A sprinkle of goodwill has descended on Jackie Chircop and her Christmas wish has come partly true after some 100 people came forward offering to be her friend following an appeal in The Sunday Times.
We were very touched by the number of people... prepared to give up their time to be with our daughter
Her parents, Madeline and Derek, were flooded with e-mails and calls from people of all ages and professions volunteering to spend time with Jackie.
“We were very touched by the number of people who responded to our appeal and are prepared to give up their time to be with our daughter, especially in this fast-paced life,” Mr Chircop says.
“In a way, I’m not surprised by the feedback – her story is so touching I burst into tears when I was reading it,” he admits.
Jackie too is excited with the prospect of making new friends, but the 23-year-old still hankers after a boyfriend, and her father smiles and gently tries to explain that he will not be falling from the sky.
Jackie had a boyfriend she adored and plenty of friends before a rare brain disorder transformed her life when she was 18.
Herpes Simplex Encephalitis – a rare neurological disorder characterised by inflammation of the brain – struck Jackie on December 14, 2006.
Herpes Simplex 1 is a common virus that causes small blisters or cold sores on the lips, inside the nose, in the eye, or on the eyelid. But in very rare cases, usually when the immune system is compromised, the virus moves to the brain from the nasal cavity through the sinuses, resulting in inflammation of the brain.
The virus nearly robbed Jackie of her life, but after four months in hospital she emerged from the battle, but as a new person, even though some of her old traits pop up now and then.
She had to relearn everything from scratch and although she has since mastered walking, talking and taking care of herself, in certain aspects the illness has thrown her back to being a little girl.
Then again, her father says, Jackie is aware of her age, so “she comes and goes”. She tends to repeat sentences, and sometimes, he explains, has difficulty understanding certain concepts and words. Her concentration span is very short and occasionally she cannot distinguish between dreams and reality.
The one thing that really sets her back is frequent fits – the longest she has gone without a seizure is 10 days, but on average she suffers one to two fits every week. However, this is already an improvement over 20 to 30 a month.
New medication the family has to order from the UK has helped reduce the succession of seizures and their frequency, but they still put an immense strain on Jackie, wearing her out, making her irritable and hyper.
“We have no idea if she’ll ever overcome the fits,” Mr Chircop says, adding that his daughter’s next seizure was expected today, Christmas Day.
Oblivious to his words, Jackie snuggles up to her father and then starts talking about a new friend she plans to go out with.
Her father says: “We’d love to take up some people’s offers, but Jackie needs somebody with her who knows what to do in case she has a seizure.” Among those who came forward is a nurse offering to take Jackie out with her family on weekends, a social worker, others offering to take her along to their Christmas parties, or to join them to watch a film.
At the mention of the word film, Jackie says she loves them, “as long as they’re not scary movies”.
In the coming days, Jackie’s parents will be sifting through all the e-mails, replying to each one and seeing how they can take things further. “As a family we’re very touched by all the goodwill and generosity. Thank you to everyone,” Mr Chircop says.