{"id":104277,"date":"2022-06-05T12:23:05","date_gmt":"2022-06-05T06:53:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/centralrecorder.com\/i-thought-my-daughter-was-just-joking-when-she-said-she-couldnt-feel-her-legs\/"},"modified":"2022-06-05T12:23:05","modified_gmt":"2022-06-05T06:53:05","slug":"i-thought-my-daughter-was-just-joking-when-she-said-she-couldnt-feel-her-legs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/centralrecorder.com\/i-thought-my-daughter-was-just-joking-when-she-said-she-couldnt-feel-her-legs\/","title":{"rendered":"I thought my daughter was just joking when she said she couldn’t feel her legs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A MUM thought her daughter was only joking when she said she couldn\u2019t feel her legs \u2013 but the reality was terrifying.<\/p>\n

Debbie Picken, from Bath, has described the horrifying events in May 2017 when her four-year-old daughter Clover fell ill with a mystery virus.<\/p>\n

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Clover appeared to have a flu at first but doctors eventually discovered it was something much more serious<\/span>Credit: BPM<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At first, it seemed like she had the flu.<\/p>\n

However, just a week after her symptoms began, she began to lose feeling in her legs and feet.<\/p>\n

Debbie rushed her to the hospital where, by process of elimination, Clover was eventually diagnosed with Guillain-Barr\u00e9 syndrome.<\/p>\n

What followed were many sleepless nights, a lengthy hospital stay and months of physiotherapy to get the tot back on her feet.<\/p>\n

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Now five years on, Debbie looked back on that terrifying summer.<\/p>\n

“In May 2017, she had flu-like symptoms for around a week and then didn\u2019t feel any better. I ended up getting her seen by the out of hours doctor at the hospital a few days later, as it was a bank holiday, and there was a confirmed case of scarlet fever at her nursery, and she had developed a small rash on her chin.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe doctor said it was a virus, but not scarlet fever and so we went home with instructions to give her Calpol.<\/p>\n

“That same day but in the evening, I took her back to the hospital as she suddenly developed a cough which wouldn\u2019t even allow her to pause for breath.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer vital signs were checked and I was advised to just let the cough run its course, so I took her home at 2am when it eventually stopped,” Debbie explained.<\/p>\n

Over the next few days, she expected Clover to recover.<\/p>\n

However, she continued to suffer from fatigue and spent most of her time asleep on the floor, in between short periods of play.<\/p>\n

When, after a week and the four-year-old was no better, Debbie noticed that Clover was falling over more often and had developed a limp, so she took her back to the GP.<\/p>\n

From there, they went to the paediatric assessment unit at Bath’s Royal United Hospitals (RUH).<\/p>\n

There, she was diagnosed with an ear infection, which was thought to be causing Clover’s dizziness.<\/p>\n

“At that stage, there wasn\u2019t anything tangibly wrong with her that suggested a serious illness,” Debbie explained.<\/p>\n

“It was only when we got home and she wasn’t in the pushchair or the car seat that she was having to walk again and she told me she couldn\u2019t. She was always lying on the floor pretending to be a mermaid, so when she said she ‘couldn\u2019t move her legs’, I thought she was messing around.”<\/p>\n

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What is Guillain-Barr\u00e9 syndrome?<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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The NHS<\/a> describes Guillain-Barr\u00e9 syndrome as \u201ca very rare and serious condition\u201d that affects the nerves.<\/p>\n

It mainly affects the feet, hands and limbs, causing problems such as numbness, weakness and pain.<\/p>\n

While most people will eventually make a full recovery it can be life-threatening and some people are left with long-term problems.<\/p>\n

It affects people of all ages but is most common in adults and males.<\/p>\n

The initial symptoms are:<\/p>\n