A recent high school graduate in Missouri was infected with West Nile virus, which left him paralyzed and on a ventilator in the intensive care unit.
John Proctor VI, known as “BB” by family and friends, developed headaches and dizziness on Aug. 8 and has been hospitalized for more than two weeks. St. Louis 11 reports.
An 18-year-old male went to the emergency department, was diagnosed with a tension headache and was sent home.
But his condition worsened with severe vomiting and a high fever, and he was in and out of hospital for several days.
“The doctors thought it was meningitis, they tested him, but it was negative. They sent him home and told him to give him over-the-counter medication,” the boy's father, John Proctor V., told a local news station.
The medicine wasn't working and things were getting scary.
“The next day he showed symptoms similar to a stroke,” Proctor said. “He was unable to move and had slurred speech.”
Authorities rushed him back to the hospital, where he was admitted to the intensive care unit and placed on a ventilator, he told the station.
Proctor VI was diagnosed with West Nile virus, which is spread primarily by mosquitoes, after spending 16 days in intensive care at the fourth hospital where he was admitted.
The previously healthy teenager's condition rapidly deteriorated, leaving more than 20 doctors scratching their heads trying to pinpoint the cause of his shocking condition.
“His motor skills are limited, especially on his left side,” his father said. “He can't support his own weight or his head.”
But the teenager, who hopes to become a diesel mechanic, has made “small but significant” improvements, his father wrote on a fundraising page set up to cover his medical costs.
Doctors removed the breathing tube from his mouth and performed a tracheotomy so he could begin pulmonary rehabilitation and physical therapy.
“Doctors say this is a marathon to get him back to where he was before this virus killed him,” he wrote.
Eight out of 10 people infected with West Nile virus show no symptoms, but there are rare cases where people develop severe symptoms, such as BB. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
About 1 in 150 infected people develop a severe illness that affects the central nervous system, such as meningitis or encephalitis. According to the CDC, symptoms can include high fever, headache, stiff neck, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness, or paralysis.
If the virus infection is severe, it may take weeks or even months to recover.
So far this year, 289 cases of West Nile have been reported in 33 states, with 18 deaths.
