Dear Katrine Nielsen:

I read in the Mayo clinic. org website, that Encephalitis, inflammation of the brain, is caused most often by viral infections, especially in children. “In general, young children and older adults are at greater risk of most types of viral encephalitis”.

“When a cause (for Encephalitis) is known, the most common is viral infection”. Other causes are bacterial and fungal infections, and sometimes, a person gets infected by a pathogen, but instead of the immune system attacking only the pathogens, it also attacks the person’s own cells, in this case- the overzealous immune system attacks its own, healthy brain cells.

Encephalitis “often causes only mild flu-like signs and symptoms, such as a fever or headache, or not symptoms at all”, but in severe cases, “Inflammation can injure the brain, possibly resulting in a coma or death. Other complications- varying greatly in severity- may persist for months or be permanent. These complications can include: persistent fatigue.. personality changes, memory problems.. hearing or vision defects..”.

It is an amazing misfortune- your sister’s misfortune, but also your mother’s and your own. Just because your pain is not the same as your sister’s, it is still a significant. I suffer from a significant degree of Tourette Syndrome (TS), repeating tics, every moment of my waking hours. It is very, very uncomfortable much of the time. I used to think: how lucky are all the people who do  not suffer from these tics.. only later did I realize that there are all kinds of pain, all kinds of discomforts, and that just because another person does not suffer from TS., does not mean their lives are free from pain and trouble.

You need not suffer any more than you have to. You deserve to pursue a better life for yourself even though your sister is suffering. So many people are suffering, way too many. Have empathy for yourself, make the best of your life as it is, because you owe it to yourself.

A best life for you will  not be a fantastic happily-ever-after story, but it can be better than what it is. I will stop here, but we can continue to communicate for as long as you want to, if you do, in the days and months ahead.

anita