4-year-old Massachusetts girl recovering from rare illness linked to flu that causes brain swelling
An Ashland, Massachusetts family is warning others to take the flu seriously, after their 4-year-old daughter almost died.
Back in December, Caitlin Lyons' 4-year-old daughter Althea woke her up in the middle of the night, complaining that she felt dizzy. She took her into her pediatrician, who sent her to the hospital.
"I just remember him saying 'she's very sick, I'm very concerned.' And my only question was 'is she going to live?' and he said, 'I hope so,'" Lyons said.
Doctors at Mass General Hospital were able to diagnose her with acute necrotizing encephalopathy, a rare illness linked to the flu that causes the brain to swell and for the body to kill brain cells.
"Thank god she's the age that she is because she's old enough to fight the flu, which she had to get over before the swelling could come down," Lyons said, "but young enough to have the time to heal, for her brain to heal, because there was damage done."
4 child flu deaths in Massachusetts
Flu cases across Massachusetts are skyrocketing. The state now says four children have died because of the flu, and hospitalizations of children under five are up 150% over the last two weeks.
At Althea's daycare in Framingham, influenza quickly spread throughout kids and staff. Director Carol Ann Ritter says they had between 15 and 20 cases.
"We were sending children home with one symptom that could have been nothing but ended up being the flu," Ritter said. "So just kind of going with the teacher's instinct of being like, OK we're being overly cautious and I'm so sorry, I know you need to send your child to care, but at this point, children are dying from this."
Thankfully, Althea is recovering and returning to herself. Her case is rare, but her mom is speaking out to spread awareness, urging parents to be aware when it comes to illness. "I understand they are seeing more cases of this disease, but I think overall it's still pretty unknown," Lyons said.
The daycare in Framingham is back up and running at full capacity, but they are still taking precautions.