Encephalitis Cases
Kami
I had a baby on February 17th, 2000, a boy, 9 lbs 12 oz!! He is a big one. His name is Erik Joseph F. He is doing very well and growing every day.
KamiJuneau, Alaska U.S.A.
Posted: June 29, 2000
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Encephalitis Cases
Kami
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My story has a good ending. I was diagnosed with encephalitis
in March of 1996. I was about 8 weeks pregnant at the time.
It all started after I came back from a business trip. Upon
my return my co-workers and my family noticed that I had flu-like
symptoms and my hands were shaking uncontrollably and I had
a flushed face. It soon got worse. I started doing strange things
such as sitting in our back yard in the middle of the night,
in the snow, staring up at the sky. By this time, my husband
was very worried. He decided to take me to the hospital. The
first prognosis was that I was just dehydrated, but they quickly
changed their minds when I started hallucinating and lashing
out at the doctors and my family. Finally, the doctor on-call
told my husband that I needed to be medi-vaced to Seattle because
they needed to know exactly what was going on.
We arrived at the Virginia Mason critical care unit very early in the morning. I was getting steadily worse, and they couldn't give me any medications because of my pregnancy. My husband had to make the most difficult decision ever, either keep the baby and risk severe birth defects and I probably die, or terminate the pregnancy so I would have a chance of surviving. My husband told the doctors that he wanted his wife back. After they terminated the pregnancy, things were up and down. I contracted pneumonia twice, and was in a coma for a month. One day I would be making progress, then back to ground zero the next. The doctors never knew what to expect from one day to the next.
By mid-June, the doctors thought I was stable enough to be released from critical
care. I was transferred to Good Samaritan Rehabilitation Center
in Puyallup, Washington. I basically had to learn to talk, walk,
and even eat all over again. Every day I was trying to get a
little piece of my life back. I was released from Good Samaritan
August 21, 1996 and came back home. The doctors said it would
take approximately 2 years to even come back to my job. I started
working 1 month after my return. I started part-time, and was
full-time within 7 months! The recovery process took quite some
time, but I had the most wonderful support system ever. My family
looks at life in a whole new light now. We live life to the
fullest, and enjoy every minute. My husband and I are looking
forward to having a family and are closer now than we have ever
been.
I had a baby on February 17th, 2000, a boy, 9 lbs 12 oz!! He is a big one. His name is Erik Joseph F. He is doing very well and growing every day. KamiJuneau, Alaska U.S.A. Posted: June 29, 2000 |
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