A Highlander has shared his story of dealing with a debilitating brain condition and his gruelling road to recovery.
Pete Crane from Nethy Bridge in Strathspey was diagnosed with encephalitis three years ago, after suddenly forgetting the name of a colleague he had known for 12 years.
Following several days of dealing with what he thought was the flu, Mr Crane’s wife called an ambulance and he was rushed to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.
The medical staff there treated him for half a dozen potential illnesses before concluding that he had viral encephalitis and left him attached to both a drip and a hospital bed for three weeks.
The life-threatening condition, which requires urgent hospital treatment, affects the brain and has left the father-of-two “irreversibly different” after his long recovery.
As a consequence of suffering brain damage, he found even the most normal of daily tasks very challenging and said: “All of the change occurred over the space of about four days and those who know me noticed the changes.
“It took a while for my family and friends to adapt to the new me, but I would have been far worse off without their help and backing, as well as the support I have received from the encephalitis society.”
Mr Crane is just one of 6,000 people in the UK who are affected by the inflammatory brain condition, and today marks World Encephalitis Day which aims to raise awareness of the condition.
Statistics reveal that almost 80% of the population worldwide are unfamiliar with the condition, despite it being responsible for 3.75 million deaths in the last 25 years.
The Highlands man added: “The statistics for viral encephalitis are pretty challenging – 20% of cases are fatal, whilst 50% of those with it will never go back to work.
“I was lucky to be in the 30% who are able to return to everyday life, but even then, you are never the same.
“Awareness of this illness is going to raise, I have shared my recovery story on social media and it has been great to see the responses.
“The more we can share, the more it can help those who are recovering and those who are looking after us.”