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| Bernard |
Our story began on February 14th, 1987 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. My father, Bernard, became very ill, after suffering from what we thought was a bad cold. He had a seizure and was rushed to emergency to be treated. We had no idea how much our lives would change from this point on. He was in a coma for 3-4 days and pretty much out of it the first month or so. The doctors were slow to diagnose him with viral encephalitis. They were also very skeptical about any recovery. However, my dad has nine lives and we knew this battle was not over. My father had suffered a grand mal seizure and had to wake up from this mess first of all and then began to walk, talk, speak and start to recall who his family was. It was a slow and frustrating process. We turned to the Veterans' Administration of St. Cloud for help.
Because of the Encephalitis my father has no short-term memory and had to be placed in a locked ward for rehabilitation. He is a father of four, and visiting him in a psychiatric ward at the VA was a rude awakening for the whole family. But for his own safety it needed to be, and once again it proved dad was a survivor and that we had made the right choice for his recovery.
Approximately 5 months later my dad came home, and for the next 10 years led a very limited lifestyle. No driving, napping every afternoon was a must, and lots of journaling to help him remember new things, and limited stress. Considering where he was 6-7 months prior, we were thankful for his progress. My father was seizure free the first 10 years via Tegretal. This last year he turned 69, however, it has been a nightmare. About every 5 weeks he suffers with post encephalitis seizures that the doctors are trying to get under control. He is on large doses of seizure medications to control them. Somehow I wonder if we have come to point that the combination of his body getting older and the medications not being strong enough to control this is where we have come to. The last ordeal we have faced is Christmas morning 2000. My dad suffered 4 days of seizures and a week later is starting to wake up. His speech is hard to understand and his right side has limited movement. We did not think he would
pull thought this one.
We are exhausted from seeing him suffer and constantly searching for answers. We realize that the doctors do not have all the answers and that there is so much we do not understand about the brain. However, we still pray for a miracle every day and yet, still try to be realistic, too. Living with something like this teaches you to slow down and appreciate the littlest things in life. We never know what tomorrow has in store for us! God has granted us with 14 years of extended time with my dad and we are so thankful! We are very blessed!
That is my story.
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His daughter, Pam
Minnesota, U.S.A.
Posted: January 1, 2001 |
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