Viral Meningitis 72 year old father

My dad fell unresponsive over 2 weeks ago. Once in the hospital they determined he had viral meningitis. Lots of antibiotics and 2 weeks later he is extremely weak, won’t eat, and he is confused and agitated. He struggles to know who we are (my mom, brother, grandkids, etc) and has little to no short term memory. He showed signs of improving after 10 days but has declined over the last 4-5 days and moved to neurological unit. We are seeing no signs of improvement.

Has anyone dealt with viral meningitis in an elderly parent? My dad is quite strong but has many health issues already. It appears we are being faced with him being sent to a rehab facility because they don’t feel him staying in the hospital is necessary. The doctors are saying the meningitis is cured and mri are not showing other injuries such as stroke or brain bleeds.

What should we expect? Will recovery be slow and steady or will improvement happen more quickly the father we get from his initial diagnosis and medical treatment

Thanks

[Bellesmom12]

Everyone appears to be different. I am 6 months after diagnosis and still having after symptoms. I am 57 and I can’t imagine what your dad is feeling. I am so much better but my mind still gets foggy and weird and I still get dizzy and have numb spots that come and go, plus tremors that are worse some days than others. This is awful but I have found the less I think about it and the more positive I stay the better I feel. But not easy to do that at first. Your dad will get better. Slow recovery is normal and not easy to watch I am sure. God bless you all!! Tough but he can do it with help from loving and positive people around him.

[Arunmala]

It usually takes atleast 6 months for brain recovery. Until then he can be given occupational or speech therapy to regain his old memories. Rehabilitation is the only way.

[dobguy1]

It's been 14 years for me since VM. I still struggle with ocd and light sensitivity as well as feeling foggy. I don't believe these symptoms to away but may become.less intense with time. My MRI showed nothing too. Takes getting used to but can be a b&5tch at times especially when it's hard to explain to someone how it feels. Hope he gets better w time.

[RHB2016]

I am so sorry for your family dealing with this. I had vm at 65. Was out of it for 30+ days. Then I was in rehab for 31 days. It's been 3 years and I still have problems. The doctors just don't know how the after effects are. I still have no energy or stamina. Pray your father has a better recovery. It takes time.

[Vmzoster]

I am so sorry for your father and your family. I am 39 and got shingles virus meningitis mid-January 2019. It was horrible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everyone on here is correct and even the doctors don't seem to understand how long and severe this is. It is extremely frustrating. Unfortunately, the brain imaging they use says "nothing is wrong" but as everyone who has gotten it can attest to, even after we are so called "cleared" and imaging looks fine, the brain is absolutely NOT working fine...and it won't for a long time. As much as many doctors say you go back to normal after some time, I am convinced that many of us are never "exactly" as we were pre-meningitis. Almost seven months out, I am working out (aerial, hot yoga, dance) but my stamina is nowhere near what it used to be. It took a long time for me to even be able to do this stuff again but I have to be VERY careful and I stop as soon as my body tells me, even when it is in the middle of a class. When I get tired, I have a lot of trouble finding words and I notice that watching a movie after a long day, things are moving so fast that I don't understand what is happening and what the story line is. Sometimes the people are talking so fast I can't understand them. It can cause anxiety because it feels so strange and makes me feel defective but I am learning to just calm down and let it go. It is what it is. I know your father is older and had health conditions prior to his diagnosis so some of my activity level and other things won't apply to his situation but they are only to give your family a sense of the long recovery ahead. Be gentle with him. He may have extreme sensitivities, be very forgetful, need you to slow down talking, need to be alone, need to take many naps, not know in the beginning when to slow down and end up overdoing it when it doesn't even seem that he has done much, have headaches, ringing in the ears, anxiety, be quicker to anger, depression, have bad days and days that are a bit better. The recovery road is not straight either. He could get to a point where he has felt better a couple days and then have a major relapse. Unlike a general surgery or something like the flu where there commonly is a trajectory where each day is just a tiny bit better than the last, meningitis is more of a 'weekly or biweekly' look back, meaning that as long as there is just a tiny bit better each week or two weeks compared to the last week average, that is some progress. I love to read and had a lot of trouble reading for several months afterward. When he is able to read a little or hear you read a little, you should share some stories from here about recovery length with him. This forum helped me a lot. If I hadn't read so many stories about setbacks from pushing yourself too hard, I might have gotten myself into some bad situations. I am still embarassed that some days a trip to the grocery store is the most I can do without having to take a nap afterward. Then other days, I can clean the house, do some work and do a workout. But it is impossible to tell one day to the next how you will feel and some people have put themselves back in the hospital by doing too much. For the family, know his recovery will be long, frustrating for him, and something things he will do or can't do will be frustrating to the family too. Be patient with him and help him be patient with himself. He isn't alone in this. Good luck to you all!