World Malaria Day 2014: How I beat cerebral malaria (Real story)

Here is a real story of a girl who survived cerebral malaria.

Manisha was a happy-go-lucky 18-year-old. It was navratri and she was all set to have fun with her friends. Although she had been feeling a bit under the weather, she thought a few rounds of dandiya wouldn't hurt her. But it was while dancing that she realised that she needed to urinate quiet often, and with the sensation of wanting to use the loo came an unbearable pain in her abdomen. She went a few times until she noticed that not only was she not passing any urine but she was also bleeding. After a few rounds of visiting the loo, Manisha realized that something was greatly amiss. She decided she needed to rest and went home. As she lay down the pain and discomfort only increased to such an extent that it soon became unbearable.

Later that night she spiked a very high fever that just would not go down. The next morning her fever vanished and although she was weak and fatigued (as though she had fought a war the night before) she was fine. No fever, the abdominal pain had subsided and she felt alright. On her parent's insistence she visited her general physician that evening. Although she was feeling ill and had a nagging headache, she felt okay and stacked it all up to fatigue.

Her doctor asked her about her symptoms. She listed them out fatigue, pain while passing urine, blood in the urine, high fever in the evening and loss of appetite. 'For now I think it could be either urinary tract infection or kidney stones, but lets get some tests done to confirm,'said the doctor.

That night Manisha's fever was back, and this time with a vengence. As usual it was gone the next day. Extremely ill, Manisha's parents took her to the hospital for her urine and blood tests. After her tests Manisha went back home but another bout of even higher fever with spells of fainting (unconsciousness) brought her back to the hospital that night. Her doctor immediately admitted her and conducted a battery of tests, of which only one was positive urinary tract infection.

The cycle of normal mornings and fever filled nights were now beginning to take a toll on Manisha. When the high fever would strike, she would try to stay awake, but almost instantly would fade away into oblivion. Moreover the number of medicines that were being administered were phenomenal, and with neither of them having any kind of effect on her health, Manisha and her parents were filled with dread. There were nights where her fever would spike to temperatures as high as 103^oF and would not relent despite several shots of paracetamol making sure that her fever and headache would not subside.

On the other hand, the negative tests had baffled the doctors. As a precaution her doctor put her on an antimalarial drug chloroquine, to which she did not respond. While her urinary tract infection was slowly getting better, her high fever, bouts of unconsciousness and fatigue had physicians mystified.

Puzzled, her doctor enquired about her health the next morning, when Manisha's mother told him that she kept complaining of a dull headache. He asked Manisha to show him where it was hurting and she pointed to the base of her skull just where her neck began. Immediately he ordered another set of tests that then came back positive. She was suffering from falciparum malaria or cerebral malaria - a deadly form of malaria that affects the brain which can cause permanent damage and can even put a person in a coma. According to her doctor, she had just a few more days to go before she slipped into a coma for an extended period of time. Glad that they had finally caught the culprit, her doctor put her on intravenous anti malarial drugs. Although these drugs can be prescribed orally, Manisha's case was very delicate and eradicating the plasmodium at the earliest was of the essence.

After the diagnosis, Manisha was administered a slew of drugs, regular MRIs and neurological exams to check for any permanent damage to her brain, she left the hospital after almost a month. Although all her parameters of recovery were perfect, her doctor warned her that she would need to take her medications for the next few months as the plasmodium was likely to recur.

Today, a happy and successful young woman, Manisha lives her life to the fullest, but always in the fear of being bitten once again.

Manisha is now an administrator and health writer. She enjoys a number of hobbies, the most important one of them being staying fit. Although her work keeps her busy, Manisha never loses an opportunity to talk to people about the importance of staying safe from the harmless looking mosquitoes -- since there is much more to a mosquito bite than meets the eye.

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