The tick bite changed Emil's life – he was in hospital for six months
A small tick, which Emil Karlsson, 41, never even noticed he was bitten by, came close to costing him his life.
Four years later, he is still in a wheelchair and can no longer do the things he used to love.
- I want people to know how bad TBE can actually make you, he says.
When Emil Karlsson and his partner Louise Sundell bought their dream house, a renovation project on Blidö in the Stockholm archipelago, his mother said straight away:
- Then you must get vaccinated against TBE.
Emil said that of course he would. But then other things came in between, as it often can.
Emil Karlsson, 41, didn't even notice that he was bitten by the tick that changed his life.
The house. The job. Life.
- I delayed it and delayed it. But before the summer of 2019, I had time to take an injection. But I started way too late so I never had time to get full protection before the season (it takes 3 injections for full protection).
Emil, who is a carpenter, built full time on the house they bought that summer.
Then one day, during the first week of vacation, he, who never usually has a headache, suddenly felt the sensation of a knife going straight through his skull.
- Then I got flu symptoms, like I had a fever. My girlfriend said we should go to the hospital the next day to get it checked out.
But they never did.
Emil went to the ambulance after he fainted in the hall and hit his head.
The following morning, Emil fainted in the hall. When he woke up, he saw that he had hit his head hard.
At the same time as his partner called 112, Emil began to have convulsions.
- It was as if she understood then what I had because she shouted on the phone that she thought I had TBE.
An ambulance helicopter picked up Emil at Blidö and took him to hospital.
He was to remain there for six months.
His condition was life-threatening. He had both meningitis and encephalitis and also myelitis which is an inflammation of the spinal cord.
Emil remembers very little of the hospital stay.
For a period he was on a ventilator.
Emil was in hospital for six months. Photo: Private
- I remember being very sad at night when I thought the staff had tied me to the bed. They had to explain over and over that I had TBE and that I simply couldn't move, says Emil.
Once he was allowed to come home, he initially had full home care, he couldn't even turn himself in bed.
The years have passed but Emil is not recovered and probably never will be.
He can walk certain distances with a walker, but he mainly gets around in a wheelchair.
- The hardest thing is not not being able to walk, but that my hands don't work. There is a short circuit somewhere in the spinal cord which means that I cannot extend my fingers and I miss being able to draw and paint. The hands were my tools, he says.
Today, Emil mainly gets around in a wheelchair. Photo: Carolina Byrmo
Emil Karlsson's life has a very clear before and after tick bite.
Before, he worked as a carpenter and loved climbing and skateboarding.
- I can no longer do any of the things I loved to do and no one believes that I can fully recover, I have also started to realize that myself. But I train three days a week and try to get as much function back as possible.
He wishes he had gotten vaccinated earlier, but he says he didn't realize how bad TBE can really get - and how it can affect you for the rest of your life.
- It is very clear to me that I am affected, but I also believe that there is a large number of people who "only" suffer from brain fatigue. It's a hidden handicap that I think leaves many with a permanent but. They may not be able to keep a job and have difficulty keeping the family together.
