outing or to receive assistance on a vaccination call (815) 634-4957.