Girl, 16, can’t walk or talk after being hit by a brutal bout of flu
- Teenager from Perth loses motor skills after flu
- Kayla Jennings is bedridden in the hospital and unable to walk
- There have been more than 50,000 flu cases this year
A teenage girl can no longer walk after the flu ‘took everything from her’.
Kayla Jennings, 16, contracted a respiratory illness two weeks ago that quickly turned into something more serious, leaving her bedridden in hospital.
Her mother Casey Murphy told her 7News it all started with a cough but quickly got worse.
Perth teen Casey Murphy (pictured) has been hospitalized and unable to walk due to a relentless bout of flu that quickly progressed from a cough to the loss of the 16-year-old’s motor skills
Kayla Jennings, 16, contracted a respiratory illness two weeks ago that quickly progressed to something more serious, unable to speak or walk properly
“She couldn’t walk, couldn’t really talk, she couldn’t speak, she lost all motor skills,” said Ms Murphy from Perth.
She now faces a long road to recovery at Fiona Stanley Hospital with fluid in her brain.
Tests showed her condition all stemmed from influenza A – a viral infection that causes symptoms such as fever and chills, sneezing, coughing and sore throat.
Influenza is a group of illnesses that cause flu-like symptoms where the virus is split into two categories, Influenza A and Influenza B.
The teenager will start rehabilitation this week, in which she will learn to walk again.
a fundraiser was created to help pay for her road to recovery.
Her family says the illness has “taken everything away from her” and regrets not getting around to getting their winter flu vaccines.
The teen now faces a long road to recovery at Fiona Stanley Hospital with fluid in her brain (Kayla pictured with her mother)
The infection can be deadly, as evidenced when it recently claimed the life of Perth toddler Muhammed Saadiq Segaff.
The three-year-old went into cardiac arrest in hospital after falling ill with the virus and could not be saved despite open-heart surgery.
The latest figures from the Federal Ministry of Health and Care for the Elderly show that more than 17,000 cases of flu or flu-like illnesses were registered between May 15 and 28.
More than 50,000 flu cases have been registered this year.
Flu season in Australia usually lasts from April to October.