Tick-borne encephalitis - Bill's story
Alarming symptoms hit me over a couple of days, a horror show of unbearable headache, fatigue, vision difficulties and loss of balance that put me in hospital where I had multiple intravenous drug infusions, blood tests, scans and a cerebro spinal fluid (CSF) sampling. I somehow failed to absorb the messages about potential outcomes and relaxed in the feeling the hospital staff were doing everything possible to sort me out. I credit this ignorance and confidence with why I didn't express the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that is not unusual after TBE hospitalisation. That's not to deny this is an emotional journey and I went to some dark places under my own steam. I cried a lot in hospital, sometimes in fear, sometimes in pain and also in gratitude for the efforts of staff and messages from family and friends. Fortunately, the alarming nightmares of being stalked by a giant melanistic boa constrictor in a variety of scenarios have faded. Nevertheless, with a lot of my time spent at home alone, it still gets a bit dusty particularly reading other experiences of TBE or thinking about friends facing difficult health challenges.
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