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4-year-old girl fights against rare neurological condition

4-year-old girl fights against rare neurological condition
3 years 5 months 2 weeks ago Friday, June 11 2021 Jun 11, 2021 June 11, 2021 8:32 AM June 11, 2021 in News - Local

Transverse myelitis.

It's a rare neurological condition that has no cure. But one little girl manages to keep smiling despite all that.

Like most 4-year-olds, Audrey likes to play, sing, and smile. But she's also been through more than most kids will ever know.

At just nine months old, Audrey's mother rushed her to a clinic with a fever of 103. The doctors there thought it was an ear infection, but her mom decided to take her to the hospital anyway. The hospital’s diagnosis was much different - transverse myelitis, which would keep her in the hospital much longer.

"The first two years of her life, first two and a half, that was her home,” said Audrey’s grandmother, Melissa Alviar. “Doctors and nurses. And if you get to see her and talk to her, she loves talking about doctors and nurses."

Audrey’s condition means she has to have a nurse, a feeding tube, a breathing tube, and a lot of doctor appointments.

"It hits one in a million,” Aliviar said. “Audrey is very high maintenance in taking care of."

Dr. Roberto Alejandro Cruz at DHR Health Neurology Institute said he usually sees Audrey’s condition after a virus has occurred, saying swelling in the spine is the most common symptom.

"There are a couple of neurological conditions that can manifest as transverse myelitis,” Cruz said. The most common one being multiple sclerosis, MS."

Dr. Cruz says he has seen the disease in adults but very rarely in children.

Audrey’s immediate future will continue to consist of doctors, nurses and therapy. But regardless of what is thrown at her, her family says the 4-year-old is a fighter.

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