12-Year-Old Boy Paralyzed Moments After Leaving Hospital Where Doctors Thought He Was 'Exaggerating' Symptoms

A 12-year-old boy was paralyzed due to a rare neurological disorder after doctors initially dismissed his symptoms.

Maysen, from Australia, had been in “excruciating” pain for days, unable to eat and dealing with “intense headaches.”

On July 31, his mother, Jessica Bye, rushed him to Bacchus Marsh Hospital before they were transferred to Sunshine Hospital via ambulance. While there, she said Maysen didn’t receive proper medical attention, Yahoo News Australia reports.

"They said they think his symptoms don't add up and that they think he's exaggerating," she told the outlet, claiming that staff appeared to "brush off" his symptoms.

Jessica added that they also suggested that Maysen simply wanted to stay home from school. "They questioned me and said, 'Has he expressed that he wants to spend more time with you?'"

After being “wrongly” discharged from the hospital, she said Maysen started slurring his words during their car ride home, causing her to panic.

"When I looked at him the whole left side of his face was drooping. He was paralyzed,” she recalled. “I thought he was having a stroke or had a brain tumor." 

Jessica quickly returned to the hospital and said she had to "physically lift him into the car" because he couldn't move. When she entered, she said medical staff took Maysen’s symptoms more seriously.

Maysen was then diagnosed with  Guillain-Barré Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder where the body's immune system mistakenly attacks the nervous system, causing muscle weakness and temporary paralysis. Why people develop Guillain-Barré isn't yet known, but most cases occur after a respiratory or gastrointestinal viral infection, according to the National Institutes of Health.

The severity of Guillain-Barré — which affects about one in 100,000 people a year — can vary from person to person, either causing a mild weakness in the body or a “devastating” paralysis. 

Symptoms usually begin with a tingling in the legs or hands, and progress to weakness in both sides of the body that increases in intensity as hours or days go by. Typically, patients are given high-dose immunoglobulin therapy (IVIg).

After weeks in the hospital, Maysen relies on a feeding tube to eat and has lost 25% of his body weight. Jessica also said he has “minimal” movement and “pain is still extensive.”

"It’s horrible. He's usually tough and running around and doing all the kid things," she said. "Now he's in a hospital bed wearing a nappy again at 12 years old. It's just really hard to watch."

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In a GoFundMe created by Maysen’s aunt, Jessica said that her son has a long road ahead of him.

“Unfortunately this disease is a very long road to recovery. And we are at the very beginning,” she explained. “Maysen will likely be in hospital for at least a few weeks and then the road after is quite fuzzy. He will need extensive rehab to regain the ability to do even everyday tasks.”

“This is by far one of the hardest things we have had to deal with. This little guy is the absolute strongest kid I’ve ever met,” she wrote. “Thank you everyone for your love, care, kind words and generosity.”  

Jessica has also filed a formal complaint against the hospital, hoping they make changes to their practices.

"I want to know why they sent him home when the kid was so incredibly sick. I want this to change. I don't want this to happen to other people," she explained. "I want the hospital to know that they've made this mistake because they can't fix their mistakes unless the mistakes are brought to their attention."

She told the outlet that although the treatment they initially got was flawed, staff has been “amazing” since she returned and Maysen has gotten “exemplary care.”