Jackie Chircop emerged victorious from her fierce battle with a rare brain disorder, but did not escape unscathed. Ariadne Massa finds how nothing will ever wipe out the smile from the 19-year-old's eyes.
Her face beaming with happiness, Jackie Chircop dabs some perfume on her neck and gets ready for an evening with her 'boyfriend'.
"Where's my black handbag Ma? Where's my black handbag? Where is it?" she asks, her beautiful face contorted in a frown as she rummages through her bedroom.
Jackie's conversation is constantly punctuated with repetitions, but it's not something that demoralises her, and the twinkling smile never leaves her azure eyes.
"I never thought she'd make such a recovery. Her language has improved tremendously. She smiled the second she emerged from sedation and she hasn't stopped smiling since," says her mother, Madeline, explaining that the repetitions are the result of the fits that still plague her daughter.
However, Mrs Chircop taps into her inner strength and shrugs her shoulder; repeated speech is a small price to pay considering that she nearly lost her daughter to Herpes Simplex Encephalitis, a rare neurological disorder characterised by inflammation of the brain.
Herpes simplex 1 is actually a very common virus that causes small blisters or 'cold sores' on the lips, inside the nose, in the eye, or on the eyelid. However, 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 encephalitis (the inflammation of the brain).
On December 14, 2006, Jackie got her first severe fit. On the way to hospital, already weakened by her first seizure, she had another two fits. She was taken to the Intensive Therapy Unit where she was kept in a medically-induced coma to let the brain hibernate and protect it from further injury, for over six weeks.
Jackie was discharged from hospital last April and embarked on the long journey of recovery - hydrotherapy, physiotherapy, and relearning how to walk and talk.
"I feared she would emerge with permanent brain damage or that she'd be stuck in a wheelchair. Seeing her walk is amazing," Mrs Chircop says.
There was a time when her condition had become so severe that her body once surrendered to 32 fits in a matter of seven hours. Now-adays, the frequency is abating and she can go for four to 10 days without having a fit.
Mrs Chircop and her husband Derek are hoping these seizures will disappear, and last night they boarded a plane to the UK so that Jackie can see a specialist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, in a bid to speed up the healing process.
"A recent MRI test showed that the virus did not leave any scarring on her brain, which is amazing. This means she can make a full recovery," Mrs Chircop says, as Jackie showed up clutching a Forever Friends teddy bear.
Jackie's chest of drawers is overflowing with soft toys, presents from her friends and family when she was in hospital, but her favourite is the one her boyfriend Jean Paul had given her: "Jean is very nice," she says.
Mrs Chircop whispers that though the two had been dating for a year before Jackie succumbed to the illness, the relationship had not continued. The two have remained friends, but she still believed Jean Paul was her boyfriend.
"Her short-term memory has been affected and parts of her past are blurred. She doesn't remember graduating from hairdressing school, but she knows that being a hairdresser is her dream," Mrs Chircop says in a low tone, so that Jackie won't overhear the conversation and get upset.
Jackie has attempted to blow-dry her friends' hair, but the muscles in her arms are still too weak from months in bed, and she tires easily.
What Jackie knows for a fact is that the virus changed her life overnight and she often asks her mother to explain exactly what happened, and why she was so unlucky.
Did her daughter emerge as the same Jackie, after the trauma?
"I think so. She always hated fish and still does, and she disliked minestra, because in her mind it's a soup for old people. Her passion for fashion is still intact and she still loves dressing up," Mrs Chircop says, as Jackie appears dressed to the nines, ready for her date.
The only thing that's changed is that Jackie has become an extreme perfectionist and she now insists on washing the dishes herself after dinner, something she never did before.
"Luckily, this incident has brought the family closer together. I have found solace in prayer and her recovery, which is evident with every week that passes. This is what keeps me going," Mrs Chircop says, before leaving to pack her bags.
The family's trip to England, coupled with consultations and treatment, will not come cheap. Relatives and friends are rallying around the family to raise money and those who wish to lend a helping hand can send donations to the St Andrews' HSBC account 009-070905-050.