Missouri teen paralyzed by rare virus as he clings to life on a ventilator
An 18-year-old Missourian is paralyzed from the neck down and can only breathe with the help of a ventilator. He has been infected with West Nile virus.
John Proctor VI, affectionately known as “BB,” first began experiencing headaches and dizziness earlier this month. Within days, his speech became slurred and he was unable to lift his arm or smile, according to a local NBC affiliate. KSDK reported.
The boy’s parents feared their son was having a stroke and rushed him to the emergency room on August 11. After tests were run, doctors revealed that their son had contracted the sometimes fatal mosquito-borne disease.
According to Dr. Farrin Manion, chief of the Department of Medicine at Mercy St. Louis, Proctor’s case is rare: “A small percentage of patients will actually develop neuroinvasive disease, an attack of the virus on our nervous system, the brain or the spinal cord.”
There is currently no vaccine or treatment and his parents are praying for their son to make a “full recovery.”
John Proctor VI is on a ventilator to help him breathe after being diagnosed with West Nile virus. His parents, John Proctor V and his mother are at his bedside
The 18-year-old had just graduated from high school in the spring
The teenager had graduated from high school in the spring and was training to be a diesel mechanic.
His father said in a GoFundMe that he became ill ‘out of nowhere’ and then ‘became progressively worse over the course of a few days.’
On Sunday, doctors at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis told him that their son had contracted a serious case of West Nile virus.
“Doctors have finally discovered what caused the chaos in our son’s previously healthy body. Our son contracted a severe case of West Nile Virus from a mosquito bite here in North St. Louis County,” Proctor said.
He said his son is now recovering from a “stroke and pneumonia.”
On Monday, he said doctors had removed the breathing tube from his mouth and given him a tracheostomy tube to restart his breathing, and he was undergoing rehabilitation and physical therapy.
“Our son is very weak right now and is making small but great improvements in his ability to move his right arm and both legs. His left arm is still very weak, he can’t move his neck or sit up,” Proctor said.
Proctor holds up McCluer High School diploma
The boy’s father, John Proctor V, is praying for his son to make a full recovery from a virus for which there is no treatment or vaccine
‘The doctor says it will be a marathon to get him back to the state he was in before the virus nearly killed him.
“Please continue to keep BB in your prayers, pray for our family and his friends during this traumatic time and also continue to pray for doctors and medical staff.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one in 150 people experiences serious symptoms from West Nile virus, which affects the central nervous system, including brain inflammation, or meningitis, and inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. NBC News.
Symptoms include neck stiffness, headaches, disorientation and paralysis. Recovery can take weeks or months and some effects can be permanent.
Earlier this month, Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Biden’s former chief medical adviser, was hospitalized for nearly a week with a West Nile virus infection.
Fauci told the Health and Medicine publication STANDS that ‘he had never been so sick in my life’.
“I honestly felt like I had been hit by a truck,” the 83-year-old doctor said. “This is by far the worst illness I have ever experienced.”
West Nile virus is a flavivirus, a family of viruses that also includes St. Louis encephalitis virus, Japanese encephalitis virus and Powassan virus, the health publication said.
Earlier this month, Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Biden’s former chief medical adviser, was hospitalized for nearly a week with a West Nile virus infection
West Nile virus is a flavivirus, a family of viruses that also includes St. Louis encephalitis virus, Japanese encephalitis virus and Powassan virus, the health publication said.
The virus is spread by infected mosquitoes and is the leading cause of mosquito-borne illness in the United States. There are usually no symptoms, but people who do have symptoms can become seriously ill.
There is no vaccine to protect against the mosquito-borne disease, nor are there specific antiviral drugs to treat the disease.
Severe cases are treated with intravenous fluids and pain relievers.
According to experts, the months of August and September are the peak season and most cases come to light.
The best way to protect yourself is to limit your time outdoors and use bug spray.
As of Thursday afternoon, the family had raised nearly $2,000 of their $10,000 goal through GoFundMe.