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My 9-yr. old son was diagnosed with viral encephalitis in Sept. 1998.
Andrew had been sick off and on throughout the entire month of September. I had taken him to the doctor 4 times before his final diagnosis.
At first it was thought that he had the flu. Then cat scratch disease, then it was mononucleosis although that was very rare for someone
Andrew's age. Andrew began to have headaches over the weekend so I kept him home from school that Monday. I noticed the night before
that he didn't seem "right" but thought it was just because of the flu.
When I arrived home from work that evening, I was totally caught by surprise. Andrew couldn't walk right, his speech was slurred and he
continuously drooled. This was not my A+ student, my #1 soccer and baseball player. I knew something was seriously wrong! I immediately
called the doctor (whom Andrew had seen just the Friday before) and he told me to take him to the emergency room. The emergency room
was totally clueless as to what was the matter with him when I first brought him in, they thought he was retarded. I told them that he was a
straight A student and very athletic, they were stumped. They ordered all kinds of tests, an MRI, CAT Scan, blood work and finally diagnosed
his encephalitis I had never heard of encephalitis until that day. My best friend Lynn (God Bless Her!) was there with me when Andrew was
diagnosed. Unknown to me at the time, her brother had died from encephalitis 30 yrs. ago. When I told Lynn what Andrew had, she just started
crying. I'll never forget the look on her face. I knew she had a brother that passed away but never knew what he died from but she couldn't
tell me at that time.
Andrew was transferred by ambulance to a Children's Hospital close by and was closely monitored. Andrew was given every blood test and
a spinal. The spinal tap did not show meningitis. The doctor said the blood tests all came back negative for cat scratch disease, mono, etc.
It was definitely viral Encephalitis and told me he may have contracted it from a mosquito bite. I have a lot of faith in the doctors that treated
Andrew but I am still very vague on how you can get this illness. I've tried to read as much as I can on it but it seems that everyone's story is
different. Andrew has not suffered seizures, nor been in a coma again, but I've never come across anything that seems very similar to his story.
The only side effect's I've noticed are that he gets upset easier, seems to be more critical of himself and he is more hyper than before he got
encephalitis. Sometimes I tell him that he has to "think more" before he says and does things, he is very smart and realizes this but he tells me
that sometimes he can't help it and I understand.
Thought you might want an update to Andrew's story. It's been a year and 5 mos. since Andrew's bout with encephalitis. The only physical
problem he has experienced is headaches, similar to migraines, especially when he's upset or if he's over-heated (from running, sports, etc.).
Emotionally, he's changed a lot. He is much more outspoken, is much more sensitive than before and has quite a temper. Frequently he says
and does things that he would not have done before encephalitis. My interpretation is that he has problems with his "reasoning skills". I.e. he
says and does things without thinking and two seconds after he's said or done them, he realizes the fact that he should've thought about what
he said or did and then apologizes. I don't know if that makes sense but it's the best way that I have to explain it. Strange thing about it all is
that his school grades have remained unchanged...still on the Honor Roll.
I thank you for reading my story and if you have a story similar to mine I would really like you to email me at the address below.
Update:
Andrew (now known as Andy!) is now 15 and has recovered 100% from his bout with enceph. It took about 2 yrs. for him to get back to normal. The last thing to go was his mood swings and temper. He is now a very good cross country and track runner and basketball player for his high school teams and has also been on the merit roll (3.5 GPA) or higher. He plans to become a pharmacist some day. I am very pleased and thankful that he recovered from enceph. I only wish that more of the stories posted on your site had similar outcomes.
Kim
U.S.A.
Posted: May, 1999
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