ZIKA HORROR!

DAYS AFTER Joy’s* nineyear-old daughter Becky* contracted the Zika virus in May, she woke up with no movement in her right side.

The sudden paralysis resulted in the working mother carrying her daughter around on her back to and from school for months, while some medical personnel initially charged that the child was faking the illness.

Up to the time the child was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) – a condition in which persons may present with acute onset of progressive paralysis – Joy said her daughter had not been tested for ZIKV even though she requested the test when her daughter first presented with the rashes and itching over her body.

MISDIAGNOSED

“The school called and said I should come and get her for she had rashes all over her body. I took her to the clinic and they misdiagnosed her and said it was food poisoning. They gave her a shot for food poisoning and said it would clear up in 24 hours.

“Four days later, she still had the rash. The following Monday, eight days after the rash appeared, she said ‘Mommy, I can’t feel my right side’,” Joy told The Sunday Gleaner.