Purnima

Hello everyone, I used to live away from my home in Pokhara with my 3-year-old son for my job. I was a very confident girl — I loved dancing, not professionally, but for my own happiness. For me, it was a form of yoga and meditation. I had always been a very healthy person, never having any long-term illnesses. One day, I had a high fever. After about a week, the fever subsided and I returned to work as usual. Everything seemed normal at first. But after about 15 days, I started to feel that something was wrong with my body. I felt dizzy, weak, and just not like myself.

One day while writing in my diary, I suddenly found I couldn’t write properly. I got scared — something was definitely not right. I searched my symptoms on the internet, and it suggested anxiety. Since I was living away from home, I thought maybe it really was anxiety. After 10 days, I returned home and told my husband about everything I was experiencing. The next day, we went to the hospital. The physician referred me to a psychiatrist, who also said it was anxiety. They did a plain MRI, which came back normal. I was relieved at first, thinking nothing serious was wrong. I started taking psychiatric medicines, but day by day, my condition worsened. I slowly lost my ability to speak properly, to walk, and even my vision became blurry. I felt extreme dizziness and many other symptoms that are hard to explain. We visited the psychiatrist every 2–3 days, but she kept saying it was just anxiety. Despite taking the medicines, I was getting worse.

One day, I begged my husband to take me to another hospital for a second opinion. Thankfully, we did. There, they realized that it wasn’t anxiety at all — it was a neurological problem. We saw a neurologist, who told us it was already quite late, and we were terrified. He admitted me to the hospital immediately, performed a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) and sent the sample to India for further testing. They ran many tests and another MRI, but still couldn’t find the exact cause. After 8 days in the hospital without answers, and at my request, I was discharged and went home. But my condition kept getting worse. My husband consulted an Indian neurologist online, who advised us to give it more time. But seeing me deteriorate, my husband took me to Grande International Hospital — the most expensive hospital in Nepal.

There, Dr. Raju (a neurologist) finally diagnosed me with post-infectious Cerebellar Ataxia. He started me on steroid treatment immediately. I received IV steroids at home through a nurse. After 7 days, during a follow-up, Dr. Raju didn’t see much improvement, so he recommended IVIG treatment. I received 5 doses of IVIG in the ICU. After completing the IVIG treatment, my vision improved, and some of my ability to walk returned. I was discharged and continued oral steroids for 20 more days, which caused my face to swell as a side effect.

Now, I am doing physical therapy at the gym to work on walking and balance exercises. I am also practicing my speech daily. Even though I am not the same as before — my body is still broken, I don’t look the same, I can’t dance the way I used to — I am trying to stay strong. I had to leave my job, and some days I feel deeply frustrated and heartbroken. But I am still fighting, hoping and waiting for the day when I can dance, walk, and talk just like I used to.