On the 30/8/02 after arriving home from work around 2 pm I answered the phone and was told by a work mate of my wife's that she had taken what they thought to be an epileptic fit, as I heard this I said it was impossible as my wife did not take fits, I jumped in the car and went to her, on arriving at her place of work I found her surrounded by Ambulance staff and workmates, and so begins the worst 15 days of my life as it stands now.
I sat beside my wife and spoke to her trying to get a response but it was as if she was trying to speak but all that would come out were groaning sounds, we were then taken to hospital were she was admitted to the I.C.U in Broken Hill hospital New South Wales Australia. Unable to determine the cause (ruling out an epileptic fit) they contacted the Royal Adelaide Hospital in south Australia and they dispatched a team in our flying doctors and she was transferred they were unable to stop the seizure and after 11and a half hours they induced her into a coma 4 days later they slowly tried to bring her out of it but every time they dropped the dosages she would go back into it finally after 5 and a half days she came out of it, regardless of what I had been told through out by the doctors which was by nowhere near encouraging from there it was massive bouts of dementia and a lot of patients and hard work for her this went on till the 15/9/02 until I walked out of the hospital with her. She is now around 90 percent and am very thank full.
Throughout this time it was not till the 9th day that I heard the name viral encephalitis although the final report states suspected but not proven. After all that I have read it is something they tell us we will probably never know and that is probably the hardest thing to come to grips with.
My wife is 38 as I have always described her she is disgustingly healthy we have 2 children 12 and a girl 8 and without the incredible people around us I could not of spent 17 to 18 hours a day with her throughout reading to her talking to her and doing what a best friend can do and that is everything possible, we traveled back to Adelaide on the 2/12/02 were she has another and hopefully last e.e.g.
I guess I decided to write this in hope I can receive similar stories for as a carer the thing I find hardest is the fact that I remember every moment and thank fully she remembers the last 2 days in hospital and for her to be out of my sight now for even a minute is unbearable. Just need to get it put into a little perspective I suppose.
Thank you for taking the time to read and thank you Wendy Station for giving me somewhere to come.
