This story is about my father, Sanjay Jain, who contracted Herpes Simplex Encephalitis at the age of 53 in 2019, and has been on the road of recovery since then.

All was well, on 3^rd August 2019, until it wasn’t. My father, out of the blue, started having a headache in the evening. He got checked from his aunt (who is a doctor), and she suggested that we take him to the hospital in our hometown, Udaipur (India), as he had started stuttering. Upon reaching the hospital, his brain’s MRI was conducted and my father was admitted in the ICU. Over the course of the next few days, my father’s health deteriorated. He felt feverish, started drooling and passed urine. His blood test suggested that he had contracted an infection, due to which the doctors put him on steroids. Soon, he started losing control over the right side of his body, and my mother, his aunt and friends decided to take him to Bombay, where he can get better treatment. My brother was immediately called home from his job in Gurgaon. I was still in college and knew nothing about what had happened.

Upon reaching the hospital in Bombay, after a treacherous one-hour ride in the ambulance, the junior doctor, being swift in her response, began tests and brain scans. Everyone was shocked to hear that my father had contracted Herpes Simplex Encephalitis, a viral infection in brain. My father was put on ventilator, and he was unconscious for 22 days. The only thing that we heard from the doctors was, “We are trying to save his life”.  I travelled to Bombay from Delhi (where I was studying) while he was unconscious. God was with us and he finally woke up on the 23^rd day. We were all very happy because we had passed the most dreadful time. He couldn’t recognise any of us when he woke up and had several tubes attached to his body for breathing, nutrition and passing of urine. The right side of his body was paralysed as the left temporal of his brain was impacted by the virus. He couldn’t speak, walk, eat or excrete at the time. His weight had reduced by 25 kgs.

But our journey towards recovery had begun. And we were hopeful. While he was admitted in Bombay, we began physiotherapy and speech therapy. Soon, my father started feeling suffocated in the hospital and only wanted to go back home, to Udaipur. So, we brought him back home after two months, where he was surrounded by his loved ones. My brother left his job after some time and I was back at home due to Covid. Slowly but surely, my father’s health started improving. His tubes got removed, he started walking again (after 5 months) and regained strength. We taught him everything from scratch during the lockdown – language, mathematics, family tree, seeing time. The logical part of his brain was still very strong, but the virus had affected his naming nerve and he couldn’t remember the names of people and things.

My father says that the disease had affected the strongest aspect of his personality. Often, he feels lost in conversations. He was very sharp before the disease – with multiple accolades under his hat. Before, he was a practicing Chartered Accountant and ICWA, and was the owner of multiple businesses. After the disease, he had to give up all the work and focus on learning the basics again. Despite all this, his decision-making power and wisdom remain intact. All of us, including his family and friends, still see him like we did before – with the same respect, love and admiration.

Today, after 6 years, when I look back, we have come a long way, stronger than ever. Now, my father does all the household work, learns Hindi and English, watches Hindi movies, plays cards and goes for a walk in the evening. His vocabulary has improved immensely and he is on the road to restart office work little by little. He hasn’t recovered completely – he walks slowly, his voice isn’t fully clear and he still has no sense of taste and smell – but the doctors say that what we have achieved is a miracle in itself. I am so inspired by the strength, discipline and will power my father has shown through the years. Although we were always there to support him in his journey, but it is only because of his own determination that he has reached this stage. I hope his story empowers others going through similar challenges in life – to rise beyond limitations and embrace life, one day at a time.

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Story published November 2025