So 10/14/2012 a friend comes over to help me do some maintenance on my car. Nothing major, but man I was dragging. We finally got it done and he asked what I wanted to do next, and I said I'm done for the day which was around 7pm (pretty early for me). I got inside and at 7:17 post on FB "At least I get to watch one football game today...if I can stay awake". I go in, start watching the Sunday Night game and fall asleep. Next thing I know there's banging on the door, its my buddy Troy (who is a doctor).
Troy: Adam, I'm coming in
Me: OK
Troy: how are you feeling?
Me: Tired
Troy: What day is it?
Me: Idunno
Troy : When was the last time you drank anything?
Me: Idunno
Troy: I'm taking you to the hospital
Me: OK
So I get up, nearly fall over and work my way to the bathroom where I pee the darkest pee I've ever seen. I stagger out to his Trailblazer SS and he hauls ass to the Hospital. We go in, start the paperwork and he tells them whats going on and I get admitted. Now...come to find out, it is now TUESDAY and I've basically slept for 2 days straight, no food, no water...just clean knocked out. Apparently, my friends and family had been texting like normal with no reply which was abnormal, and on Wednesday afternoon my mom posted on my FB page "Idunno if you're mad at me or what but you arent returning any of my messages". One of my other friends saw and said I wasnt responding to him either, but he did call me and I chewed him out and cussed at him for no reason. Apparently I answered the phone screaming at him in my daze, agreed to a price on a gun his friend was interested in and went back to sleep, this being sometime Monday or Tuesday. Anywho, I get admitted and am severly dehydrated, still crazy tired and nobody knows what the heck would cause me to sleep for 3 days straight and the weird behavior. They run tests and narrow it down to a few possibilities, one of which requires a spinal tap to diagnose. Doctor brings the spinal tap in and tells me to lean over and be still, and he inserts the needle into my spine. He hits a never and I jump and he says "can you feel your toes?" Uh, yeah. "Ok, we're good" and continues on. He pulls the needle out, informs me it wasnt long enough and has to repeat the process. Take 2 went better and they get the sample they need and send it off to the lab and admit me to the Kickdown Unit (one step under Intensive Care). I stay for a few days when the tests come back with a diagnosis: Viral Encephalitis aka a viral infection of the brain that causes swelling. There's really no known cause, apparently its kinda like a cold and you can just get it...and there's no really solid treatment except relieving pressure if it gets too high and just waiting it out. Luckily the facebook stuff happened and my Doctor friend sprung to action. I spent about a week in the hospital. Doctors said if I was left there for another 24 hours I'd probably be dead, so I got lucky there. It took me 3 months before I could go back to work again. Up until that day, I never drove anywhere. I was not comfortable driving and got dizzy in the car so anytime I had to go somewhere, I had to have a friend take me...for 3 months. It was like a total system reboot. I was exhausted from just RIDING to the store with a friend and getting some quick groceries for dinner. I'd eat dinner and have to sleep for another 12 hours. My body had no temperature regulation for over a year. Several times I almost passed out from a QUICK fever (20 minute "hot flash" basically) and extreme sweats while sitting outside trying to cool off in the December weather. I remember one incident it happened while I was at the store with family and my options were to pass out or sit in the refrigerator at the store and soak up the cold. I got cooled off enough that they took me home where I sat in the house around Thanksgiving, windows open and fan on trying to cool off. Once it started getting warm, I couldnt be outside in the "heat" (above 80) degrees for any amount of time when before then I could be outside in 100 degree heat all day working on cars with friends. It took me 2 or 3 years to get my temperature regulation "back to normal" which really sucked. The Neurologist told me basically any "symptoms" I still have after 60 days "will be your new normal" which was also encouraging. Every stepping stone that happened, where a "switch" flips and you realize you got over one of those symptoms, you start to realize how bad off you were. Its a really weird thing to happen, and there's been some life changing things I now get to "deal" with that are really hard to get used to even after 5 years. The two main ones, which are very odd....I lost ALOT of my temper. People who know me now find it hard to believe how short my fuse used to be, but I could go from 0 to 100 if somebody so much as looked at me sideways and it was all bad. I still can get pretty bent, but it takes ALOT. My mom says its a good thing, my friends think its weird. The weirdest lasting symptom to me though, is I now have emotions I never had before. I cant explain it, but I never gave two shits about you or them or anybody else and what they thought of me, etc. I dont get all worked up about it but having "feelings" about things and for people is a weird thing to get when you're an adult, especially when you were so cold inside for all your life before then. I think it sucks, but who knows, maybe thats how normal people are and I wasnt normal until this whole incident.
There's really no point in this post...just thought I'd share and my apologies it turned into a novel. Obviously as long as it was, its the cliff notes...but it was the craziest thing I've ever gone through and wouldnt wish it on anyone.
Troy: Adam, I'm coming in
Me: OK
Troy: how are you feeling?
Me: Tired
Troy: What day is it?
Me: Idunno
Troy : When was the last time you drank anything?
Me: Idunno
Troy: I'm taking you to the hospital
Me: OK
So I get up, nearly fall over and work my way to the bathroom where I pee the darkest pee I've ever seen. I stagger out to his Trailblazer SS and he hauls ass to the Hospital. We go in, start the paperwork and he tells them whats going on and I get admitted. Now...come to find out, it is now TUESDAY and I've basically slept for 2 days straight, no food, no water...just clean knocked out. Apparently, my friends and family had been texting like normal with no reply which was abnormal, and on Wednesday afternoon my mom posted on my FB page "Idunno if you're mad at me or what but you arent returning any of my messages". One of my other friends saw and said I wasnt responding to him either, but he did call me and I chewed him out and cussed at him for no reason. Apparently I answered the phone screaming at him in my daze, agreed to a price on a gun his friend was interested in and went back to sleep, this being sometime Monday or Tuesday. Anywho, I get admitted and am severly dehydrated, still crazy tired and nobody knows what the heck would cause me to sleep for 3 days straight and the weird behavior. They run tests and narrow it down to a few possibilities, one of which requires a spinal tap to diagnose. Doctor brings the spinal tap in and tells me to lean over and be still, and he inserts the needle into my spine. He hits a never and I jump and he says "can you feel your toes?" Uh, yeah. "Ok, we're good" and continues on. He pulls the needle out, informs me it wasnt long enough and has to repeat the process. Take 2 went better and they get the sample they need and send it off to the lab and admit me to the Kickdown Unit (one step under Intensive Care). I stay for a few days when the tests come back with a diagnosis: Viral Encephalitis aka a viral infection of the brain that causes swelling. There's really no known cause, apparently its kinda like a cold and you can just get it...and there's no really solid treatment except relieving pressure if it gets too high and just waiting it out. Luckily the facebook stuff happened and my Doctor friend sprung to action. I spent about a week in the hospital. Doctors said if I was left there for another 24 hours I'd probably be dead, so I got lucky there. It took me 3 months before I could go back to work again. Up until that day, I never drove anywhere. I was not comfortable driving and got dizzy in the car so anytime I had to go somewhere, I had to have a friend take me...for 3 months. It was like a total system reboot. I was exhausted from just RIDING to the store with a friend and getting some quick groceries for dinner. I'd eat dinner and have to sleep for another 12 hours. My body had no temperature regulation for over a year. Several times I almost passed out from a QUICK fever (20 minute "hot flash" basically) and extreme sweats while sitting outside trying to cool off in the December weather. I remember one incident it happened while I was at the store with family and my options were to pass out or sit in the refrigerator at the store and soak up the cold. I got cooled off enough that they took me home where I sat in the house around Thanksgiving, windows open and fan on trying to cool off. Once it started getting warm, I couldnt be outside in the "heat" (above 80) degrees for any amount of time when before then I could be outside in 100 degree heat all day working on cars with friends. It took me 2 or 3 years to get my temperature regulation "back to normal" which really sucked. The Neurologist told me basically any "symptoms" I still have after 60 days "will be your new normal" which was also encouraging. Every stepping stone that happened, where a "switch" flips and you realize you got over one of those symptoms, you start to realize how bad off you were. Its a really weird thing to happen, and there's been some life changing things I now get to "deal" with that are really hard to get used to even after 5 years. The two main ones, which are very odd....I lost ALOT of my temper. People who know me now find it hard to believe how short my fuse used to be, but I could go from 0 to 100 if somebody so much as looked at me sideways and it was all bad. I still can get pretty bent, but it takes ALOT. My mom says its a good thing, my friends think its weird. The weirdest lasting symptom to me though, is I now have emotions I never had before. I cant explain it, but I never gave two shits about you or them or anybody else and what they thought of me, etc. I dont get all worked up about it but having "feelings" about things and for people is a weird thing to get when you're an adult, especially when you were so cold inside for all your life before then. I think it sucks, but who knows, maybe thats how normal people are and I wasnt normal until this whole incident.
There's really no point in this post...just thought I'd share and my apologies it turned into a novel. Obviously as long as it was, its the cliff notes...but it was the craziest thing I've ever gone through and wouldnt wish it on anyone.
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