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| Dorothy |
I am 59 years old and had encephalitis when I was about 12 years old. It changed my life forever. I don't have the severe physical problems like many others. I am sensitive to light but am coming to terms with it. Again, not as sensitive as some. I am thankful for my blessings.
The two most difficult hurdles I've had to overcome were depression and what the illness did to my education, actually there was a third difficulty, the lack of social development also during that time.
I attended high school and received my diploma but I went from being an "A" student to a "D" and "F" student after my illness. The only skill I had to earn a living was
typing. My original plans had been to be a nurse and until my illness I was on track for that.
One of my problems during and after, for a number of years was lack of comprehension. I could read something out loud or to myself and not be able to tell what I had read. Some days are still a little like that. Now it is more the spoken word is more difficult to always comprehend.
My help came in the form of psychotherapy, over 35 years to be exact. It also came in the form of seeking help from God and any door that opened to me as seeming it could help I went through.
Today I feel I am mostly past that time in my life. I have a lot to be thankful for and I love my life today.
I believe when a person's life is spared there is a higher purpose for that life and the being spared was not accidental and it is up to us to give it our best shot. My life has not been easy but I have come to the other side of the illness. I hope I can be of encouragement to you to let you know it is indeed possible. It seems the means of healing are as numerous as the debilities it leaves. There just isn't one answer and each person's answer is as unique as their illness.
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Dorothy
Oregon, U.S.A.
Posted: December 10, 2005 |
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