AAP General News (Australia)
12-23-2008
Qld: Boy paralysed by viral infection will be home for Xmas
By Petrina Berry
BRISBANE, Dec 23 AAP - A five-year-old Brisbane boy who was virtually paralysed after
contracting a viral infection is regaining movement in time to go home for Christmas.
Ethan Nicol had a cough initially mistaken for the common flu three weeks ago, but
it became apparent to his mother Sharon Power that something was seriously wrong when
her son was too weak to go to the toilet.
"He had a cough and that afternoon, his neck started to get sore," Ms Power said.
"He hadn't been to the toilet at all and he had a temperature and every time I picked
him up, he just felt weaker and weaker."
He was admitted to hospital the following morning.
"He was pretty much paralysed," Ms Power said.
"He had lost his speech, all movement and he couldn't even swallow."
Within 24 hours, he was diagnosed with Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM)
after MRI scans.
ADEM damages the protective covering of nerve fibres, preventing electrical impulses
from travelling to the brain.
It affects fewer than one in 100,000 people a year - most of them children aged between
five and eight years old.
Paediatric trainee registrar Sonia Shah said Ethan's illness was only one of three
ADEM cases she had seen in the past eight years.
She said Ethan was able to move his arms and was slowly regaining full movement in his legs.
"We were worried about his ability to swallow and whether he would choke on just his
saliva," Dr Shah said.
"But now we are hoping he will be able to not only go home for Christmas Day but we
hope he will be able to stay there and come back as an outpatient for ongoing treatment."
She was optimistic Ethan would make a full recovery, and said between 60 to 90 per
cent of ADEM patients made a full recovery within six to eight weeks.
AAP peb/ews/jlw/srp
KEYWORD: NICOL (PIX AVAILABLE)
2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.
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