ENCEPHALITIS CASES

Encephalitis Cases

Roman

My son Roman was an extremely bright 4 1/2 year old when he contracted chicken pox in March 1988. We were living in Great Lakes, Illinois on the military base where I was stationed with the Navy. At his 10 day check up for chicken pox I told the military doctor that Roman was walking strange, sometimes rolled his eyes up, was having severe headaches, and the bright lights bothered him. He assured me that nothing was wrong with Roman that sometimes kids act differently after chicken pox. The following day Roman went back to day care after being gone for two weeks. I received a call from his teacher, who said Roman was rolling up eyes and pretending to be "retarded." Because he didn't do this constantly we thought he was acting up. Again I took him to the same doctor. This doctor told me that because I was a "working mom," Roman was acting up so I would stay home with him again. At this point I didn't know what to think. After the doctor visit I took Roman to Wendy's Restaurant. While at the restaurant he began to violently throw up brown stuff. I rushed him to a civilian hospital where they admitted him for possible spinal meningitis. They did a CAT scan and took blood. However, he was diagnosed with viral encephalitis. He was placed in pediatric intensive care for five weeks. While there he was given a high dose of steroids.

I began to notice that my precious Roman was changing. He became agitated easily, he lost most of his gross and fine motor skills, and some of his learning skills. He suffered from headaches and the light bothered him. He also became afraid of heights. Kids made fun of Roman because of the way he ran all through elementary school. Because of this he never participated in sports. After his illness I was told that Roman would always be "clumsy and dumb." Roman is now 18 years old and received a full ride scholarship from the University of Washington. He hopes to work for the CIA.

For the most part he controls his anger, but still gets mad easily. He will always have problems with his motor skills. Roman joined Karate to get back some balance and just received his black belt.

However, Roman is now experiencing more severe headaches as well as leg and arm tremors. Has anyone else experienced recurring episodes like this?

May your guardian angels always be with you,

Doreen & Virgil Hanson
Palouse, WA, U.S.A.

Posted: March 14, 2002

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