CHOCOLATE

[kitnkaboodle]

I CAN TASTE CHOCOLATE PROPERLY AGAIN 🥳

…only took 15 months!

[OldGnome]

This is very good news!! Just a sign that even more improvements are on the way!! And they all began with chocolate!! 😆

I believe I will use your good news as an excuse to purchase a large quantity of chocolate for myself!!

🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫

[OldGnome in reply to OldGnome]

Forgot to add a pic of a local chocolate company here. They actually have a "forest" made of chocolate! Sort of like Willy Wonka, but real!!

Chocolate Forest!

[kitnkaboodle in reply to OldGnome]

I hope so! I thought I would hate chocolate forever, so this is a nice surprise. It seems like I only like certain types, though. High-quality dark chocolate brownies from Ghirardelli taste the best so far. If I lived there, I could go to that factory and taste-test the whole lot!

[Wygella]

Whoo hoo! Isn’t that a lovely feeling!! All my taste is back and if anything stronger except bananas. I used to love. bananas!!!

[kitnkaboodle in reply to Wygella]

When I was a kid, I hated bananas. Right before E, I was finally fine with them. Then, after E, I hated them again! I am slowly becoming indifferent again.

[Wygella in reply to kitnkaboodle]

That’s me exactly! Except I still don’t like them!

[Remos]

That’s wonderful news. I’m ok with chocolate.

It’s Caviar and Champaign I’m struggling with.

[kitnkaboodle in reply to Remos]

I haven't tried any alcohol, but I bet I'd hate it because of the bitter taste, and it would probably make my movement disorder worse. I've never tried caviar, so I don't have a baseline on that. But, I LOVE filet mignon now, so my tastes have become more refined (read: expensive) in that way.

[Remos in reply to kitnkaboodle]

Hi Kit - I was only joking😀. I haven’t had any alcohol since I was diagnosed either and I’ve never tried caviar (not quite ready to celebrate anything just yet). Anyway, it’s good to know you’re in great spirits. Keep it up.

Remos

[kitnkaboodle in reply to Remos]

Oh, man, that’s embarrassing… 🙈

Maybe we should both try caviar. Because there’s plenty to celebrate—we survived E. That’s a big deal.

[Remos in reply to kitnkaboodle]

Thank you 🙏

[kitnkaboodle in reply to Remos]

You’re welcome. I try to make a concerted effort to acknowledge milestones in my recovery. For example, I had a nice dinner with my siblings on November 2, 2021, the first anniversary of my discharge from hospital—my Alive Day! ✨ I highly recommend!

[Gandalf2]

Hurrah! 🎯

[Jensibel]

Yay... another step forward in this recovery! Thank goodness it was chocolate 🍫 that gave you that break-through moment. Blimey, imagine if it'd been something dull like cauliflower. 😆. I'm now 16 years post-E and my sense of taste is still not right. Like you though, I've had a few wow moments. My family always smile about the time when I once took a sip of tea before says "that's not mine, it's sugared!" The family all cheered and clapped because I'd finally tasted sugar again.

[kitnkaboodle in reply to Jensibel]

Aw how sweet! (Pun? 🙃) Ironically, I started to get my taste back on Thanksgiving after getting out of hospital; chocolate was one of the last foods that didn’t taste as it should. Maybe there are some more I don’t know about yet…

But, geez, I’d love to hear more of your story. We both got E in our mid-twenties, and you’re 15-20 years ahead of me. Marriage and children seem impossible to me right now. Were you already married when you got E?

[Jensibel in reply to kitnkaboodle]

Hi again kitnkaboodle. I got encephalitis at 27 years old. I had a long-standing boyfriend when I got E and we were already living together then. I am relieved to say that we're still together now - married, with two kids! I'm 42 years old now.

My memory difficulties after E can put a strain on our relationship from time to time. Hubby James is patient with me mostly.

Something that helps us is a household wall calendar. No-one's allowed an appointment or night out unless they put it on the calendar!! It stops me making boo-boos like double booking things, or cooking a dinner for 4 when I'm home alone (yep, been there, seen it, done it 🤦)

Jensibel xx

[kitnkaboodle in reply to Jensibel]

I’m glad to hear you were able to have a family after E and that your husband is supportive! Is memory the major long-term issue for you?

[Jensibel in reply to kitnkaboodle]

Yes, memory is by far my biggest problem after E. Sadly, it meant loosing my office job 😔. I just couldn't do the same skilled PR/marketing roll I had before. These days, I'm now a school dinner-lady! I'm great at the instant practical tasks in this catering job. It's no long-term projects, or things to carry over to future weeks. It's just here-and-now catering for a very captive audience. Jx

[kitnkaboodle in reply to Jensibel]

That sounds like a fun job! I like cooking a few times per week. That’s great you are able to do paid work—in any capacity. It seems like a sizable group of patients with E can’t go back to work and definitely not in the first 3-5 years. I have to quit school.