Harriet’s terrifying encounter with encephalitis changed the course of her life as it made her decide to become a nurse to help others in need.
A young woman who abandoned her dream of becoming a professional actress, after a life threatening brain condition left her unable to recognise her own mum, has revealed how it changed her for the better – after inspiring her to become a nurse.
Walking to school one morning, Harriet Pollard, of Brockham, Surrey, who was then a sixth former, was suddenly unable to use her mobile phone, then her words began to slur and when she turned to look at her mum, Michelle, 53, a head teacher, she did not know who she was.
Harriet, now 24, recalled: “It was utterly horrifying. I was aware that Mum was someone I knew somehow, but I didn’t know why or who she was.”
She continued: “Not being able to recognise the person you love most in the world is awful.”
Harriet had woken up on the morning of 22 February 2012 with a peculiar feeling of numbness down her left side, but got ready for school thinking little of it.
She recalled: “I just got on with my day and thought maybe I’d slept in an awkward position.”
Harriet continued: “But then things got a bit stranger and, as my mum later said, I started doing ‘odd things’ like pouring my cereal into my sandwich bag, saying I was going to take it to school.”
Then, as she walked out of the front door, her left side suddenly gave way and she collapsed on the porch.
Harriet, who has a boyfriend, Olly, 40, an estate agent, continued: “Mum got me into the car and drove fast to the hospital.”
She added: “She is normally a fairly calm and collected person, but I remember the look of fear on her face.
“She has a degree in biology and knew that something was seriously wrong, especially when she asked me to phone the school to tell them I was unwell and I had no idea how to use a phone. It was like an alien object.”
Arriving at Epsom General Hospital, medical experts immediately recognised Harriet’s symptoms – which by then included blurred vision, loss of speech and vomiting – were indicative of a serious brain problem.
After completing simple tests like walking in a straight line and touching her nose, she was sent by ambulance to St George’s Hospital in Tooting, south west London, which has a special stroke department.
By the time her dad, Robert, 56, a dental technician, and her brother Adam, 28, a production manager, arrived to join her frantic mother, her symptoms were even worse and she did not recognise them as her family, although she realised she knew them from somewhere.
Thankfully, following MRI and CT scans of her brain, and a lumbar puncture checking her spinal fluid for infection, doctors diagnosed her with encephalitis, a rare but serious condition in which the brain becomes inflamed, caused by a problem with the immune system or an infection.
She continued: “Once they knew what it was, they pumped me full of anti-viral medicine to stop whatever it was that was making my brain swell.
“But the recovery was very gradual and I had to spend a week in hospital learning how to recognise my family and speak again.”
One month after the devastating attack, Harriet returned to school, but struggled due to the ongoing effects of the condition, which made it hard for her to retain information and meant she tired easily.
Initially thought by doctors to have a brain tumour or to have suffered from a stroke, until she was struck down, Harriet had always wanted to be an actress.
But the tremendous care and support she received from the hospital nurses prompted an about turn, which saw her training to be a nurse instead.
She explained: “I realised that I wanted to give back, like the hospital nurses.”
She continued: “I would have loved to be an actress, even though I think I probably would not have made it.
“But working with kids who are in a similar situation to the one I was in is so much more rewarding.”
With the most serious illness she had suffered before this being shingles when she was 10, her encephalitis attack was a massive shock for Harriet.
That summer she scored poorly in her A levels, failing two out of five of her subjects, but still managed to earn a place studying drama at St Mary’s University in Twickenham, south west London.
But she never took up her place, by then sure she wanted to nurse instead.
“My experience had opened my eyes to how wonderful nurses can be,” said Harriet, who completed an access to nursing course in Kingston, south west London, before beginning her nursing degree at King’s College London University.”
She continued: “It was the little things like holding my hand that I really remember making such a difference for me.
“I thought, ‘If I could do that for someone else in a similar position, that would be amazing.'”
Now working as a nurse in the community in Surrey, having graduated in June 2018, she specialises in helping children with learning and physical disabilities, and has even helped cared for children with encephalitis, like she had.
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“It can sometimes be a comfort for parents and patients to meet me and know that you can get better after this horrible illness and lead a full and rewarding life,” said Harriet, who recently put on a cabaret performance at a school theatre in Epsom in aid of the Encephalitis Society, which she is an ambassador for.
“It sounds strange to say, but encephalitis changed me in a positive way, and led me to do the work I love and embrace every day.”
