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March 24, 2021 | By Shadazah (Daisy) Brown
Message from the IAES blog staff:
We are honored to present the third blog in a series by a mighty AE Warrior who continues her battle and hopes to raise awareness of AE and how devastating it can be.
Part 1 is here: https://autoimmune-encephalitis.org/post/?highlight=Shadazah%20Brown%20
Part 2 is here: https://autoimmune-encephalitis.org/my-continued-story-about-having-autoimmune-encephalitis-2/?highlight=Shadazah%20Brown%20
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I sit here and think about how to begin and write the third part or story or chapter in my AE journey. It is difficult because many days I am confused, tired and lose focus.
I have AE GAD65 Stiff Person Syndrome. My ongoing symptoms include many things one of which is the inability, at times, to be able to focus. My ongoing treatments have side effects as well. Sometimes I have moments or minutes where I blank out and seem to stare off into the distance or I have seizures. It is scary to be honest. I have had many hospitalizations in 2020 and into 2021. I am seen by many doctors, have appointments and treatments and have had various surgeries to help deliver the proper meds. I go to doctors at both St. Charles Hospital and at NYU. I have had catheters, ports, fistulas and all manner of devices to help deliver the correct meds to try and stabilize my AE. It is stressful and at times extremely painful! I have auras and at times cannot smell or taste a thing. I am diabetic and sometimes my glucose numbers are too high or too low due to AE and/or the meds and treatments. At times I find myself breaking down and hoping the pain will stop and wishing my AE would simply go away.
But….at each doctor’s visit or hospitalization I have hope that the next treatment or medication they try will help stabilize my AE. I have been battling this disease since my diagnosis in 2017 with the help of great doctors, family and friends at my side. I will continue in this battle and hope for AE remission!!!
Become an Advocate by sharing your story. It may result in accurate diagnosis for someone suffering right now who is yet to be correctly identified. Submit your story with two photos to IAES@autoimmune-encephalitis.org
International Autoimmune Encephalitis Society (IAES), home of the AEWarrior®, is the only Family/Patient-centered organization that assists members from getting a diagnosis through to recovery and the many challenges experienced in their journey. Your donations are greatly appreciated and are the direct result of IAES’ ability to develop the first product in the world to address the needs of patients, Autoimmune Encephalitis Trivia Playing Cards. Every dollar raised allows us to raise awareness and personally help Patients, Families, and Caregivers through their Journey with AE to ensure that the best outcomes can be reached. Your contribution to our mission will help save lives and improve the quality of life for those impacted by AE.
For those interested in face masks, clothing, mugs, and other merchandise, check out our AE Warrior Store! This online shop was born out of the desire for the AE patient to express their personal pride in fighting such a traumatic disease and the natural desire to spread awareness. Join our AE family and help us continue our mission to support patients, families and caregivers while they walk this difficult journey.
May-13-2020 | Shadazah Brown (known as Daisy)
December 31, 2019 at 10 p.m., I had a seizure at home. I woke up the following year, January 1, 2020, in the hospital. I didn’t even get to see the ball drop and celebrate with my family.
I woke up crying in so much pain, hooked up to the plasmapheresis catheters in my neck. Some of my hair had been cut for the EEG machine. My stomach hurt because of dry heaves. I felt like nothing.
Since my diagnosis with AE in 2017 — which began with a seizure in a store that caused me to split my forehead open — my seizure medications have been changed regularly to manage my epilepsy. I am also diabetic, meaning the steroid treatments have resulted in additional trips to the hospital to manage high- and low blood sugars. In that same time, the doctors have decided to give me plasmapheresis treatments every three months.
My depression has kicked in much more and I have lost all communication with my friends and family
Being told you’re totally disabled at the age of 24 hurts a lot. I couldn’t celebrate my 25th birthday because I had plasmapheresis surgery since I needed the treatment right away. I still want to be able to work, drive, drink, party, and live a healthy young person’s life.
I miss having fun so much. I watch so many videos and look at pictures and I cry. People I thought were friends and truly cared, who would be there compassionately, haven’t been. I’ve spent the last two years alone. I have a couple of friends that are still there but remain somewhat distant.
Now that I have to go to hemoglobin infusion once a week for five hours at a time, I have made new friends who are actually older than me and they are really good people to talk to. (Sometimes, I really miss them and can’t wait until infusion… LOL.)
Become an Advocate by sharing your story. It may result in someone receiving an accurate diagnosis who is suffering right now and is yet to be correctly identified. Submit your story with two photos to IAES@autoimmune-encephalitis.org
International Autoimmune Encephalitis Society (IAES), home of the AEWarrior®, is the only Family/Patient-centered organization that assists members from getting a diagnosis through to recovery and the many challenges experienced in their journey. Your donations are greatly appreciated and are the direct result of IAES’ ability to develop the first product in the world to address the needs of patients, Autoimmune Encephalitis Trivia Playing Cards. Every dollar raised allows us to raise awareness and personally help Patients, Families, and Caregivers through their Journey with AE to ensure that the best outcomes can be reached. Your contribution to our mission will help save lives and improve the quality of life for those impacted by AE.
September 4th, 2019 | Leigh Ann Broyles
Then came “Roof-apocalypse 2017”. I woke up for work with a large bruise on my hip and leg, and somehow my brain convinced me that it was no big deal. I had fallen off the roof the day before when I was attempting to trim the large tree in our front yard. It was encroaching on our roof, and I had taken matters in to my own hands. I went into work that morning and complained about how much it hurt. The thing is, I have never been up on any roof, let alone my own. I suffer from a fear of heights. Getting up on a foot stool typically has me shaking in my boots. We don’t even have a ladder to climb up on. I was one hundred percent sure that I had been up there, though. My brain remembered falling into the bushes, remembered the impact, and remembered an elderly neighbor coming outside to check on me. Except we don’t have an elderly neighbor, and the tree looked the same. It was still sitting on the roof where it had been all along. I had never been on the roof, and as it turns out, my brain had been lying to me for a while.
A few weeks later, I was late to work, and my boss became worried. I can count on one hand how many times I’ve been late to work in the past 16 years. Being late is exceptionally unlike me, and is one of my pet-peeves. I work as a vet tech for an emergency and critical care department in a very busy specialty veterinary hospital and being late impacts patient care.
My husband had been working overnights at the time, and my boss decided to call him since I wasn’t answering my phone. My husband rushed home in the early hours of the morning and found me in our backyard. I was laying under a bicycle having a grand mal seizure. We still don’t know how long I had been outside, or how long the seizure activity had been happening, but we knew that it was long enough for all of the skin to be worn off of my knuckles, knees, and ankles. I had road rash on one side of my face as well. The date was May 25th, 2017.
I was rushed by ambulance to the closest hospital, and the police were called. My husband (who is the sweetest, most gentle man) was interrogated and accused of beating me. I was accused of being a drug addict and alcoholic. The neurologist on staff refused to acknowledge that my issues were primarily neurological and didn’t even believe that I had suffered from a seizure. He sent out toxicology panels, all which came back negative. At this point, my family was aggravated, and demanded answers. Multiple EEG’s, CT Scans, and MRI’s later, nothing had changed. A false diagnosis of psychological issues vs. potential viral/bacterial meningitis was doled out to them. I was placed on anticonvulsants, IV fluids, and antibiotics (as my white blood cell count was elevated, and my kidneys had taken a hit from prolonged seizure activity).
I seemed to improve, and luckily, was transferred to a physical therapy center. By no means, was I normal at this point, but the neurologist “saw improvement” so he discharged me as quickly as possible. I assume it was like a horrific game of hot potato. I spent an unknown amount of time at the physical therapy hospital. I ended up developing nystagmus on top of my ataxia and aphasia. I had my second seizure, but this time it was witnessed by medical professionals. Honestly, I still don’t remember the first hospital, the physical therapy unit, or the majority of what was to come.
In total, I received 9 IVIG transfusions, had over 50 IV catheters, two PICC lines, one central line, was on tapering steroids for a year, and two different anti-convulsant medications for a little longer than that. I spent a month hospitalized between the three facilities. I have completely recovered with no signs of relapse and no major lasting effects two years later. I continue to suffer from depression and anxiety and have been started on medications to help. There was a short time where driving to a doctor’s office would throw me into a full-blown panic attack, but since starting on medications, I can confidently walk in with a smile and steady hands. Better living through chemistry, I suppose!
To all of the patients, the families, and the friends who deal with this disease: It can be ugly, and it can be scary, but in the end please do not give up hope. Remission and recovery are possible. Living a normal life is possible.
Always keep fighting, and don’t ever give up. You are not defined by a disease.
Become an Advocate by sharing your story. It may result in an accurate diagnosis for someone suffering right now who is yet to be correctly identified. Submit your story with two photos to: IAES@autoimmune-encephalitis.org
Our website is not a substitute for independent professional medical advice. Nothing contained on our website is intended to be used as medical advice. No content is intended to be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, nor should it be used for therapeutic purposes or as a substitute for your own health professional's advice. Although THE INTERNATIONAL AUTOIMMUNE ENCEPHALITIS SOCIETY provides a great deal of information about AUTOIMMUNE ENCEPHALITIS, all content is provided for informational purposes only. The International Autoimmune Encephalitis Society cannot provide medical advice.
International Autoimmune Encephalitis Society is a charitable non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2016 by Tabitha Andrews Orth, Gene Desotell and Anji Hogan-Fesler. Tax ID# 81-3752344. Donations raised directly supports research, patients, families and caregivers impacted by autoimmune encephalitis and to educating healthcare communities around the world. Financial statement will be made available upon request.
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