Harry's Livestream Fundraiser For Encephalitis

Hi I'm harry and my goal here is to help raise money and awareness for The Encephalitis Society. I will be doing a 12 hour livestream of some of my favourite games! I'm an amateur streamer, so what's the worst that could happen?!

https://www.twitch.tv/beardofwar04 - Here is my Twitch which I will be streaming on.

Encephalitis can be a horrible, life-changing affliction. Nerve cells may be damaged or destroyed and this damage is termed acquired brain injury (ABI). No two people affected will have the same outcome though. Effects of encephalitis can be long-term. In children, injury to the parts of the brain that are not developed at the time of the illness can manifest later in life, well after the illness with encephalitis. Tiredness, recurring headaches, difficulties with memory, concentration, balance, mood swings, aggression, clumsiness, speech and language problems, reduced speed of thought and reaction, changes in personality and in the ability to function day-to-day. The potential impact on social relationships should not be underestimated. Returning to work and school can be difficult.

My beautiful Fiancée Tami was recently affected by this horrible condition. She was in a neurologists department for 2 weeks with total memory loss. It was like talking to a dementia patient but this is my 22 year old fiancée, heart wrenching to say the least. At first she could only remember 2 minute spans of time, subject matters during conversations were forgotten, why she was there, where I was, repeated every waking moment till she just burnt herself out again and fell asleep. She was scared but would forget why seconds later and panic all over again, it was a hard time for her and the family. Upon discharge she has recovered immensely, memory can be 2 minutes to 4 days and its only getting better.

Even recently, when I observe Tami when she's buying something in a shop for example I see people assume, only then to see the sunflower lanyard. I've learnt, in the past 6 weeks, that we as a species assume too much. You talk in a conversation with someone, you assume they still know what youre talking about 2 sentences in. We assume you remembered you just put your phone down next to you LITERALLY a second ago. We assume you remember yesterday, last week, anything from the last 4 months. This can't be done with Tami for example and it's made me realise you really have no idea whats hidden behind someone's eyes.

Do not disregard the could have beens though.

We have had to do our homework and we have read the account of others and how they have been affected and to say we are lucky (without being crude) is an understatement. I'm sure anyone out there has seen their entire world come crashing down and it tests you, it tests the afflicted but that is why these good causes exist. Nobody is alone and we can all pull together to make a difference! 

I hope you can take the time out of your day to help give to a good cause, even if it's not a donation, just the awareness is making a difference. If you read this, ask your friends if they've heard of encephalitis, get talking about it, I had no idea this existed before now and I can't ignore it, WE can't ignore it.

RED 4 WED 2022 1YEAR UPDATE

Hello and thank you for taking the time to read this GoFundMe story. Its been a little over a year since Tami  was discharged from hospital and I feel the need to add an update to let everyone know how she is doing! In the short, good!

There have definitely been some struggles in this last year, Tami and the family have had to adjust to new normals, routines etc. Tami has discovered personality changes, emotional struggles, fatigue, headaches and more as well as the obvious memory loss, but she has came to terms with different things and is able to manage herself very well. She does suffer from a kind of sensory overload now but we are always able to rectify any situations as the present themselves. 

When she was discharged from hospital she became frustrated with the fact that she had forgotten her different crocheting patterns. Within days she began crocheting again but off muscle memory alone without any idea what she was doing! Fast forward a year and her crochet orders have reached around the UK! if you want to check out her incredible work her Instagram is @cosysweetcrochet 

https://www.instagram.com/cosysweetcrochet/ 

More information about The Encephalitis Society: OUR VISION is a world aware of encephalitis, its consequences and the support available OUR MISSION is to increase global awareness of encephalitis, saving lives and building better futures OUR AIM is to improve the quality of life of all people affected directly and indirectly by encephalitis, by: 1. Providing support and information 2. Raising awareness 3. Promoting and collaborating on research For more information, visit www.encephalitis.info or call +44(0)1653 692583