Post by Joanna on Oct 23, 2017 10:18:29 GMT -5
Doctors Can't Explain Why Child Slept for 11 Days
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A second-grade boy who slept for 11 days straight recently awakened. Norton Children’s Hospital doctors still don’t know what caused him to fall into a dangerous slumber.
Wyatt Shaw was the life of the party. “He was awesome, he stole the show. He stole the last dance – he took the bride away from the groom,” Amy Thompson, Shaw’s mother, said. Seven-year-old Wyatt made his mark as the ring bearer at his uncle’s wedding, but 48 hours later, he was in the hospital, unable to remain awake. “I tried to wake him up and he kept falling back asleep. I kept ‘Wyatt, Wyatt, Wyatt’ and then he fell back asleep again,” Thompson continued.
Wyatt was rushed to Norton Children’s Hospital, where he remained under observation and while wires monitored his brain activity, he slept and slept for 11 days. “When he would open his eyes, it didn’t look like he was there and it was terrifying,” his mother added. Doctors ran tests but none brought answers. MRIs, x-rays and blood work were all unremarkable.
After 10 days, doctors tried a new seizure medication and Wyatt woke up the next day. “He was just having electric misfires in his brain and it was just causing him to stay in a constant sleep,” Thompson said. Wyatt finally opened his eyes Thursday, Oct. 12. At first, he couldn’t move or speak. “We just kept praying,” she explained.
Since he awakened, Wyatt has made major strides in recovery, even walking, with his mother’s help, in his hospital room.
Doctors say there is a chance they will never know what caused Wyatt to fall asleep, so his parents say they are focusing on his recovery. Once he is discharged, he will spend three weeks in a rehabilitation facility.
Source: Shay McAlister, WHAS-TV, October 18, 2017.
