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My father, aged 77 was admitted
to the emergency ward with what turned out to be encephalitis.
It is a long story but one I need to put on paper in order to try to understand
everything that occurred. In November 2003 my mother told me
that a strange thing had happened to dad. He had asked where
his bedroom was as he had forgotten. Thinking that he might
have had a stroke I told her to keep a close eye on him until
the morning when I would be there. The following day he could
not remember his bedroom but claimed to have had dinner with
his sister (who was deceased). We begged the doctor to make
a house call and he claimed that dad was suffering from early
dementia. This went on for 10 days with dad barely able to walk,
seeing dead people and losing all orientation. The doctor again
said it was dementia but finally I called an ambulance when
he fell asleep during a conversation. I was horrified when they
told us in the emergency ward that his CAT revealed massive
inflammation of the temporal lobes, possibly a melanoma.
The neurology department eventually diagnosed Herpes Viral encephalitis even though
some of his symptons were absent, and treated him with acyclovir.
He was completely unable to move but at least knew his family
and felt little pain. For 2 months he remained in hospital until
the inflammation subsided, and did a few weeks in Rehab. Unfortunately
he would panic whenever being moved and all they could do in
rehab was to strap him to a tilted bed. His short term memory
was badly damaged and he was unable to perform the simplest
task such as rolling in a bed. Dad, a very logical accountant,
could not understand the most simple logic, or numbers or read
beyond a few words.
Eventually at the end of January they released him to a nursing home. We managed to get a private physio to help him walk on a frame but his muscles were so weak and his brain so damaged that it was decided not to continue. At least he was now able to sit in a wheel chair rather than lie in a huge water chair all day and he could use his arms to a limited extent.
Encephalitis has had a devestating impact upon my father. Physically he can barely
do anything and mentally he has the faculties of a child. However
emotionally he has changed enormously. Prior to his illness
dad was a very unemotional and logical person. Now he often
cries, even when he does not know why. He is like a person with
advanced dementia although sometimes his mind is clear and he
has an understanding of his situation. But most of the time
he has no memory of his past life or his home although, thankfully
he still remembers his family. The impact upon my mother and
the rest of the family has been enormous as we are still struggling
to come to terms with what has happened. My mother still clings
to the delusion that he will come home again even though she
is told continually that he is a complete invalid.
Now that a year has passed and my dad is living in this purgatory I have to wonder
if it was worth all the effort to prolong his life. It is no
exaggeration to say that encephalitis has ruined my family's
life and left my dad in a foggy twilight zone.
Karen
Australia
Posted: Dec., 13, 2004
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