Two years after a three-month hospital stay for anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis, Alice Simpson, 29, says recovery remains slow. Medication affecting her immune system keeps her from working; she also cannot drive and says she has lost her independence.
Simpson developed an earache while visiting her grandparents in England in 2024, then had two seizures and was diagnosed with anti-NMDA receptor autoimmune encephalitis, in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the brain. After hallucinations and major personality changes, doctors sedated her for safety; she spent seven weeks in intensive care and seven more in a neurology ward, initially unable to speak, walk or communicate.
She also describes mental-health and identity struggles and medication-related changes to her body. Simpson says people may assume she is well when they no longer see her in a wheelchair or with a visible physical ailment; her mother says fatigue can bring emotional breakdowns and frustration that others do not see. Simpson shares her experience on Instagram, where others contact her seeking support, and advises people recovering from encephalitis to take each day as it comes and ask for help.
