On Sunday, August 20, 2017, Dontae came down with a fever. We thought it was from teething because his back molars were coming in. We gave him some Motrin and he went to bed. Monday morning, Don (his dad) calls me and says he threw up everywhere. The first thing I said was, that is not a fever. I took him to the doctor that evening and the doctor said he had Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. Of course I have heard of it, but our kids have never had it. They said it was like a flu virus in us. Tuesday, August 22, 2017, Dontae's breathing was not normal like he needed to cough really bad. I told him to cough, he made the motion to cough but he could not. He also could not walk. We drove him to the ER at about 12:30am Wednesday August 23rd. When we got there, he started vomiting like crazy. His oxygen level went down to 35, back up to 65, back down to 30. We were flown to Hershey Medical Center in Hershey PA. After being there for about an hour, they had to resuscitate Dontae. He was then placed on life support ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) for 5 days. He was diagnosed with Enterovirus 71, Brainstem Encephalitis, Acute Flaccid Myelitis, Neurological Deficits, and significant damage to his spinal cord. They gave him 2 infusions of IVIG and five days of steroids. Friday, Sept 22 2017, he had Trach placed in his throat because he could not cough or swallow and also has a G Tube. On October 10, Dontae was transported by Ambulance to Shriner's Hospital in Philadelphia. He is there for rehabilitation. Dontae can now move all his limbs but is not walking yet. He also has problems with Clonus (muscular spasms) and unexplained fevers that doctors think come from the aftermath of the virus. (Story contributed by April Green, mother)
Meet Dontae