Mom's video of child paralyzed after tick bite goes viral
By
Mary Brophy Marcus
/ CBS News
One Oregon couple's video of their young daughter suddenly experiencing paralysis has gone viral after the child's mother posted the frightening moments on Facebook.
In a Facebook post, Amanda Lewis described how her 3-year-old daughter, Evelyn, became fussy after a bath on May 13 and didn't want to stand up.
"Evelyn started acting a little weird last night around bedtime. She didn't want to stand up after her bath to get into her pajamas. I helped her and got her in bed. She was a little fussy last night and I ended up sleeping in bed with her all night," Lewis wrote.
The next morning, the little girl was still having a hard time standing.
"She could barely walk, or crawl, and could hardly use her arms," Lewis added.
We had a little bit of a scary morning today...luckily everything is ok but I wanted to share this so the rest of you are aware.
Evelyn started acting a little weird last night around bed time. She didn't want to stand up after her bath to get into her pajamas. I helped her and got her in bed. She was a little fussy last night and I ended up sleeping in bed with her all night.
This morning she was having a hard time standing. She could barely walk, or crawl, and could hardly use her arms. We took some video this morninh to send to family to see if they had any idea what could be going on. We decided to take her into the ER right after we took this video because her symptoms were getting worse, and given Lantz's history with cancer we were quite concerned.
We got into a room quickly, thank God, and were seen almost right away. The doctor talked to us for a minute and said over the past 15 years he had seen about 7 or 8 children her age with identical symptoms and more than likely she had a tick. They looked her over, combed through her hair really well and sure enough found a tick hiding in her hair.
This condition is called tick paralysis. It can affect dogs also and can be fatal. I'm glad we took her in when we did and that it wasn't something worse and that we found it before it got worse.
The ticks are out like crazy right now in this area so if your children or dogs start acting a little off, check them thoroughly for ticks!
I feel awful for not having seen the little bugger sooner but I never would have even thought to look for a tick. It's crazy that a little bug can do this!
We're still in the ER. Now that the tick has been removed, Evelyn should start feeling like herself in a couple of hours. She's enjoying popsicles and watching cartoons ☺ They want to monitor her for a little longer then we can go home
Crazy morning
UPDATE: I didn't realize how widespread this video would end up! So for those of you who don't know us personally, Evelyn is doing much better. It took her until the next morning to start acting like herself again. She is now pretty much completely back to her feisty little self. She complains a lot about her head itching but otherwise she's just fine.
My husband and I are still in shock that this happened to our baby girl and I'm glad we were able to spread some awareness about this. It's not terribly common for this to happen but it's good to be aware that if your children or pets start having weakness in their limbs to look for a tick! The doctor told us that the type of tick that was found on her does not typically carry lyme disease (dog tick) but we are keeping a close eye on her anyway.
"Tick paralysis results from injection of a toxin from tick salivary glands during a blood meal. The toxin causes symptoms within 2–7 days, beginning with weakness in both legs that progresses to paralysis. The paralysis ascends to the trunk, arms, and head within hours and may lead to respiratory failure and death. The disease can present as acute ataxia without muscle weakness"
For more information on Tick paralysis:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tick_paralysis
http://www.cvbd.org/en/tick-borne-diseases/tick-paralysis/human-tick-paralysis/
I'm so thankful that we got her to the doctor quickly before her symptoms got worse and that the doctor in the ER that day had experience with this otherwise who knows how many tests they would have been doing on her trying to figure out what was wrong!
Thank you all for your kind words and support through this crazy time! ♥
UPDATE AGAIN:
We're located in Eastern Oregon USA. Ticks though can be found all over. They're causing all kinds of problems on the east coast of America right now as well
"We decided to take her into the ER right after we took this video because her symptoms were getting worse," Lewis wrote.
A doctor there discovered a tick in Evelyn's hair, explaining that some tick-borne diseases caused paralysis.
"The doctor talked to us for a minute and said over the past 15 years he had seen about seven or eight children her age with identical symptoms and more than likely she had a tick. They looked her over, combed through her hair really well and sure enough found a tick hiding in her hair," said Lewis.
The condition is called tick paralysis, Lewis said, and can be fatal. (Pet owners should be aware it can affect dogs as well as people.)
"I'm glad we took her in when we did," Lewis wrote.
She warned other parents: "The ticks are out like crazy right now in this area so if your children or dogs start acting a little off, check them thoroughly for ticks! I feel awful for not having seen the little bugger sooner but I never would have even thought to look for a tick."
The tick was removed during the emergency room visit and Evelyn stayed on for observation for a while, afterwards eating a popsicle and watching cartoons, her mom reported.
Lewis returned to Facebook to share an update on Evelyn's condition, saying she's much improved.
"Evelyn is doing much better. It took her until the next morning to start acting like herself again. She is now pretty much completely back to her feisty little self," Lewis wrote.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tick paralysis is a rare illness that experts say may be caused by a toxin in a tick's saliva.
The symptoms include acute paralysis that is often confused with other neurological conditions, including Guillain-Barré syndrome or botulism. Within 24 hours of removing the tick, the paralysis usually subsides.
Of course, tick paralysis isn't the only tick-borne illnesses out there. Tick season is upon us and experts say this could be a "particularly bad year," as they're seeing greater numbers of ticks in more areas of the country. Lyme disease cases have been on the rise, Rocky Mountain spotted fever is common, and Powassan virus, though rare, can be fatal.
So far, Amanda Lewis' video has been viewed more than 21 million times and shared by thousands of people.
"My husband and I are still in shock that this happened to our baby girl and I'm glad we were able to spread some awareness about this," she wrote.
