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.
Living life with a brain injury column in The Western Morning News
(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!)
My Broken Brain 
I have JUST come back home after yet another grandmal (tho most likely many more) seizures episode over the weekend. 😲😟😒😫😲😭😨😰😱. I EFING LOOOOOOAAAAAATHE THIS!!!!!!!!!!
I had the most horrific experience of my life in 2015. I had an undiagnosed teratoma tumor. I ended up with anti nmda encephalitis. Because of doctors assumptions about me i almost died. I endured 2 months of being called crazy, attention seeker, drug seeker. I was on life support the seizures deteriorated my muscles to the point of my kidneys shutting down, STILL they said i was psychotic and wanted to do electro shock therapy!!! My mom refused and the doctor just said hed get a court order and force me. I was in a coma and dying and they wanted to shock me. Thank god someone figured it out in enough time to only give me early onset dementia, severe ptsd, and a horrific fear of doctors especially psychiatrists so guess who cant bring themselves to even look up a counselor. Im so alone. I just want to talk to another me but i cant find anything! My whole story is horrific and no one will ever be held accountable or even apologize and i fear ill never get better. Relearning to walk, talk, swallow, use my hands, get my muscles back was somehow easier than learning to live without memories old or being able to make new. I would love to get my story out but i truly dont know how. I want to help others and possibly heal myself in the process. Thank you for reading