Days in the hospital turned into weeks: in Pennsylvania, a 3-year-old child almost died after being bitten by a tick

A 3-year-old boy from Pennsylvania contracted a rare disease from a tick bite. At first, the pediatrician said that this virus should go away on its own. However, the doctor later learned that this would require weeks of medical attention, and the disease can leave consequences for life. Writes about it fox weather.

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The bite that changed everything

Johnny Simoson was swimming in a neighbor's pool on June 15 when his mom noticed a small blemish on his right shoulder blade. It was smaller than the pen point.

“I easily removed the tick with tweezers,” she said. Johnny didn't have any marks until a few days later there was a tiny red bump. That's all".

About two weeks later, Johnny's kindergarten called and said he wasn't feeling well.

“The child was lethargic, he lost his appetite. He complained of a headache, and this is not normal for a three-year-old child, ”said Simoson.

That morning, according to his mother, he had breakfast, played with water pistols, and had a great time.

His symptoms worsened over the next two days. After a visit to the pediatrician, Johnny was sent home with supportive medication. And at night he woke up with a fever.

“The next morning we called the doctor. I complained to him that the child sleeps a lot, and this doesn’t look like him at all, ”recalled Simoson.

After the second visit to the doctor, she took her son to the emergency room because the child's temperature was over 104 degrees (40 Celsius). In addition, the boy showed no reaction to the Tylenol suppository, which was not normal for a normally active child.

On the subject: Ticks in the US are becoming more contagious and dangerous: rare fatal diseases among those bitten have become more frequent

Days in the hospital turned into weeks. Because of his elevated white blood cell count, he was unusually sleepy and showed no signs of improvement after intravenous fluids.

A lumbar puncture revealed that he had an increased number of neutrophils, a type of white blood cell that act as the immune system's first responders. He was treated for bacterial and viral meningitis until doctors ruled them out.

Johnny was transferred to a specialized children's hospital where he spent four days in a pediatric intensive care unit. There, he underwent a CT scan of the coronary arteries to rule out cerebral hemorrhage, abscess, or neoplasm. All this was excluded.

“At that moment it became really scary,” said the mother. It was very frustrating to look for an answer. We were terrified that we could return without our child.”

However, after an MRI, neurologists were able to diagnose meningoencephalitis in the patient - an infection not only of the brain, but also of the thin tissues that surround it. After the introduction of intravenous immunoglobulin, there were signs of hope.

Pizza pepperoni

Simoson believes that immunoglobulin played a decisive role in her son's life.

“Fifteen hours after his first dose, I heard, ‘Mom, is this pepperoni pizza?’” she recalls.

In fact, it was just a box of tissues. But Johnny was like a pizza box. All the child wanted at that moment was a slice of pizza.

“So we started asking him questions to try to assess his cognitive abilities at that moment,” the mother explained.

After nearly five full days of inactivity, her son was conscious and speaking.

"It was amazing!" - she said.

There was light at the end of the tunnel for Johnny, but the price of isolation was devastating.

“Isolation is hard for a baby,” Simoson summed up. “He started delirium in the intensive care unit. When he was released from isolation, he did not want to return to the ward.”

Parents had to re-teach their son to eat and drink, as well as to sit and speak clearly.

“We discussed inpatient rehabilitation, but realized that the paperwork would delay our discharge for another three days,” the mother of the child explained.

It was decided to take the son home and look for outpatient services there.

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“We knew it would be hard to go home,” Simoson said. - Seungul is active and did not understand his limitations. We were very happy to get out of the hospital, but terrified of what was ahead of us.”

After 12 days, Johnny was finally discharged.

“He barely walked yet, his balance was bad,” said the mother. “We knew we had a lot of work to do, but we were ready to take on the challenge.”

rare virus

Three days after being discharged, Simoson said Johnny tested positive for the Powassan virus, a rare and dangerous tick-borne disease.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Powassan virus infections have been found in the United States, Canada, and Russia. In the US, cases of Powassan have mostly appeared in the northeastern states and the Great Lakes region. Most of them appeared in late spring, early summer and mid-autumn, when ticks are most active.

Since 2011, only 178 cases have been reported in the US.

Road to recovery

Simoson said her son is recovering, but he still has noticeable disabilities. She started a Facebook page so that others can follow her son's journey.

“He seems to have regressed a bit cognitively, but we hope that his stubbornness will help him get through it,” the mother said hopefully.

Simoson now encourages others to prevent tick bites and protect their children.

She encourages people to donate blood. During his stay in the hospital, her son received five doses of immunoglobulin (a preparation made from donated blood). According to her, doctors saw constant improvements with each dose.

"We're sure it's impossible to prove, but deep down we know that immunoglobulin was a turning point for Johnny, and if there's anything we can do to help someone else get that kind of treatment quickly, that's really our goal." she concluded.

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