A teenage girl from Michigan was fighting for her life on Wednesday after contracting the rare Eastern equine encephalitis virus, her mother said.
Savannah DeHart, 14, came down with what seemed like a simple headache earlier this month, but within days, her condition worsened, NBC 8 reported.
“It got to the point where she didn’t want to move,” mom Kerri Dooley told the outlet.
The teen was rushed to Bronson Children’s Hospital in Kalamazoo Aug. 17, and doctors there believe she contracted the potentially deadly mosquito-borne disease.
State health officials on Monday announced that they had found three suspected cases of the disease in people living in Berrien and Kalamazoo counties.
The teen is now in serious condition and has been put on a ventilator, her mom said. She missed her first day of freshman year at Vicksburg High School on Tuesday, the Detroit Free Press reported.
“She just kind of lays there for now. Her brain is trying to heal itself and she can’t do anything until that happens,” Dooley said.
“It has been probably been the worst time of my life,” she added. “I watched my daughter almost check out.”
There is no treatment for EEE, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But doctors can offer supportive therapy to help patients breathe, get fluids and nutrition and prevent infections.
At least four people in Massachusetts have also contracted the same illness, including Laurie Sylvia, a 59-year-old realtor, who died.
Savannah’s family are hoping that she’ll pull through.
“She’ll come through it. She’s a fighter,” Dooley said. “Obviously, we can’t wait to see her eyes open and bring her home, but for now, we do what we can to support her.”
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