World Encephalitis Day is the global awareness day for people who have been directly or indirectly affected by encephalitis. Founded by The Encephalitis Society in 2014, it’s held on February 22 each year. This year our client’s husband, Brian Millward, wanted to share his wife Janice’s story to help raise awareness of this heart-breaking disease.
Janice suffered life changing injuries when her condition was diagnosed and treated as a stroke instead of viral encephalitis. As a result of the delay in receiving acyclovir, an antiviral medication, Janice sustained significant and irreversible brain damage and can sadly no longer care for herself or live independently.
We understand, through the work we do the enormous and heart-breaking impact encephalitis can have on those affected and their families and we’re grateful to Brian for speaking so opening and honestly about his wife’s condition.
Janice was a healthy, sociable and outgoing lady before her illness. She enjoyed swimming, cooking and baking in her spare time. Janice was also an active member of the Women’s Institute and loved spending time with her friends and family, especially her daughters and grandchildren. As the below video shows, sadly none of this is now possible due to her disease and misdiagnosis.
A life altering moment
In March 2018, Janice became unwell with a headache and nausea and so went to bed to get an early night. The following morning, Brian and her family noticed that she was behaving unusually and that she seemed very confused and disorientated. She was complaining of a headache and became drowsy.
Janice and Brian’s daughter, Joanne, rushed her to hospital as her state was becoming increasingly worrying; she was diagnosed with suffering from a suspected stroke. It wasn’t until one week after her admission to hospital that Janice was re-diagnosed with viral encephalitis and the correct treatment was then able to take place.
Tragically, had Janice received acyclovir earlier, it’s likely that she would be living independently today. She now lacks the capacity to deal with her own affairs and is dependent on others to meet her day-to-day needs. Brian decided to contact us for advice and support after his wife’s condition worsened, and our expert solicitors began looking into exactly what happened and the care she received.
Brian said: "Janice is now able to walk again, but she has no short term memory and no cognitive ability. She talks a lot, but we’re not sure what about most of the time. Although what she says clearly makes sense to her.
"She needs full time care, and so was moved into a care home in November 2019. I visited her every day until COVID-19 put the care home into lockdown in March 2020. Now we can only visit once a week for 30 minutes in a room divided by a screen.
"Janice has no understanding of what’s happening and often won’t even come in the room, which is very distressing for the family."
Richard Kayser, the solicitor looking after Janice’s case explains: "Since 2018 it’s been an incredibly difficult time for Janice, Brian and their family, the repercussions of Janice’s initial incorrect diagnosis have been enormously detrimental. I’m working hard to make sure the family can have a small amount of comfort in knowing some justice has been served and that similar mistakes won’t be made again."
What’s encephalitis?
Encephalitis is a condition where the brain becomes swollen, it can be life threatening and requires urgent treatment in hospital. The very old and the very young are those most at risk, but anyone can be affected by encephalitis.
It’s not always clear what causes the condition. It can be caused by viral infections, when a virus such as herpes simplex (which causes cold sores and genital herpes) or chickenpox spreads to the brain. Another cause of encephalitis could be a problem with the immune system, where it mistakenly attacks the brain, causing it to become inflamed. Bacterial or fungal infections can cause encephalitis, however these are much rarer causes than viral infections. Also some types of encephalitis can be spread by mosquitoes (Japanese encephalitis), ticks (tick-borne encephalitis) and mammals (rabies). You can’t catch encephalitis from someone else.
The symptoms:
Encephalitis can sometimes start off with flu-like symptoms, such as a high temperature and headache.
Other symptoms include:
- Confusion
- Drowsiness
- Fever
- Headache
- Irritability
- Loss of Consciousness
- Memory Loss
- Muscle Weakness
- Poor Responsiveness
- Seizures
- Sensitivity to Light
- Stiff Neck and Back
- Sudden Severe Dementia
- Unsteady Gait
- Vomiting.
If you or a loved one experiences some of these symptoms, and you feel something just isn’t right, be sure to seek professional medical advice, even during in the COVID-19 pandemic.
For general enquiries
0808 291 3524
Or we can call you back at a time of your choice
Phone lines are open 24/7, 365 days a year
