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It’s the stuff of romantic comedies and dramas, but for Jenny Grieve, it’s real life.
Jenny was struck with encephalitis at the age of twenty one, in August of 2014.
It started when she had a seizure that was first diagnosed as a panic attack, and her mother became worried when she started to forget people's names and cry and laugh without explanation. When doctors looked further, they realized what it was.
Encephalitis includes inflammation of the brain, and it causes the immune system to attack itself.
Her particular form was NDMA-r encephalitis, which is one of the most severe kinds. Your body produces antibodies that attack the brain, and sufferers are more likely to relapse.
Luckily, they caught her condition early. If they hadn’t she may have died.
So she spent two months in a hospital, in a coma while her body recovered.
When she woke up, something very important had changed.
She was convinced it was 2010. She couldn’t remember anything that had happened afterward, including four years of her relationship with her boyfriend, Martin Fudge. She thought they had just started seeing each other.
“At first I was admitted to a psychiatric ward as everyone thought I was losing my mind,” said Grieve, now 22. “Thankfully doctors soon recognized my confusion and seizures were down to encephalitis. I was diagnosed within 12 hours.”
Her memory will never be the same.
“I was constantly confused by my mum tried her best to help me. She would show me pictures on her phone and play voice clips from my family members, she stayed at my bedside the entire time.”
Her recovery has changed everything. She now keeps a diary of everything that happens during the day, in the hopes that it will improve her memory. She also uses two whiteboards to write down important dates and records what she does every hour. Her boyfriend has stood by her, and she reminds herself of their relationship every day.
Her medication also made her gain over 80 pounds, when she was once Woman of the Year at her local weight loss group.
“It was upsetting to seem myself gaining weight when I had no control over it,” she said, “but now I’m off that medication and I feel much better.
“I don’t know how long I will need to write everything down but I’m hopeful that one day I will return to my normal self. It’ll be great to have my independence back and to start my career in helping children with brain injuries.”
