9min chapter

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Ep. 5 | Silent Scream

MrBallen’s Medical Mysteries

CHAPTER

Gina's Mysterious Symptoms

Gina experiences alarming symptoms, undergoes tests, and is rushed to a specialist, leaving her and her family anxious and desperate for answers.

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It was the start of Homecoming Week at St. Mary Springs High School, and she'd been looking forward to it since the end of summer vacation. It was also her first year on the varsity volleyball team, which was a big deal for a sophomore. Gina didn't want to miss practice for the big game against the rival school, which was taking place that Thursday. As the bus pulled into the school parking lot, Gina convinced herself that she'd feel fine once she saw her friends and got to class. But the moment she stood up from her seat, she felt heavy and sluggish. It was like an invisible weight was trying to pull her through the floor. It took all her energy just to make it to English class. She spent the rest of the day fighting to keep her eyes open until it was finally time to go home. Later that night, while watching TV, Gina felt her arms start to tangle. She shook it, but the tingling wouldn't go away. Gina decided that she was probably just fighting off a flu bug, and so she just needed a good night's rest. And so she went to bed, and it didn't take long for her to fall into a deep sleep. But when she woke up the next morning, she didn't feel any better. In fact, as the week went by, Gina still just did not get any better. By Thursday, she was still exhausted and feeling achy. But today was the day of her big volleyball game, and Gina was not going to miss it. She dragged herself out of bed, but when she reached for her robe, her arm felt like it was made of lead. But she shook it off and took a deep breath, and then headed to the bathroom. A few hours later, Gina took her spot on the volleyball court. She felt a bit queasy, but she chalked it up to pregame nerves. The stands were full of supporters chanting and eager to cheer her team on. Once the game started, the opposing team served the ball over the net. One of Gina's teammates got underneath it, lobbing the ball towards Gina and setting her up for an easy play. All she had to do was spike it over the net. But as the ball got closer to her, her vision suddenly doubled. She was seeing two white volleyballs sailing toward her face. Gina blinked, unsure of which one to hit. She leaped up, swaddling at the air, and her palm did make contact with the hard vinyl ball, and immediately a jolt of pain shot through her arm. But she didn't care because she had done her job and returned the ball. The other team dove for it and missed. As the ball fell to the floor, the stands erupted. Gina had scored. She smiled and blinked a few times. A moment later, her double vision had cleared, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She was on a roll for the rest of the game. After the game, Gina went out with her teammates for some celebratory ice cream. By the time she got home, she had forgotten all about the double vision from the start of the game. Her arm was a little stiff from hitting so many balls, but she felt better. The next morning, Gina slept through her alarm and woke up late. She tried to get up, but her entire body was so achy and stiff. Her forehead was hot, but her teeth were chattering. And she was thirsty. She desperately needed a glass of water. Gina swung her legs over the side of the bed, then lurched forward to stand up, and nearly fell over sideways. It wasn't that her body felt limp. It was like her joints were so stiff she couldn't move them so she couldn't walk. She felt like a mechanical doll whose battery had run out. Gina fell back into bed and called her dad, John, for help. John ran upstairs and came over to help his daughter out of bed. Gina threw her arm around his shoulder and he propped Gina up onto her feet. Then John walked her down the hallway to the bathroom. Even though he tried to look calm, Gina could see the fear in her father's eyes. She tried to thank him for helping, but it was like talking with a mouthful of peanut butter. Her brain knew the words, but her tongue just couldn't keep up. That's when her dad yelled out to her mom, Anne, and said to get Gina's pediatrician on the phone right away. Anne got an appointment and helped John get Gina into her jacket, and then they guided her out to the car. Gina could barely put one foot in front of the other, but on the way to the doctor, something even more frightening happened to Gina. Her left arm just started jerking uncontrollably, and so her mom held Gina's other hand, looking totally panicked and afraid. Gina's mind was so foggy she could barely process what was going on. Less than an hour later, Gina was at her pediatrician's office. The doctor put her through blood tests, a CT imaging scan, and an MRI. Once those were all done, they sent her to an examination room to wait for the results. Gina shivered as she sat on the thin paper stretched out over the doctor's examination table. Her arm still shook uncontrollably, and her parched mouth was filled with saliva. She had been drinking water, but nothing could quench her thirst. Eventually, there was a knock at the door, and Gina's doctor walked into the room. He had a calm demeanor, but Gina could see in his eyes that something was clearly wrong. He told Gina and her parents that there was clearly something going on to make Gina extremely sick, but he just didn't know what it was yet. Gina's blood work came back fine, the neurologist couldn't find anything on her CT scans either. Gina didn't understand what this all meant, but she was scared. She could feel drool leaking out the side of her mouth, but she couldn't muster enough energy to make it stop. The doctor handed Anne a tissue, and Gina felt her mother's hand gently wipe it away. The doctor said that Gina needed to see a specialist at a larger hospital in Milwaukee, 70 miles away, and she had to get there fast. Minutes later, Gina was loaded into the back of an ambulance. Her parents held her hand, and promised they'd follow right behind. During the ride to the hospital, Gina felt dizzy, so she leaned her head back against the stretcher she was strapped to, and closed her eyes. She hoped that this next doctor would have an answer, and she'd feel better soon. Despite the sound of the blaring siren, Gina could barely keep her eyes open, and she quickly fell asleep. The next thing that Gina remembered was waking up in a stark white hospital room, with fluorescent ceiling lights that hurt her eyes. A nurse came in to check Gina's blood pressure. She asked if Gina could stand up. Gina slid off the hospital bed, and for a moment, she stood perfectly still. Then her body started jerking violently. The nurse caught her before she fell to the ground and helped her into a wheelchair. When Gina sat down, her eyesight became blurry again. It was like she was looking at the nurse through a sheet of wax paper, but even still, Gina could make out the nurse's sympathetic expression. The nurse told Gina not to worry, the neurologists would have her test results soon. Dr. Rodney Willoughby was in his office when Gina's test results arrived a few minutes later. He read and reread the results a dozen times. He was the lead doctor on Gina's case, and he needed to be absolutely certain of what he was seeing. He'd been a doctor for over 20 years, but this was his first time encountering a case like this, and now he was about to deliver the most tragic diagnosis of his career. With a heavy heart, he left his office and walked into the small room where Gina's parents were waiting. Anne and John both stood to greet him, looking hopeful. Dr. Willoughby sighed and broke the news. Gina had contracted a fast-moving fatal disease that killed almost 60,000 people every year, and while there was a vaccine, Gina was now too far gone for it to work. No one in recorded history had ever survived once this disease progressed this far. Dr. Willoughby told Gina's parents that over the next 24 to 48 hours, Gina's organs would fail and her heart would stop. At this point, the only thing they could do was keep her comfortable until she died. Judging from Anne and John's blank expressions, Dr. Willoughby could see that his horrific words had not sunk in yet. Then Anne collapsed into her husband's sobbing. John begged Dr. Willoughby for a solution. There had to be something they could do, but Dr. Willoughby just shook his head. There was no beating this disease. He stood with Gina's parents while they grieved, then gave them privacy to sit with their daughter. By this point, Gina was drifting in and out of consciousness. Dr. Willoughby could tell she wasn't coherent enough to understand what was happening to her. It was heartbreaking to know there was nothing he could do to help her. But throughout the afternoon, Dr. Willoughby was finding it harder and harder to accept Gina's fate. He called the CDC before he left the office. He knew the chances were slim, but he wanted to know if there was any new or promising research that could save Gina's life.

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