Science writer Alex Brown's philosophical education becomes very practical when he is diagnosed with meningitis.

Alex Brown has a BSc Natural Sciences from the University of Bath and will soon graduate with an MSc Science Communication from the University of the West of England. He currently works in administration in a lab in Geneva, Switzerland. He is also fascinated by the interaction between languages and science, which he blogs about on "Do You Speak Science?" hosted by SciLogs.com

This story originally aired on July 7, 2013.