I was diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis in August 2015 when I was 17.

What happened at school

I was with my classmates studying for a quiz. We were in a garden in campus and I collapsed, head-first in the concrete and I was seizing. My classmates brought me to the clinic, and I was monitored for a few hours. My parents arrived and I was sent home. Unfortunately, when we arrived home, I was not physically responding to them. I was just staring blankly with no emotions. Then they decided to bring me back to the hospital. Luckily, our university has its own hospital, so this was where I was admitted.

I went through a lot of tests and doctors trying to figure out what was happening to me.  I was continuously seizing and having other symptoms, but nothing was showing in my test results. Different doctors took my case, but no one knew what to do. I was fortunate enough that they did not stop trying to figure out what was happening to me. They saw some patterns similar to a recent case of autoimmune encephalitis so they tried the same course of treatment to see if I would respond to it.

During the treatment,  I was transferred to intensive care because I was not breathing properly.  I was in a semi-coma for 2-3 months. I spent my 18th birthday in intensive care while my family and friends took turns visiting me. I can still remember my hallucinations that time, a mix of seeing the light and seeing demons. Until one day, I slowly gained consciousness of my reality.

When I woke up, they tried to explain to me the situation, but I didn’t really quite get it. I was not able to speak yet, so my form of communication was through writing or texting. I slowly went through a lot of therapies to regain my mobility and making sure that I am fit to leave intensive care. By November 2025 I was discharged but I still had my trachea tube and continued therapies at home. I was on strict isolation orders so I didn’t go outside the house, even leave the room unless I need to go to the bathroom.

Then I slowly gained a sense of normality going out more still taking precautions. We decided to celebrate my 18th birthday later in February and consider it a celebration and thanksgiving of my second life. While preparing for this, in a span of 2-3 months I was able to recover really well so my doctors decided to slowly decrease my intake or medications. By the time of my party, I was already 1 week with no medications and complications.

But after the event, I relapsed and manifested symptoms again. This was when my doctors decided to proceed with the last step of the treatment which was 6 months of chemotherapy. For me this was the difficult part because I was conscious but could not control my body from emotions and physical reactions. I physically hurt my family members while they tried to help or take care of me at home. I lived in different hallucinations from thinking I have kids, to random bursts of realities then snaps back to my normal self. Not to mention the pain of chemotherapy every month. I developed depression from knowing I am left behind in life by my peers, and I took medicine for this. I was also advised to express my emotions through art and this paved my career as an artist. Since then, I use my story as my motivation to live the life that I want moving forward.

Life after recovery

Now, I am a creative designer, and I founded a community of local artists. I am able to explore a lot of things that I feel like I would have never had the opportunity if not of this life changing event. It gave me a sense of purpose and direction of what I want to pursue in life. I believe that it happened for a reason, for me to be able to find myself and build myself even more coming from it.

Ongoing aftereffects

One of the after effects is that I cannot really multitask. My memory is foggy, especially of things in the past and I easily forget things. I had to learn how to work around not stressing myself and changing my lifestyle as to not risk my health. I do not put myself in danger especially if I know my body will not be able to handle it. It has always been my priority to put my health first.

A message for others

For my fellow survivors and for those who are going through it, I hope me and everyone who shared their story gives you hope and courage that after all this, you’ll be able to redeem yourself in all ways that matter. To yourself, to the people you love, and even to those you don’t know personally. You’ll always be a beacon of inspiration and when the time comes, I hope you’ll be able to shine your light to others as well.

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Story published July 2026