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A mother described her anguish after her football-loving schoolboy suddenly woke up one morning unable to move.
Kobe Duck, of Cooranbong, New South Wales, had just been named "Player of the Year" by the powerful Striker Morisset when his life changed forever.
The six-year-old was diagnosed with an extremely rare disease called acute flaccid myelitis, which affects the spinal cord last November.
The brown-eyed boy with a jagged smile must now move in a wheelchair. The disease has affected his ability to eat, swallow and support his back.
Kobe Duck (pictured) was a schoolboy pbadionate about football until the morning when he woke up unable to move.
Kobe Duck (photo with his mother Kristie) of Cooranbong, New South Wales, had just been named "Player of the Year" for the powerful Morisset Strikers when his life changed forever
His mother, Kristie Duck, told the Sydney Morning Herald that they did not know that there was something that really was not going in their little boy.
Kobe, who was only five years old at the time, began to lose appetite.
He then developed a little cough and a sniff, Ms. Duck said.
When he complained of having a sore neck and getting very hot, Ms. Duck took her to the ER, fearing to have meningitis.
However, the doctors sent the boy home, so Mrs. Duck administered paracetamol to Kobe and put her to bed.
"Around four o'clock in the morning, he got up and met my husband in the hallway and said: & # 39; "I have a fuzzy neck & # 39; & # 39; but he went back to bed.
"The next morning he was crying in bed saying that he could not get up. He could not lift his head from the pillow.
Last November, Kobe, who had just been named "Player of the Year" by the powerful Morisset Striker, began to lose his appetite.
His family (photo) had to learn to read on the lips to understand it, which was frustrating for Kobe
Kobe was paralyzed and had trouble breathing. He was rushed to the John Hunter Children's Hospital in Newcastle, but his condition deteriorated. He has been in the hospital ever since.
His mother has not heard his voice for six months.
Her family had to learn to read on the lips to understand it, which is frustrating for Kobe, Ms. Duck said.
What is acute flaccid myelitis?
AFM is a rare disease that affects the spinal cord, the part of the nervous system that transmits messages to and from the brain.
AFM can affect the nerves that control the head and neck
This can cause respiratory failure if the muscles involved in breathing weaken
Source: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Ms. Duck and her husband Michael alternate nights spent at the hospital with Kobe.
Their parents help take care of their other 10-year-old Alana and 8-year-old Jacob.
Although Kobe has shown little signs of recovery, it still has a long way to go.
The disease begins with a virus, similar to polio, said the pediatric neurologist, Dr. Rob Smith.
Many children contract the virus without any symptoms, he said.
And most people do not know that they were carriers of the virus, he said.
He said that it was extremely rare that the symptoms were as severe as those of Kobe.
He hopes that Kobe will end up with a residual disability and will be able to live at home with his family.
Kobe's family has created a GoFundMe page to cover the cost of changing his home so he can bring Kobe home.
"We do not know where the end point is. We do not know how long he will recover. I would give anything to hear his voice again.
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