About five years ago, two of my friends from a re-enactment society [brothers] were rushed into hospital with a very rare stomach virus. Things were critical for a few days; Mike was still in danger, Tony sat up in bed laughing and talking on the Wednesday. On Thursday morning, Mike's wife and daughters were called into hospital, and were just in time to say goodbye to Tony. I can't remember the details, but it did something horrible like suddenly clotting all his blood at once. He didn't have a chance. What a stupid thing to happen, we all thought. Last year, Mike's daughter [ie. Tony's niece] was rushed into hospital with suspected meningitis [she's in her twenties]. Her parents and boyfriend were called, and they recognised her symptoms as being the same as before. They told the doctor, and he called a specialist - the one specialist of this disease in the South of England who just happened to work at that hospital They saved her. She is now expecting her first child in about a month; she has to be careful, but she's pretty much OK. Tony died so that his niece might live to have children - I have no doubt of that. He had no children of his own, and worshipped his nieces. He would have called that a very good exchange.