Here is a collection of films and podcasts made by Encephalitis International featuring young people sharing their experiences of encephalitis.
Becky, Claudia, India, Erin, Tahla, Rhys, Diane and Nicole have all been affected by encephalitis in their young lives.
Thank you to each and every one of our contributors for sharing your stories with the community.
Thank you to the Masonic Charitable Foundation, UCB Community Health Fund, Persimmon Homes Yorkshire, David Jennings UAP for funding that helped creating some of these resources.
Rhys' Story
Rhys, who had encephalitis when he was 15, in 2015, shares his story with us. He talks openly about dealing with the illness, hospital stay, friendships and returning to school. Rhys is part of the Society’s Team Encephalitis Volunteers.
Becky's Story
Becky, who had encephalitis when she was 16, in May 2012, shares her story with us. She talks openly about her after-effects, and shares her advice for adapting after encephalitis.
Claudia's Story
Claudia was an active 20 year old when she was affected by post-infectious autoimmune encephalitis. She talks openly about her recovery and how encephalitis has affected her life:
India's Story
India, who had NMDAR-antibody encephalitis when she was about to start her GCSE’s, shares her story with us. She gives her advice on recovery, seizures, returning to school, hobbies and friendships. India’s brother, Shaan, also shares his advice for siblings and family members of young people affected by encephalitis.
Erin's story
Erin and her mum are sharing Erin’ s story of influenza (flu) associated encephalitis . Now 14, Erin was affected by encephalitis when she was 5.
Tahla's story
Tahla had autoimmune encephalitis when she was 15. In this film, she shares her experiences of encephalitis, recovery, and friendships, as well as her tips on how she has supported and improved her mental health since her hospitalisation with encephalitis.
Diane's story
Diane, 22, from London. is a final year Psychology with Cognitive Neuroscience undergraduate student, aspiring clinical neuropsychologist, speaker, social entrepreneur, encephalitis overcomer and volunteer. Diane had auto-immune encephalitis in 2018, when she was 15 which encompassed months in a semi-coma state where she couldn’t talk, walk, eat or see due to complete vision loss from high intracranial pressure.
Diane discusses her lived experience, reintegration into education and the importance of empowerment when going through recovery after encephalitis on this podcast episode.
Nicole's story
Nicole was diagnosed with Anti-DPPX receptor encephalitis when she was 20 years old while she was at University. This lead to her needing to abandon her studies to recover. Luckily, Nicole is recovering well and is about to start the final semester of her course just two years later.
She discusses her journey with Prav on this podcast episode.