NH Boy With Suspected Enterovirus Is Learning To Walk Again
BOSTON (CBS) – What started as a simple cold turned into paralysis of the legs for 13-year-old Dan Dugan, who has been in rehab since early October.
The Seabrook, New Hampshire boy is making slow but steady progress at Spaulding Rehab as he regains strength in his legs to walk. He had been suffering a cough, headache and fever, when one morning he woke up with his legs paralyzed.
"I could feel them but they just wouldn't move," said Dugan.
His father rushed him to the hospital, but had no idea his son would end up fighting for his life.
Testing never confirmed it, but doctors suspect the mystery illness could be enterovirus.
Usually, enterovirus amounts to a little more than a common cold in most children, and yet some go into respiratory distress. Only a select few, like Dugan, find their spinal cords under attack.
Because Dugan is in uncharted territory, his prospects for recovery are unknown.
"Failure is not an option," said Dugan's step-mother.
The eighth grader works hard in his daily rehab, with the goal to be reunited with his dogs and to go tuna fishing with his father. Dugan hopes to head home in two weeks, and return to school next month.
Several groups in Seabrook have raised money for Dan's medical bills and his family said the support from townspeople has been "awesome."
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