Toddler got a stomach flu at daycare…within a week she was paralyzed

A Bournemouth mother has told of the horror of seeing her daughter’s stomach flu develop into a life-threatening illness that ultimately left her disabled.

Two-year-old Iyla-Mae came home from daycare one July afternoon with what appeared to be an emetic virus – which was not unusual for the young child.

But unlike previous occasions, the vomiting persisted and four days later Iyla-Mae woke up in hysterical tears, unable to move.

Her mother, 27-year-old Paige Coneley, called the NHS 111 helpline, who advised her to take the little girl straight to A&E.

Doctors took CT scans of her brain and saw signs that she was suffering from seizures.

Iyla-Mae was referred to a specialist unit at Southampton General Hospital, where doctors confirmed she had suffered from cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) – a rare form of stroke that affects around one in 100,000 people a year and is most common in children .

The condition, CVST, causes a blood clot to form in the network of channels in the brain responsible for draining fluid.

The blockage had caused damage to the delicate blood vessels, leading to swelling and bleeding in the brain.

Paige Coneley, 27, a full-time mum from Poole, thought her daughter Iyla-Mae (pictured before she got sick right and left) was just having regular episodes of vomit. But just four days later, on July 14, the baby woke up and couldn’t move, talk or drink – she had lost the ability to do anything other than cry.

After the successful surgery, Iyla-Mae was put on blood thinners and anti-epileptic drugs for six months and began intensive rehabilitation, but she still has a long way to go

This series of events is part of a stroke, in which the supply of oxygen-rich blood to the brain is obstructed, causing significant neurological damage.

Doctors are unsure whether Iyla Mae’s vomiting virus was a precursor or cause of the stroke.

However, studies show that prolonged and projectile vomiting can cause extreme increases in blood pressure, which can contribute to the formation of blood clots.

It is also known that vomiting, drowsiness, seizures and difficulty walking can be the first warning signs of a stroke.

Mrs Coneley said the extent of her daughter’s brain damage was such that she had to ‘learn to do everything again, all over again’.

In mid-July, the toddler underwent surgery to reduce fluid levels in her brain and remained in intensive care for four days before being transferred to the neurosurgical unit at Southampton Children’s Hospital, where she stayed for 17 weeks.

Doctors warned Ms Coneley there was a possibility of a second stroke and more bleeding in the brain. The news was devastating: Mrs. Coneley “fell to the floor next to her bed” and “cried.”

She told MailOnline: ‘I grabbed a chair and sat by her bed, held her hand and whispered in her ear: ‘Mummy needs you more than you need me, come on baby’.’

“I closed my eyes and all I could imagine was that I was planning her funeral,” she added.

After the successful operation, Iyla-Mae was put on blood thinners and anti-epileptic drugs for six months and began intensive rehabilitation.

“They’ve helped her get some control of her head, but sometimes it sinks down,” Ms. Coneley said.

Iyla-Mae was referred to a specialist unit at Southampton General Hospital, where doctors confirmed she had suffered from cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) – a rare form of stroke that affects around one in 100,000 people each year and is most common in children.

Mrs Coneley hopes to raise £2,500 to fund her physio and new adaptations such as a new pram (pictured here before she fell ill)

The therapy was intended to help her sit and stand, but she needed to be supported at all times.

Other rehabilitation tasks included teaching Iyla-Mae how to press ‘buttons’ on her toys.

Speech and language experts also checked how well she could swallow. By September she was able to swallow yogurt, which was some improvement.

But Ms Coneley said her sucking reflex has not returned, meaning she cannot yet drink water from a bottle.

Mrs Coneley said: ‘She cannot walk quietly, she cannot sit or stand on her own, she cannot feed herself, she cannot talk and she has to sit in a chair at all times.

“If you’re on the ground, you have to sit behind her to keep her from falling.

“I have to do everything for her.”

Iyla-Mae was discharged from Southampton Children’s Hospital on November 7, where she was greeted with applause from the staff who have helped her over the past five months.

Despite months of intensive rehabilitation, Iyla-Mae still has to relearn a lot and Mrs. Coneley has a… Go Fund Me Page to help fund a private physiotherapist to get her daughter the extra help she needs.

NHS physiotherapists have reduced Iyla-Mae’s sessions from twice a day to just once a week.

‘She needs intensive physio to give her at least some independence. For example, being able to sit on her and play with toys, she can’t do that right now,” Ms. Coneley said.

“I want to do everything I can to get my crazy little girl back.”