Cerebral thrombophlebitis was my lemon. Passing my exam and overcoming memory loss is my lemonade.

I am 26 years old, and a mother of two lovely girls. (26 months, and 11 months) I am 29 weeks pregnant. Last year I entered the clinic to give birth to my second baby. I gave birth after two hours of being there. It seemed to me that everything was OK. But a few minutes later, I fainted and went into shock. I had severe bleeding because my placenta fell apart during delivery. They gave me anesthesia and took the rest of the placenta out and gave me a blood transfusion. I was sent home the next day. I spent 15 days at my parents house. I was very sick and in a lot of pain but I had to push through the pain because I was breastfeeding both of my babies. On the16th and 17th day I had a terrible headache that wouldn’t subside so my dad took me to the ER. They told me that I was just tired, but I knew something was wrong. I tried to convince my doctor that it was more than fatigue but he just sent me home. On the way home I began to vomit. When I tried to get out of the car, I felt a weird sensation in my legs and felt like I couldn’t walk but I ignored it and just rushed to bed and slept. I felt paralyzed. That night, the last thing I remember was telling my mom that I just wanted to sleep and not wake up again. I became so sick that I couldn’t take care of my babies. By that evening I lost consciousness. My dad called for an ambulance and I was admitted.

I had a CT scan and they were surprised to see that the right side of my brain had many blood clots. Even my jugular vein was clotted! The right side of my body was paralyzed. My entire family was in shock. I woke up the next day but could barely open my eyes because of the pain in my head. The doctors treated me with medication and I seemed to be getting better. The pain in my head went away, and the feeling in my body came back. I was normal again. Or so I thought.

I lost ten years of my memory. I forgot my babies, my husband, my whole present life. I had no idea what happened to me. I was talking and laughing with everyone but didn’t once ask where I was or why. My mom finally asked me why I had not mentioned my babies. At that moment I remembered my eldest. My mom then told me that I gave birth twenty days ago. That sparked my memory and I remembered my babies. The doctors explained to me what happened but what they couldn’t explain was why this was happening. I was young and healthy. I had two normal pregnancies and deliveries. I couldn’t understand. Why did this happen to me?

I had a pen and paper to test my memory. I forgot my English and French and lost knowledge of my veterinarian skills. I spent ten days in the hospital. When I was released, I was so scared. I couldn’t speak under pressure. Everything was so different. I felt like I traveled in a time machine. My husband and I eventually moved out into our own place again but I fell into depression. I hated my medication, cloudy weather, darkness, and noise. I lost my appetite and I started to lose weight. Even my husband was having a hard time being home and around me. I felt so alone. I hated everything and everyone. I wanted a new life. I wanted to start over.

I tried to feel normal again by cooking. I burnt my hands and cut my fingers but I kept cooking. I started cleaning and looking after all of my children. I kept smiling and telling myself that I was fine. I decided to try and become independent again. I used reminders on my phone to remember when I was supposed to take my medications and when I was supposed to eat. I would organize the house and write notes on a paper so I could remember where I put everything. After about a month, I was starting to feel good about myself again. In about three months, I started to remember things without my phone or notes. I went in for a Cerebral Angio -IRM and we were surprised to find that there were no more blood clots in my brain. I was trilled. I told myself that if I lived like a normal person with a damaged brain, now that my brain was healthy, I could achieve so much more. I felt so strong and like no one could bring me down or destroy my faith.

Then I found out I was pregnant again. I was devastated. I rushed to my doctor with the news and prayed that everything would turn out OK. Thankfully my doctor said that pregnancy was OK, I just needed to change my medication. But my baby girl is doing just fine inside of me.

I began studying for a masters exam. I reeducated myself and with lots of hard work and determination, I got my knowledge back. I am proud to report that I passed my exam in eighth place out of three hundred and forty people. Although the university only choose five people, I am still proud to have gotten my knowledge back. I hope my story touches people and gives people faith. Sickness couldn’t stop me. I am a mother, I am strong and my kids gave me power.