William Morgan
A fit and healthy cheerleader who was just about to take her next big step in life is lying sedated in intensive care after a simple health issue quickly developed into a life-threatening condition.
22-year-old Maddie Clary had just completed her nursing degree, after spending four years as a college cheerleader, when she returned to her hometown to begin healing others. Just weeks later she was fighting for her life.
What began as a simple migraine for Maddie quickly turned into a series of shocking seizures that terrified her friends and family. Two weeks before, the qualified nurse from New South Wales, Australia, had reported feeling mild flu-like symptoms.
These included a sore throat and a building migraine that quickly became debilitating. According to her mom Erin Clary, even though the doctors have put her under full sedation, 'they have absolutely no idea what has started this'.
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Speaking to news.com.au, the mom said that this lack of information was 'distressing and frustrating'. Erin added: “She’s still heavily sedated, so it’s hard to figure out exactly what’s going on.”
The way Maddie's mysterious illness developed has left the mother as bewildered as the doctors.
She explained: “She said it started with pain in the back of her neck that moved up into the front, left side of her head. She told me she had never had pain like that before and said she also felt really nauseous.”
With Erin also suffering from occasional migraines, she gave her daughter the standard advice, telling her to 'take some painkillers and try to sleep it off, to stay in a dark room and away from bright lights'.
But her perplexing illness did not follow a natural course. After following her mom's advice and seeing her physician, who said her migraines were ordinary, Maddie even started to feel better.
“We had dinner and watched TV. She was laughing, she seemed fine,” Erin said. “She was just herself again.”
But when she awoke the next morning, she was surprised to find her daughter still in bed. Then, when she went in to check on her, Maddie was unresponsive.
The aspiring nurse was rushed to hospital, where doctors confirmed that she had suffered from a major seizure and immediately sedated her to bring her condition under control.
Her mom said: "The doctors were phenomenal. The quick response was unbelievable. We’re so thankful she received care so quickly."
But with no idea what had brought on her sudden and serious illness, she was transferred to a specialist unit in Sydney. There further investigations were carried out, including MRIs, CT scans, and lumbar punctures, but they still could not diagnose her condition.
Her mom added: "The doctors were phenomenal. The quick response was unbelievable. We’re so thankful she received care so quickly."
With no clear picture as to why Maddie's migraine turned into a crippling seizure, medics are now treating her for autoimmune encephalitis, which is a rare illness that causes the body's immune system to attack the brain, causing rapid swelling which triggers a seizure.
With her daughter now remaining sedated for weeks, her mom remain's worried. She said: “They keep saying to us that we’re here for a marathon, not a sprint,” the concerned mother said. “It’s incredibly stressful. We’ve had days where we’ve cried and been frustrated. But we’ve both tried to maintain positivity throughout.”
You can find Maddie's GoFundMe here.