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My name is John and I am 49 years old. I have lived in NJ all my life and had my first bout with encephalitis at the age of 8, in 1958. In 1960, at the age of 10 I had a relapse. I really do not know much about the problems or what affects it has had on me because I was raised in the most dysfunctional home you can possible imagine. Between being sexual abused by both parents and some relatives (and others), I have somehow managed to bury my past so deeply that sometimes I don't know if a memory I have is true or is it something someone told me that struck a chord and stayed with me somehow.
I was told many times that in 1958 that I was the third person to
survive encephalitis without any physical or mental defects
during a widespread outbreak in NJ that year. I don't know how
true this is. I do know that I was in 3rd grade class when I was
taking a test. The teacher "caught" me looking down my shirt and
thought I was cheating. I was actually blowing on myself because
I was extremely hot. The teacher saw the German measles on me and
sent me to the school nurses office down the hall. I didn't make
it there as I went blind before arriving and then, before the
rescue squad arrived, I had gone into a come. Again, please
realize that I cannot be absolutely sure of any of this as this
is mostly what I had been told by my mother (who is now deceased).
In 1960, I was re-admitted to the hospital (Perth Amboy General,
Perth Amboy, NJ) and released sometime later from a relapse.
Again, I was told that I was special as I was (supposedly) the first person to survive two bouts with encephalitis suffering no apparent physical or mental defects. All I do know is that I was barred from participating in sports including little league, etc. I did have a very bad stutter and a pronounced lisp when I was released from the hospital.
In the 70's I cut myself off from my dysfunctional family and stayed away until recently (two years ago). By then, my motherwas deceased from cancer and my sister (Born in 1960) says my encephalitis was not that bad. I DON"T KNOW WHAT THE TRUTH IS!!!!
Perhaps long term memory loss or just a strong desire to keep my youth blocked out is responsible for this quirk.
I was wondering if any other people have suffered from these problems? If anyone would like to let me know about their problems or be able to offer any insights, I would be most appreciative.
Thanks for taking the time to read this and for offering this forum to let this out.
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John
New Jersey, U.S.A.
Posted: June 29, 2000 |
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