I'll Get Back To It [Staying Focused]

Staying on track is one of the hardest things to do as a viral meningitis and encephalitis survivor. 18 years ago I was diagnosed with this new disease that was just starting to make its appearance in the United States and low and behold I was one of its victims.

At 17, in March 2002 I contracted this virus and the hospital sent me home on Tylenol stating it would pass. Oh no, it didn't it progressed. If you are immediate family and friends you know this story really well. But most of you do not. So, I will tell you a bit. There were other students who had contracted this virus and they suffered just as I. I loss my memory, I had problems walking and with speech. I had begun hallucinating. I had taken on many personalities. I stayed in the hospital for weeks at a time. I was even put into a psychiatric hospital. Noise bothered me, watching tv aggravated me. I wanted to always be alone. My family and I watched how celebrities contracted the same thing, but they were treated right away and didn't suffer like the rest of us with no money. Doctors told us there was no cure. Still, drives me crazy to this day.

It is a struggle for me at times to really concentrate after that illness because it attacked my brain. After being diagnosed everything for about 3 years is a blur. I suffer from short-term memory loss, epilepsy, a mood disorder, anxiety and panic attacks. I can tell you it's not fun. I take a lot of medicine to help me live as normally as I can. you can tell me something and in two seconds I will have forgotten. I can be standing talking to you and in minutes I can have a seizure. I can be the happiest person standing next to you and I can just burst into tears. All this because of one illness.

Staying focused is not an easy task for me. I have so many ideas as a creative person, but sometimes I begin things and don't finish them. Not because I don't want to or because I'm lazy. But because I lose interest in things very quickly. I have started notes for hundreds of book ideas and can't seem to get back to them. Other things like reading. I start books and stop in the middle of a book. It can be an awesome book, but I set it down and don't go back to them.

My parents tell me, write everything down it will help. Sometimes it does. It helps me follow through with things. I keep trying but still I forget. I'm learning to stay focused.

Tell me do you suffer from anything like this?

I would love to hear from you and hear all about your story. Please email me at tidapublishing@gmail.com.