It all started as a normal Thanksgiving Day, sitting around a bonfire with our family. The next day, everything changed.

The day before her symptoms began, my daughter was completely fine – dancing, talking, and her usual happy self. Then, suddenly, she woke up crying with a severe headache that no medication could relieve. Soon after, she began complaining of intense abdominal pain, so I rushed her to the emergency room at the hospital.

On December 1st, doctors checked for appendicitis because of how severe her stomach pain was. Everything came back normal. They told us she likely had inflammation in her intestines, to treat it like a stomach flu, and that she would be fine.

But she wasn’t fine.

When we got home, she slept the entire day and couldn’t get out of bed. Then she began slurring her words. She was running into walls when she tried to walk. Her eyes started fluttering uncontrollably. I knew in my gut something was seriously wrong, and I rushed her back to the hospital.

On December 3rd, doctors performed a lumbar puncture (spinal tap). It showed abnormal white blood cells – something was very wrong. She was immediately rushed to the intensive care unit (ICU). By then, she was completely unresponsive. She could open her eyes, but she couldn’t move or speak. I was terrified. My world felt shattered.

Within 24 hours, the MRI results came back. The doctors gave us the devastating diagnosis: encephalitis with Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM). The inflammation was on her spinal cord and covered her entire brain. We were told she had only a 15% chance of survival.

She spent a month in the hospital fighting for her life. She endured multiple rounds of IVIG, high-dose steroids, and 15 failed IV lines because her veins kept collapsing.

After completing IVIG on December 17th, she still wasn’t improving. On December 18th, I surrendered completely to God. I placed my daughter in His hands and begged for healing.

That same day, she began talking. She began improving. A miracle unfolded right in front of us.

Now we are in recovery – filled with therapy appointments and countless doctor visits. The doctors tell us that early diagnosis is what saved her life – and I know God had a tremendous part in that too.

We are now three months post-diagnosis. We know she has permanent short-term memory loss, cognitive deficits, anxiety, and PTSD from the encephalitis. But we also know the brain can take up to a year to heal from a traumatic brain injury like this, so I remain hopeful.

She is walking. She is talking. She is doing almost everything she did before – except for school and dance for now.

Sharing our story is painful, but if it raises awareness and saves even one life, it is worth it.

Know the symptoms. Trust your instincts.

 

FLAMES:

Flu-like symptoms

Loss of consciousness

Acute headaches

Memory loss

Emotional changes

Seizures

 

Go with your gut. It could save a life.

 

If you would like to share your lived experience of encephalitis please share your story with us via the story page on our website.

Story published August 2026