What You Can't See In The Left Photo Left This Little Boy Paralyzed. Here's What You Should Know

Sep 04, 2018

One morning Colin’s mother came into his room and was instantly aware that something was strangely different about her son’s demeanor. Stephanie noticed that Collin’s energy levels were extremely low compared to his energy levels on normal days. Normally Colin couldn’t wait to get the day started. She recalled wondering why he wasn’t playing around in his room or venturing outside to have fun with his toys. Instead, the three-year-old was lying in bed eyeing his mom.

Stephanie quickly phoned Dillon, the father, requesting that he return home immediately.

When Dillon arrived home, they both realized that something was indeed wrong with Colin. Their son was paralyzed, and it had all happened overnight. His parents were in complete shock, as they had no idea what had caused Colin’s predicament. They couldn’t find any means to explain why their son was having so much trouble standing up from his position on the bed.

They racked their brains trying to recall what could have caused his paralysis. The previous night Colin experienced a hit to the head just before his brother's ball game. Maybe he had experienced brain damage that had gone unnoticed by the parents. Stephanie and Dillon both thought that he was fine after hitting his head. Colin was also able to compose himself quickly after hitting his head and didn’t express being in pain any time after the incident.

As a result, the parents concluded that the bump on his head was just as normal as any other kids’ bump who hit their head.

Having not made any progress in discovering what was going on with their son, Stephanie and Dillon rushed him to the emergency room to be observed by a doctor. The doctors performed a number of tests on Colin and ruled out many causes such as brain damage and meningitis. As the doctors continued to test Colin, his condition continued to get worse. His parents were devasted as they watched him lose more of his ability to move around. He lost all control over his limbs below his neck and his oxygen levels were dropping.

Afraid that their son was going to lose his life, Stephanie and Dillon pleaded with the doctors to transfer him to a hospital larger in size that was equipped with more doctors and advanced medical technology. Upon arriving at the new hospital, Colin’s parents were told by the doctors that if they had waited any longer, Colin would have gone into cardiac arrest. This bit of news was good to hear, however the parents were still on edge regarding his current paralysis.

After spending a little time with Colin, the doctors were able to locate the source of the problem.

The doctors informed Stephanie and Dillon that there had been a small tick behind Colin’s ear. Slowly the tick had been draining the life out of Colin, causing it to go unnoticed by those around. Once the tick had been removed, Colin quickly began to recover back to his normal self. According to a study conducted at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, once a tick is removed any symptoms experienced from the contact with the tick’s saliva will disappear.

Do you know someone who has experienced paralysis as a result of a tick bite?