Extraordinary Sunshine Weaver

Encephalitis is a brain inflammation that can accompany viral infections, such as measles. There are different forms of encephalitis, but my experience was with measles encephalitis in 1958, when I was 6 going on 7. A few days after contracting measles, my legs gave out, and I lost my ability to speak, eat solids, and walk. Helpless, I was dependent on my parents for everything. I recall the isolation and fear. One night my parents swept me up to take me to the hospital. I think I must have been going into the coma, which lasted a month. When I awoke from the coma, I was able to talk but not walk. I returned home in a giant black wheelchair. Not wanting to live in a wheelchair, I taught myself how to walk again. The encephalitis affected my memories, so the time line is fuzzy. I recall I returned to school once the school year was underway. I can’t recall if I was still in the wheelchair, but remember I was forced to sit in the hall because people feared I was infectious. Because I felt singled out and lonely, I decided to walk again somehow. There were no physical therapy services. My parents had to be out of town because my grandfather had died, and dad needed to close down the family home in another state. While they were gone, I worked on my problem. I pulled myself out of the wheelchair, grabbed onto furniture, and dragged myself along from chair to chair to couch again and again. I forget how long it took, but I recall running up to my parents when they returned home. My recovery was a miracle, a rare outcome. 

This interview, arranged by Encephalitis International last year, describes my experience with measles encephalitis, which made me a vaccine advocate.

 https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/local/measles-survivor-becomes-vaccine-champion/article_2eda6246-0bde-11ef-9d56-7be56b649cdd.html

MMR VACCINE

At the time of my illness, we didn’t have the MMR Vaccine. When that vaccine and the polio vaccine became available, my parents made sure their children were vaccinated. The MMR vaccine has saved countless lives. However, due to vaccine hesitancy based on debunked claims and the pandemic, which prevented WHO from inoculating people abroad, we have a resurgence of measles.

https://www.cdc.gov/measles/hcp/clinical-overview/index.html#:~:text=Even%20in%20previously%20healthy%20children,results%20in%20permanent%20brain%20damage.

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