Weird symptoms of girl’s life-threatening tick

A young girl had strange symptoms before her mother discovered the cause of her life-threatening condition in a surprising way.

As four-year-old Elsie Perry lay in a hospital bed, seriously ill, her mother was right by her side providing some much-needed comfort.

That’s when she ended up discovering the cause of her daughter’s mysterious symptoms. As she was stroking Elsie’s hair, she felt something unusual.

“I was stroking her head and I actually found it in her head myself,” mother Tara Perry told 7 News.

Tara said her daughter had been exhibiting some unusual symptoms, which it turns out had been caused by a paralysis tick that had attached itself to her scalp.

“She woke up one morning and was really wobbly, unable to walk and her speech was really slurred,” Perry said.

“We thought; ‘This is really weird,’ and took her straight to the hospital.”

Elsie Perry had a life-threatening illness. Picture: Channel 7

The tick was removed, but Elsie still had a battle ahead of her.

“Over the next three days, she just lost all movement. Eventually she couldn’t breathe on her own, so they put her on life support.

“It was terrifying.”

Elsie is now on the mend. Picture: Channel 7

The little girl suffered two collapsed lungs and pneumonia, and spent 10 days in intensive care.

Elsie has undergone months of physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy to relearn how to eat and speak. She’s now nearing a full-recovery and her parents say she is doing “amazing”.

Tick bites can be devastating. Last July, three-year-old Jonny Simoson was hospitalised in the US after becoming ill from a tick bite.

“He was mopey, had no appetite, and the fact that he was complaining about a headache was not normal for a three-year-old,” mother Jamie Simoson said.

He was taken went to the hospital after his fever spiked above 40C, where he ended up spending weeks. He had an elevated white cell count and was transferred to a specialty children’s hospital, where he spent four days in the paediatric intensive care unit.

Jonny was seriously ill from a tick bite. Picture: Facebook/@jonnysjourney11

An MRI led to a diagnosis of meningoencephalitis – an infection of the brain and the thin tissue that surrounds it. A treatment of intravenous immunoglobulin was needed.

He was discharged after 12 days, and three days later he tested positive for Powassan virus – a rare and dangerous tick-borne disease.

Jonny wasn’t walking, and had poor balance upon his discharge. He also had to be taught how to eat and drink again, following his ordeal.

He has since made a full functional recovery.