Wyatt
Wyatt was born happy and healthy on September 24, 2012. He was thriving and hitting all his developmental milestones ahead of schedule. At his 6 month check-up, his pediatrician said he would probably be an early walker, but all that changed on May 17, 2013. Wyatt became fussy the night of May 16. He threw-up and began whimpering. My husband and I thought he was coming down with a stomach virus that the rest of the family had been fighting. We watched him through the night. By morning he was breathing oddly and not moving. I thought he was just exhausted. At 7 months old, he couldn’t tell us that something was terribly wrong.
As I was getting Wyatt dressed, I realized he was unable to bear weight on his legs. We took him to his pediatrician who had us rush Wyatt to our local hospital. At the hospital it became clear that something was seriously wrong with Wyatt. He was belly breathing and still not moving despite having a catheter put in and an IV started.
Wyatt was admitted to the hospital. Doctors initially thought he was dehydrated. After two days with no improvements, his doctors began to realize that something other than dehydration was happening. Doctors began testing for Guillain Barre. When no reason for Wyatt’s condition could be found, Wyatt was transferred to Greenville Children’s Hospital at midnight.
Early the next morning on May 20, 2013, he was sent down for an MRI. Doctors had to fully sedate Wyatt and placed him on a ventilator just to preform the MRI due to his weak respirations. After the MRI he was left sedated and on the ventilator and moved to the PICU. Around five that afternoon we were pulled into a little room and shown images of his MRI and finally given the diagnosis of acute transverse myelitis. We had never heard of transverse myelitis and had no idea that paralysis was even a possibility since Wyatt had not had an injury.
We were in shock and it was all a blur. We had no idea what transverse myelitis was or what a diagnosis meant for Wyatt. He was only seven months old and was paralyzed from the neck down. There was no guarantee he would ever move again. We were devastated. He began a 5-day course of IV steroids and had two IVIG transfusions. Doctors felt that plasmapheresis was too risky for someone Wyatt’s age.
Wyatt spent two weeks in the PICU. During that time, he slowly regained the use of his arms. After being discharged, he went to Shriner’s Hospital in Philadelphia for three weeks of rehabilitation. Wyatt had to relearn to sit, roll and use his hands. It has been a long road to recovery that included a 5-week stay at the Kennedy Krieger Institute where Wyatt began propelling his own wheelchair just days after his first birthday.
Today, Wyatt is still the same happy little boy that came into this world. He remains a T2 paraplegic. He has no feeling or controlled movement below mid-chest, but he is thriving. He rolls his wheelchair better than most adults and also gets around with a commando crawl. He smiles constantly and brings joy to everyone he meets. He continues to undergo three hours of physical therapy and two hours of occupational therapy each week along with regular rehabilitation visits at the Shriners Hospital in Philadelphia and the Kennedy Krieger Institute.
He will climb this mountain someday.
Wyatt was born happy and healthy on September 24, 2012. He was thriving and hitting all his developmental milestones ahead of schedule. At his 6 month check-up, his pediatrician said he would probably be an early walker, but all that changed on May 17, 2013. Wyatt became fussy the night of May 16. He threw-up and began whimpering. My husband and I thought he was coming down with a stomach virus that the rest of the family had been fighting. We watched him through the night. By morning he was breathing oddly and not moving. I thought he was just exhausted. At 7 months old, he couldn’t tell us that something was terribly wrong.
As I was getting Wyatt dressed, I realized he was unable to bear weight on his legs. We took him to his pediatrician who had us rush Wyatt to our local hospital. At the hospital it became clear that something was seriously wrong with Wyatt. He was belly breathing and still not moving despite having a catheter put in and an IV started.
Wyatt was admitted to the hospital. Doctors initially thought he was dehydrated. After two days with no improvements, his doctors began to realize that something other than dehydration was happening. Doctors began testing for Guillain Barre. When no reason for Wyatt’s condition could be found, Wyatt was transferred to Greenville Children’s Hospital at midnight.
Early the next morning on May 20, 2013, he was sent down for an MRI. Doctors had to fully sedate Wyatt and placed him on a ventilator just to preform the MRI due to his weak respirations. After the MRI he was left sedated and on the ventilator and moved to the PICU. Around five that afternoon we were pulled into a little room and shown images of his MRI and finally given the diagnosis of acute transverse myelitis. We had never heard of transverse myelitis and had no idea that paralysis was even a possibility since Wyatt had not had an injury.
We were in shock and it was all a blur. We had no idea what transverse myelitis was or what a diagnosis meant for Wyatt. He was only seven months old and was paralyzed from the neck down. There was no guarantee he would ever move again. We were devastated. He began a 5-day course of IV steroids and had two IVIG transfusions. Doctors felt that plasmapheresis was too risky for someone Wyatt’s age.
Wyatt spent two weeks in the PICU. During that time, he slowly regained the use of his arms. After being discharged, he went to Shriner’s Hospital in Philadelphia for three weeks of rehabilitation. Wyatt had to relearn to sit, roll and use his hands. It has been a long road to recovery that included a 5-week stay at the Kennedy Krieger Institute where Wyatt began propelling his own wheelchair just days after his first birthday.
Today, Wyatt is still the same happy little boy that came into this world. He remains a T2 paraplegic. He has no feeling or controlled movement below mid-chest, but he is thriving. He rolls his wheelchair better than most adults and also gets around with a commando crawl. He smiles constantly and brings joy to everyone he meets. He continues to undergo three hours of physical therapy and two hours of occupational therapy each week along with regular rehabilitation visits at the Shriners Hospital in Philadelphia and the Kennedy Krieger Institute.
He will climb this mountain someday.