Jenny Armstrong: Case Study

When Jenny Armstrong suffered what she thought was an innocuous fall on her local high street in 2021, she didn’t expect to be rushed to hospital just a few days later.

However, several days after the fall, Jenny woke up unable to talk properly. After arriving at hospital, her family were told she had a viral infection, which was potentially life-threatening. She was transferred to ITU and a few days later, tests revealed she had contracted herpes simplex encephalitis.

Jenny suffered from headaches, fevers and drowsiness. She had difficulty interacting and had severe cognitive impairment making her unsure of the day, month or year. She couldn’t stand unaided and was completely reliant on others to eat and move around.

Her husband Derek said: “I felt so helpless that I couldn’t do anything to help her. After her herpes simplex encephalitis diagnosis, she had weeks of treatment and while she was showing signs of improvement, she was still incredibly weak.

“Myself and our children Sarah, Rachel and John visited every day. Over time, she continued to improve, but was still unable to get out of her bed or walk.”

After some time, Jenny’s family met with the consultant who recommended she be moved here, to Uplands Rehabilitation Centre, as an inpatient as we specialise in brain injury and recovery.

Prior to her diagnosis Jenny was completely independent. While her family were desperate to have her home with them, it was difficult for them to manage the intensive care Jenny required. The best place for Jenny to improve her quality of life and build her independence was Uplands.

Derek said: “It was such a stressful time for us, it was indescribable. We visited her the first weekend she went into Uplands, just before her rehabilitation started. I was amazed to hear that the first day of her treatment, the staff had managed to get her walking around!

“After two weeks of treatment Jenny’s speech began to improve and each time we visited Jenny was able to begin remembering our names. During the third week, Jenny got out of bed and went to the toilet unaided. I was so surprised how Jenny had improved.”

While staying at Uplands, Jenny required the help of an occupational therapist, physiotherapist, dietician and psychologist. Her progress was up and down due to her extreme fatigue and the team worked tirelessly with Jenny on her walking and speech. Eventually they helped her to walk unaided, wash and dress herself and eat and drink independently.

She was able to undertake everyday activities, such as making a meal for Derek or going on walks with her daughter. Conversations became much easier and she was able to write short paragraphs and read short amounts of text.

Derek said: “The staff at Uplands are fantastic. Jenny started to improve so much, she wanted to help the staff by making the beds for other inpatients!”

When it was time for Jenny to leave Uplands, the necessary changes were made at her house so that she could return home to Derek’s care. A hospital bed and grab rails were installed, whilst Derek tried to prepare himself for the change in their lives.

As Jenny had made so much progress during her stay, Derek wanted to ensure she maintained the progress as an outpatient, with additional Physiotherapy and Speech and Language therapy from Uplands.

Jenny said: “I don’t remember anything before I was transferred to Uplands. Even then, my memories are very vague. I’m now able to communicate so much better than I could before, although I still sometimes muddle up names. I’ve increased my daily activities in the past few weeks so I can start doing some jobs around the house. I still get anxious over certain activities though.”

Jenny is now able to shower on her own without any assistance and walks round the block on her own each day. Her short term memory is her slowest area of progress, but the continued speech and language therapy has helped her to get back to normality as much as possible.

While there is still a long road ahead in terms of her recovery, Jenny’s family have been with her every step of the way, despite how hard they have found it at times. Her daughter, Rachel, has struggled with the changes in her mother but tries to look on the positive side.

Rachel said: “I do feel like I’ve lost my mum. I’ve never really told my dad that as he has his own struggles to deal with and I always try to have a positive attitude but it’s been a pretty tough year.

“I’ve found my mum’s illness a struggle to deal with. Her progress has been great though. From being unable to walk, eat or speak to how she is now is amazing. I allow myself to have moments of sadness but then remind myself that she is still here, it’s only been a year. I hope there is still more recovery to be made.”

Jenny’s son, John, works for the NHS and contacted many of his colleagues, looking for advice on Jenny’s condition when she was admitted into hospital.

"Within just a few short days, my mum's life, and ours, was put on hold,” he said. “We didn’t know if she was going to survive and I personally really struggled as my mum had seemed so fit and healthy.

“The real progress my mum made after the Encephalitis had gone, was thanks to all the amazing staff at Uplands Rehabilitation. The specialist care she received, along with the continued support she gets today are what have made the difference to her leading a life similar to what she had before. I’m so grateful for the care, kindness and attention that has gone into helping her."