Noah’s story: Enterovirus and a race against the clock

“I’m so excited to babyproof my house,” says Elisa Holt. “I haven’t had to. Now, Noah wants to climb and do all of these normal baby things.” The toddler, born in March 2014, sailed through his first six months of life. As summer turned to fall, enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), a mysterious virus linked with paralysis, started to dominate headlines. On Oct. 3, 2014, Elisa was nursing Noah when she realized something was wrong with her son. “I went to sit him up and he just fell over. I did it again and the same thing happened.” When she realized he wasn’t moving his feet, legs or toes, she called her son’s pediatrician, who directed her to Beverly Hospital. “We are so so thankful for the emergency room doctor [Dr. Munirah Qualls] who told us, ‘I don’t know. I’m going to send you to Boston Children’s Hospital.’ I know Noah would not be where he is today if the Beverly Hospital doctor did not move us as fast as she did.” Within 15 minutes, an ambulance arrived to rush Noah to Boston Children’s. The emergency department was on high alert for EV D-68 — a tricky virus that can mask itself as many other illnesses. “Noah’s doctors were racing against the clock to make a diagnosis,” Elisa says. She and her husband Mitch cuddled their baby boy. “We were waiting to see what Noah’s future held. How did we end up here? Would his paralysis be reversible?” Initial results narrowed Noah’s diagnosis to two conditions: Guillain Barre Syndrome ...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Our Patients’ Stories Department of Neurology Dr. Donna Nimec Dr. Mark Gorman enterovirus D68 Guillain Barre Syndrome Source Type: news