Evelin, Age 25, Colombia South America

Evelyn started out acting very strangely and complaining of flulike symptoms. Complained that she was getting sick from and aunt bite on her left arm. Slowly developed into psychosis which I thought was acute schizophrenia left the United States to return home to Colombia with her family on an emergency basis.

Upon exiting the airplane she was completely psychotic. She tried to punch her mother in the face and then tried to jump over the staircase. Colombian police-ambulance took her to a local hospital and then she was later transferred to a mental hospital. Several days after entering the mental hospital Evelyn developed seizures, a very high fever and very high white blood counts. She was transferred out of the mental hospital and into a regular hospital. Drs. immediately began treating her with antibiotics and they believed that she had bacterial meningitis despite the fact that tests for bacterial meningitis were negative.

They started treating her for lupus and multiple sclerosis. My daughter found an article written by Josep Dalmau, MD,. Early signs and symptoms were almost identical to Dr. Delmau’s work. I desperately attempted to show the doctors and nurses his research but it was very complicated by my lack of fluidity in Spanish. Further complicating the situation was that Evelyn who was in a coma and myself were the only ones able to explain her medical history, and with my broken Spanish very much complicated the problem. The doctors were essentially moving forward blindly, with a very shaky medical history. Further complicating the situation was cultural and a fairly bad reputation North American men have in Columbia. Initially, the doctors were very suspicious that this was due to drug overdose of opiates. I was constantly questioned about this. It seems like the doctors didn’t believe a word I said. But finally one of the doctors remembered a conversation with Evelyn while she was in and out of consciousness that she had been bitten by an aunt on her left arm. Next, the Colombian doctor paid very close attention to Dr. Dalmau’s work which I had translated into Spanish. The doctors immediately started treating her for Dr.Daknau’s anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis protocols. Columbia currently does not have the technology to diagnose anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis from spinal tap. They performed an additional spinal tap and sent the fluid to Spain which was eventually confirmed diagnosis of anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis.

Evelyn was released from the hospital after about 4 weeks. She was in a full-blown coma for about two weeks. It has been approximately three months since the onset of the disease and she is in recovery. Evelyn is currently sleeping about 18 hours a day. She has suffered some brain but the doctors believe she will eventually recover 100%.