I was playing catch the first day and reached for a ball above my head, which caused me to lose sight of the ground. I did a backward summersault. I could not understand why. As I started to study, I found I could read a page, and not even know what class it was for, let alone what I had read. I soon returned home with my folks. I checked into the University hospital. After 10 days of testing, nothing turned up. I went home with my cane. My folks took care of me a few days, but even though my Mother was a nurse, they could not handle me. They checked me into Neurology. From July I have no memory except being fed a ripe olive with a pit at the university hospital. I had tried to swallow it, but I couldn't. I remember the doctor looking down at me as he lifted the olive from the hole he had cut in my neck. How about that! Surgery in a hospital room with no frills like anaesthetic, for under $20. It was also my first and only out of body experience as I then looked down at the room, me included.

I have been told that my condition had gotten progressively worse before that, but after a short time, I had my first memory. The nurse's station had Halloween decorations. The Dr's kept asking me if I knew what day it was. How could I know what day it was when I had not seen a calendar for months? I really hated the hospital and tried to figure how I could steal a wheelchair and go home.

I remembered several high school classmates and one teacher visiting me. I found out later that I didn't recall many of them. My high school sweetheart, who had already broken up with me, spent a lot of time with me. She is married with four grown children now. We are still friends. They finally diagnosed me with MS, but a week later changed it to Encephalitis because of the progression of the illness and because I was too sick for MS. I was transferred to a rehab ward. I felt badly because I could not do anything the others could do including talk. But my mind was starting to work again. I was told that I had one side of my body paralyzed, that the other side had joined it. I was completely paralyzed. I hated OT because I just wanted to get better and out of the hospital. But when I started PT, I would sneak back to the rehab floor and use their equipment alone. They caught me, but that didn't slow me down. My rehab ward had one dark skinned orderly. He always pushed us to do everything for ourselves. He showed me how to tie my shoes, but I had to do it from then on. He was the first hospital person I trusted and liked. He helped me.

I was discharged just before Christmas, but signed myself back in for 10 more days before New Years. I had my right eye swing well to the right causing me double vision . This time, I put myself in so I didn't feel like a prisoner. More ACTH Adreno Chortico Trophic Hormone by I. V. That and cortisone was all they had then. My face was one pimple. I drove to the hospital for several follow up appointments before one day my regular doctor was not there, I convinced his replacement to sign for my driver's license. I tried several schools and failed because I couldn't write yet. I did graduate from a trade school and boy I tried hard, but just couldn't make it at work because of a lack of coordination and that frustration. I tried several more times. Once, I was laid off, so I thought I'd try the university again. I joined the chorus and marching band. That was hard because I couldn't move my feet well, but boy I tried. The first quarter of my junior year, I got a 3.8 average. I tried to show the doctor who said I was retarded, but he was gone. My only math course left was statistics. I tried very hard. Because of the Vet Cong War protesters, The university decided to let all students take one class Pass/no pass. I jumped and got a "D." I graduated. B/A in social work. A four-year course in only 8 years.