My Life with MS, Bipolar and Brain Injury: Living in the Moment (After Brain Injury: Survivor Stories)

This is the remarkable story of Charlie Bacchus, who was diagnosed with a severe case of viral encephalitis and later with multiple sclerosis and bipolar. This moving, funny, sometimes explicit book charts his life, including recollections of his childhood, the acceptance of his diagnoses and his determination to carry on living to the full. This book highlights many themes such as the loss of independence and the challenges of hidden disabilities and visible differences. Although the line between fantasy and reality is not always clear, Charlie’s loving personality and hypomania allow him to maintain supportive connections and adapt to his situation. Charlie’s account provides support for patients who have brain injury and their families. This will be of great interest to professionals working in neurology including occupational therapists, social workers and rehabilitation practitioners. Cover 1 Half Title 4 Series Page 5 Title Page 6 Copyright Page 7 Table of Contents 8 Foreword 10 Preface 12 How this ‘biovella’ came to life 12 Chapter 1: The rise and fall of a football star 18 Transfixed by moments in time 24 Losing my virginity 25 Chapter 2: My free-spirited family 27 My brother, my hero 28 Matt is always happy 29 Flying safe with grandparents 30 High-spirited and hazardous holidays 34 My stupendous parents 38 Layla, a stronghold beauty 42 Love and labels 44 Happy days 44 Celebration of difference 45 Trauma of the unknown 45 Telling the ‘story’ 46 Low times 47 Wild ways 48 When illness strikes 49 Words and actions 49 Positivity and guilt 50 The illness and not you 50 When words don’t work 51 Wouldn’t change you for the world 51 Clan members 53 Crucial connections 56 Chapter 3: Glories of mental and love ventures 62 Jesus Christ saga 62 Art, ladies and dope 64 Seduction course 71 Tantric sex 72 Dirty sex 75 Porn for Africa 77 Another side of sex 78 Falling in love 79 More loves 81 Chapter 4: MS awareness 87 Viagra and a walking stick 87 Empathy, sympathy and pity 90 Orally obsessed 93 Positivity between a rock and a hard place 95 Dreaming to leave the family home 98 Falling into a wheelchair 103 My personal assistants 105 About freedom, clairvoyance and vulnerability 112 Chapter 5: Dealing with MS at 38 114 More symptoms 114 Pills, doctors and counsellors 116 Regression 120 Relapsing periods 122 Sharing with disabled people 123 My deepest pains 124 Art and my struggle 126 Hospital loves and dislikes 129 Released from prison at last 132 Chapter 6: Matters of acceptance 137 Addendum: 40th birthday messages 143