ENCEPHALITIS CASES

Encephalitis Cases

Linda

Hi my name is Linda I am 40 y.o. and in May 2007 I suffered from an attack of encephalitis. I am the CEO of a charity, prior to getting sick, I was juggling a demanding job and raising a family. Before my first collapse I had been feeling a bit unwell for a few months. I had been having really low blood pressure and generally feeling a bit vague. This particular day, I was driving to work (30 min's) and felt really nauseous, but of course continued on to work. I had a very hectic schedule that day and was getting very frustrated at my inability to concentrate. Finally in the middle of a meeting with my staff I commented that I was about to faint and then collapsed. I basically lost muscle tone but remained conscious, but very confused the whole time. I would experience periods of being awake and then would close my eyes and become paralyzed again. I would then begin uncontrollable twitching and convulsions while I was conscious. I was taken by ambulance to hospital and was released a few hours later.

The next few days were taken up with medical tests, during this time I would have brief moments of "nothing ness" when I would feel like someone had turned my brain off and I was about to fall again. This then eventuated with a major collapse in my Doctors surgery and the start of the nightmare. I was admitted to the local hospital that misdiagnosed epilepsy and wanted to send me home. I experienced the most horrific treatment where staff told my family to stop calling them when I was having a seizure because they couldn't do anything. I shared a room with patients who were too scared to take their eyes off me in case I had another seizure. I just looked like I was asleep when the seizures started and they would finish with major convulsions and twitching. Eventually I was transferred to one of the best hospitals in Sydney and put on 24 hr care where a nurse did not leave my side.

I stayed in hospital for another week, 2 weeks in total. I suffered severe anxiety following my return home and had a few major relapses. I have daily tremulousness, my short term memory is greatly affected, however my speech has now returned to normal. I have ongoing heart palpitations, extreme fatigue and am starting to feel very down about it all. The virus has attacked my autonomic nervous system and the whole flight and fight system is damaged. Exercise helps but if I overdo it I suffer for days. I am still not back at work and generally feel useless. I tire easily and have noticed that my emotions are easily changeable. I get very annoyed easily and don't tolerate people as easily.

I have been under the care of my wonderful GP and a naturopath. Meditation has helped and so has the love and support of friends. I know things happen for a reason and this experience has made me value life so much more.

After having read so many stories on this web site I know I am extremely lucky. I have always been a person who was in control and this is one of the hardest things for me to accept. I wish everyone all the best, and hope that we can all make the recoveries we need.

Linda
NSW, Australia

Posted: November 15, 2007

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