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| Steven |
Hi my name is Stevenn. I am 38 years old (2002), and I live in Boston Mass. In December-2001 I had a sore throat but I didn't pay any attention to it because I was on my way to ski with my friends. After my skiing trip during Christmas time, I went to N.Y. City for New Years. After I came back and worked for about a week. On Jan-6th I was feeling sick, I had a sore throat and a headache. I came home and went to bed early and took some Tylenol. I woke up during the night around 2am and I went to the kitchen to get more drugs, well I made it half way and I fell down. I could not move and I was passing out.
I woke-up a week later in ICU in Brigham & Women's Hospital, they tell me I was in a coma for a week and I was not expected to survive. I was transported to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston where I spent another two months. The doctor finally told me there what happened. I got sick with Viral Encephalitis. It's a bad virus that has a very low survival rate. But instead of killing me it kicked me up pretty bad. I was paralyzed on the left side of my body. I could not walk, talk or do anything else. I needed nurses to move me from the bed to wheelchair to wheel me in the bathroom or a shower. So, strong minded I figured that it was no way to live like that, so after a few failed suicide attempts; the psychiatrist put me on Zoloft (anti-depression drug) and a 24-hour suicide watch. They had a nurse sit out side my door and look at me day and night. So I figured the only way out of it was to work hard on my self, so after two months of intense physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy, I learned to walk and talk and I went home.
I have been home for about a month now and improving every day. I still get PT, OT and SLP every day on the outpatient basis. I will need therapy for a long time. I'm back at work part-time now. My throat and face muscles are getting stronger, that is good because I'm starting to sound like my self again. For a while I sounded like drunken Mickey Mouse. I'm getting more good movement from my left arm and use a cane for outside walking, because of obstacles like curbs, potholes and imperfections in the road. It 's really hard to type this with one hand. I have to go for my driving exam in a week or so to get my driving license back, I think I can do it because my vision is coming back slowly. My balance and equilibrium is back to about 50% so I can tell where in space my body is. Well I hope to hear from anyone about anything on this virus.
Thank you.
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Steven
Boston Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Posted: April 18, 2002 |
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