'I feel trapped': Regina meningitis patient faces barriers to rehabilitation support

When Brenda Herback woke up the morning she was set to fly to France from Regina for a vacation, she had no idea she would be in a coma in a matter of days.

She certainly didn't think that months later, she'd be fighting to get help with her recovery from meningitis. 

Brenda, 65, and her husband Garry Herback had planned to go on a river cruise, but the morning they were set to embark, Brenda had a headache. The couple didn't think much of it. 

As they traveled, the pain got progressively worse. Once the Herbacks reached Bordeaux, France, on Sept. 13, 2024, Brenda was sleeping constantly. 

"You could tell she was struggling. And so we sat her down and she said she was seeing double," Garry said.

He took his wife to an emergency room in Bordeaux on Sept. 14. The doctors informed him that Brenda had meningitis and later identified the bacteria that caused it. Garry said everything sounded positive.

But the next morning, he got shocking news from the hospital.

"They told me she got into a coma and that they're waiting for a surgeon and they were very, very worried," he said.

"I was going, 'Oh my god. Oh my god. You know, is she gonna die? Is she gonna die?' Because I didn't really know what was going on. And that's when it all began."

Brenda was diagnosed with listeria meningitis. According to the Mayo Clinic, listeria infection is a food-borne bacterial illness most commonly caused by eating improperly processed deli meats and unpasteurized milk products. To this day, Garry says the family has no idea how Brenda got the infection.

According to the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA), bacterial meningitis isn't as common as viral meningitis. It says the illness is "very serious" and needs to be treated right away to "prevent brain damage and death."

Garry and Brenda have been married for 47 years. Before contracting meningitis, she was active, smart and a leader in her local photography club. She loved walking and playing with her grandchildren, and was known to be very health-conscious. 

"For some reason, [the infection] just jumped from her intestines into her bloodstream and from her bloodstream to her brain," Garry said.

The Herbacks flew back to Regina on Oct. 10. Brenda was still in a coma.