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Little Grace Smolinski, terrified by screams and frantically scratching her own skin, seemed terrified.
The three-year-old girl curled up in one corner of the room, desperately trying to hide from an "evil monster" that only she could see.
SWNS: South West News Service
Her horrified mother did not know what was happening to her daughter.
Soon, the toddler began to suffer convulsions, lost the ability to walk and was unable to speak.
Mom Erin, 38, and Dad Larry took their granddaughter to Chicago Hospital, Illinois, where tests revealed that Grace was suffering from a rare disease: l \ u quot; autoimmune encephalitis.
Due to this threat, the body's immune system attacks healthy brain cells and causes it to swell.
SWNS: South West News Service
Erin, a teacher, and her husband Larry, 37, feared for their daughter during what she described as "the worst experience" of their lives.
Erin, a mom of three, said, "Grace had seizures several weeks after we returned from vacation to Florida.
"One night, she had a very long one, which lasted seven minutes and our neurologist asked us to call in a specialist, and it was then that we took her directly to downtown, to Lurie Children's Hospital.
"A few hours after arriving in Lurie, his speech began to decline.
SWNS: South West News Service
"He was a very eloquent child and able to tell complete stories, using complete sentences.
"She went from that to being able to say only syllables.
"She went from singing entire songs from Moana – hardly able to say" Moana ".
She was trying to get out of bed screaming, scratching her skin and snatching the infusion. We could not comfort her
Erin Smolinski, Grace's mom
"Grace was losing her ability to walk and she started having these seizures which, we thought, might well be tantrums because she was in the hospital.
"She was trying to get out of bed screaming and tearing her drip in. We could not comfort her.
"It was very different from the character, she was not the type to make tantrums. She was suddenly very scared all the time.
"She seemed to think that there was someone else in the room, and she seemed to be afraid of that person." It was terrifying.
SWNS: South West News Service
SWNS: South West News Service
"I was wondering what she was seeing.The nurses said that she was probably suffering from hallucinations."
Grace had a puncture in the spine to support the diagnosis, but her neurologists began treating her immediately for autoimmune encephalitis because of her seriousness.
She was treated with steroids and immunoglobulin – antibodies that help destroy bacteria and viruses – and began to improve.
But then she had a cardiac arrest and was rushed to the pediatric intensive care unit of the hospital.
Erin said, "We were anxious to go home when Grace had a seizure and she coded.
SWNS: South West News Service
What is autoimmune encephalitis?
Encephalitis can occur when an infection spreads to the brain.
Factors such as herpes virus, measles, mumps and rubella and conditions such as Japanese encephalitis and rabies are known to trigger it.
Although these viruses can spread, the condition can not.
The immune system protects the body against diseases and infections.
When germs enter the body, it attacks them to stop causing a serious infection.
But in rare cases, something is wrong.
Instead of protecting the body, the immune system turns it on and mistakenly attacks the brain.
The first symptoms of encephalitis include:
- a high temperature of 38 ° C or higher
- a headache
- to feel and to be sick
- muscle and joint pain
Some people will also have a spotted rash or rashes on the skin, notes the NHS.
More serious symptoms include:
- confusion or dizziness
- drowsiness
- seizures
- personality changes
- difficulty speaking
- weaken or unable to move
- see and hear things that are not there
- sight problems
- loss of consciousness
- loss of sensation in certain parts of the body
"I simply broke down looking at what appeared to be about twenty people working on it, it was intubated and it was an image that I will never forget.
"In these frightening circumstances, you can do everything you can to make your child there."
Fortunately, Grace recovered and was released after two weeks of hospitalization.
She then started a monthly chemotherapy treatment to prevent a relapse.
Erin and Larry, who are also parents of Elizabeth, five, and 18-month-old Eddie, congratulated the doctors who took the initiative to treat Grace before an official diagnosis, which made her save the life.
Erin said, "I'm very lucky that Lurie's doctors took the initiative, she just would have continued to deteriorate quickly."
Grace needed a lot of help at home because her balance was unstable and her speech had deteriorated, but now he has returned to kindergarten.
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Erin added, "Luckily, a baby learned to walk and a girl who pushed Grace to use full sentences, so I think it really helped her.
"She recovered fairly quickly, she returned to kindergarten a few weeks later, which stunned the doctors, there is a risk of relapse and it terrifies me.
"Although she does not take antiepileptic medication, she continues to receive intravenous and intravenous once a month, which will continue until the second anniversary of her illness in April.
"We have not noticed that Grace has had a cognitive impact, we will have to wait until she goes to school." For the moment, she is doing very well.
"Grace is a three-year-old girl who loves her dolls and her scooter, we are lucky every day."
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