Having a rare brain disease has lead to a fair amount of media attention. Whilst there have been draw backs to this, which I discuss in my ‘media mania’ blog post, it has also been a great way to raise awareness about encephalitis and the effects that it can have on both the sufferer, as well as family and friends.
Here is a brief overview of my time in the spotlight!
It all started with an interview over the phone which was posted in The Daily Mail back in April 2013:
and then it was quiet for a while until they decided they wanted to do another piece at The Daily Mail in October 2013:
this ended up causing an influx of people wanting to get in on the action, with a similar article being done The Times. Then we got a phone call from the BBC asking me to be on BBC Breakfast the following day:
which lead onto more trashy mags to finish off a very busy 2013, Pick Me Up gave it’s own sensationalised spin:
by this point I had had enough of the media and therefore left it down to the mother to say her piece in the ever classy Woman Magazine in January 2014:
then in the March I found another article, rewritten and less sensationalised in Real Life:
and then by far my favourite, The Herald, and I think The Western Morning News in May 2014:
which has then lead onto the opportunity for me to be able to write a weekly column in the Sunday Edition of The Western Morning News which I have been doing for over 2 months. My column is titled ‘Living life with a brain injury’ and it is a great opportunity to raise even more awareness about encephalitis and the difficulties in living with an acquired brain injury.
(Before you say anything, yes I do realise that they titled the first article “Brain disease is not the end of the world” – it has been changed now!)
I have JUST come back home after yet another grandmal (tho most likely many more) seizures episode over the weekend. 😲😟😒😫😲😭😨😰😱. I EFING LOOOOOOAAAAAATHE THIS!!!!!!!!!!