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Daniel
  • 29, Male
  • Christchurch
  • New Zealand
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What phase of your recovery are you in right now?

Started 6 hours ago

This is where I live!

Replied 10 hours ago

This is where I live!

Replied Nov 23

 

JOIN THE 'NEED A LAUGH?' GROUP AND HAVE A LAUGH

Profile Information

Country:
New Zealand
USA? What state?
Not in the USA
City:
Christchurch
Sex:
Male
Name of Illness and Year
Bickerstaffs' Brainstem and Limbic encephalitis 2005, Gillain Barre 2004
Your role? (Caregiver, Survivor,...)
Survivor
Relationship Status:
Single
How do you spend your time?
Rehabilitation
Studying how to improve in rehabilitation
Studying Chinese
Working volunatrily (just finished)
Improving where and however possible
What Are Your Dreams For the Future?
I've often thought of encephalitis like a home detention sentence - initially homebound and unable to leave, then restricted by fatigue and physical limitations lessening the places you can go to, then tentatively allowed back out to see things again, but limited by factors like darkness, rush hour and so forth. I can't wait to see my limitations finally vanish. Completely. Goneburger. Like a fart in the breeze. sionara. h'asta la vista....baby.
What are your strengths?
100% sober and sane - no longer even kid about lacking sanity to imply possessing super motivation - I am motivated and motivated by no longer feeling questionably minded (self analysis - if labelling yourself mad is your choice then I in no way imply anything being wrong with that)
Do you have a website?
http://www.no.co.nz
Are you on facebook?
yes I am - add me if you see me there!
Favorite Music:
Rhythmical hardrock (ie not pointless noise)
Rhythmical rock (ie sounds good and not 3 chord 1 hit wonders)

as well as various snippets from other genres evident on my playlist.
Favorite Musical Artists: (Notice... it's plural now!)
Metallica Shihad Silverchair Elemenop Tool Nirvana ACDC Bush
Midnight Youth Pearl Jam Split ENZ James Blunt AnikaMoa OpShop
Linkin Park The Valves Eskimo Joe Foo Fighters The Feelers U2
Brooke Fraser Matchbox 20 Goodshirt The Killers REM The Cult
Muse Stellar Filter Aerosmith Evermore Snow Patrol Nickelback
Favorite TV Shows:
24
WWE
Sports events (cricket, rugby league & professional tiddly
winks)
The X files
Favorite Movies, Actors and Actresses:
Ravenous Nightmare on Elm Street (all) Star Wars (all) The Cell
Resident Evil 1-3 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Jackie Chan
Evil Dead 1-3 Team America, World Police Memento
The Shawshank Redemption Monty Python Life of Brian (The)
Friday the 13th (all) Monty Python & Quest for the Holy Grail
*NOTE : I Am ALWAYS PREDISPOSED TO ANSWERING MESSAGES FROM OTHER SURVIVORS/CAREGIVERS : IF YOU WANNA CHAT WITH SOMEONE THEN CHAT WITH ME AS I'M ALWAYS KEEN*

I obtained a scholarship in 2003 in the study of Mandarin Chinese to attend a school in LanZhou, central China, in the year 2004 to continue my studies but contracted the neurological virus 'Gillain Barre' during that year. This took 6 months to recover from before I stupidly went back at the beginning of 2005 to finish my scholarship. Then I was back home and it was July and my head hurt like buggery and my body functioned like it had been buggered, as the only partially recovered first infection of the preceding year turned into encephalitis, and the real journey began....

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Daniel

Paying for the past

I wonder if anyone else here on Survivors Plus has acquaintances or people they knew prior to illness and in the early stages of infection, who saw your initial symptoms : the slurry speech, the involuntarily rolling eyes, inability to stand, to remember more than a minutes worth of events and so forth, and were horrified by it? There is one other symptom I've omitted to mention which has contributed to the reasons behind this blog - immaturity and seemingly being simplified or slightly retarded… Continue

Posted on November 23, 2009 at 4:30pm — 1 Comment

Daniel

Oh, how helpful we are...

I remember being *very* unwell - people expected things like getting out of bed or just eating a meal without spilling the food from my fork or spoon on my lap. Achieving those things was difficult to do. My memory was so bad that each time felt like the first time trying that at all after falling unwell - My mind knew what a fork or spoon was, but my body seemed not to have any idea,
"Pour the soup into your mouth" I'd think as my shaky hand inevitably spilled it on the tray I then used,
"Cross… Continue

Posted on November 20, 2009 at 7:54pm —

Daniel

Stuck in a moment (thanks for the title idea, Tish)

I've often harped on about how people I once knew have been less than supportive throughout the course of this recovery, but I've also begun trying to see things from their point of view : someone they knew (myself) who was a good friend and drinking companion stuck in that past life and with a neurological disorder which left him constantly appearing like we all used to at 2am, when the booze ran out and we were about to crash for the evening anywhere we could on the floor.

I remember those ti… Continue

Posted on November 11, 2009 at 4:12am —

Daniel

From nothing to something

I actually recall waking in hospital in the midst of a cold New Zealand winter (icy, no snow) in 2005.....and again the next day when I thought it was the first, and the day after that until, maybe a month afterwards, I began to expect to awaken in hospital. I recall this having happened now but, at the time, it felt like waking after a hard night drinking and trying to recall the events of the previous evening as everyone informs you of how silly you were. Everyone still said things of the even… Continue

Posted on October 29, 2009 at 5:44am —

Daniel

Adjusting

I got what I call the, 'adaptation copout craptaculer' - spiel from my neurologit about 2 years ago now, almost to the day. I went into the hospital having fooled myself into believing he'd fall over himself with surprise and interest about how much I'd then improved. He did the complete and utter opposite without being directly offensive,

"Your eye astigmatizm is still all over the place" I can still hear him tell me in his thick, South African accent (the accent makes the memory clearer in my… Continue

Posted on October 20, 2009 at 9:19pm — 3 Comments

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At 1:27am on November 25, 2009, Hope said…
Let me add Wow, to what you added on my page.
That must have been difficult to say the least.
But, also very freeing to you.
Allowing you the chance to say how you have felt.
I am super proud of you, that took alot.

You asked?
"You ever had someone you moved on from, in the friendship sense, just reappear after you felt over their absence from your life? How did you react, assuming so?"

Yes I have, I have grown so much apart from "PAST FRIENDS" .
I feel a sence of uncomfurtness while being around them so I choose not to be around "PAST FRIENDS."
At 12:59am on November 24, 2009, Hope said…
Is it tea time for you there?

How are you? What is going on?
At 9:00am on November 21, 2009, Hope said…
GOOD MORNING, is it morning there yet?
Well, if not, it will be morning soon (LOL)!

How are you?
At 9:27pm on November 20, 2009, Hope said…
Oh Y-E-S it is Fri.!!

How are you?
To answer some of your question:

You Ask:
How long you still got in your year left to go?"
I have like four weeks!

You ask:
Looking forward to the break?
Oh yeah I'll be online! PROMISE, I can't wait. I miss you, and I miss others on this site also.

Any plans?
Yes, come online!
At 9:21pm on November 20, 2009, Terry Lane Chesnutt said…
Daniel:
This is Terry. I am the one that posted the story which was written by my mother. I am happy to answer any questions that you may have.

What I had was a very severe case of encephalitis. According to what I was told; 65% who had it at the time died, 30% are human vegetables, 4.99% are severely handicap and which is left 0.01% is where I am. At the time (1964) not a lot was known about encephalitis (not to say a lot is known now). I think my mother was trying to make a point about even mild cases are hard to diagnose.

To say I have fully recovered from the encephalitis is probably not a correct statement. I am still dealing with some effects from it 44 years later. True the effects are minor compared to what most people are dealing with. When I was aware of what was going on after the coma in the hospital, I could not write or read anything. In the next couple of months, I did re-learn or remember how to read and write again. I was very weak and the sun would drain all my energy very quickly. That lasted for several years but each year not as bad as before. Now I do okay. I am tired all the time. The doctors said I would be tired the rest of my life and I am. I have learned to live with it and know how much sleep I need or I will get sick. As for your question about walking, I could walk when I woke up from the coma however I was very weak and it was difficult to do so. It took some time before I could walk without tiring too much. It was several months.

Was it easier or harder for someone at 14 with this disease, that I do not know. Most of the doctors I saw at the time did not have any answers for what happened. Even at the hospital, I was taken to Emory University Hospital with a room full of doctors asking all kinds of questions to me about what happened and how I felt. I visited doctors for a few years afterwards with follow ups but nothing after that.

My wife has spent many hours on the internet researching encephalitis and has found out some of the small problems I am facing now are related to encephalitis. This is how I found this site.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask. I will do my best to answer them.
At 10:52pm on November 19, 2009, Hope said…
Hey there you.... How are you?
What is new?
How is the weather there?
At 3:05am on November 19, 2009, Hope said…
Honors opens many doors for me!
I have many more choices regaurding schools, studies, career opertunities.
At 2:43am on November 19, 2009, Hope said…
You asked me:
"How's your study year shaping up?"

I am doing well, very tired right now!
I have a little over a month left this semester, this is 2 1/2 years for me I can't believe it,!
In Jan. it'll be 3 years!

You also ask:
" Do you feel more confident about things now?"

I sure do.
I know I can do this!

I am very much ready!

You ask:
" How are your studies going right now?"

Great!
I made honors again, I am so, in a state of WOW!
I'm doing it!
At 1:59am on November 19, 2009, Hope said…
How are you? What is going on?
At 11:33pm on November 15, 2009, Hope said…
The weekends over... boohoohoooo
well another day, right?

How are you? Is it Tues. there?

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