An eight-year-old boy who initially complained of neck pain has now spent more than a month in intensive care with a condition that has doctors baffled.
Cruz Botha-Blake alerted her parents to a pain in her neck on June 5 and was given a warm compress.
But four days later, Cruz was rushed to Box Hill Hospital in Melbourne’s east unable to walk, speak or swallow.
He was admitted to the ICU and diagnosed with influenza-induced encephalitis with encephalopathy.
This rare condition occurs when the common flu virus spreads to the brain, causing inflammation and swelling.
“This caused inflammation of the entire brain and central and peripheral nervous system,” said family friend Dawn Juhlin. “This condition is life-threatening because it causes seizures, confusion, hallucinations, weakness and loss of sensation.”
Cruz was then transferred to Monash Children’s Hospital, where he has remained for the past six weeks, experiencing near-constant pain and unable to move without assistance.
His mother, Ilse Botha-Siligi, said Cruez had suffered the same rare illness when he was three but recovered in just five days.
Cruz Botha-Blake alerted her parents about her neck pain on June 5 and was given a hot compress to relieve the pain.
But four days later, Cruz was rushed to Box Hill Hospital in Melbourne’s east unable to walk, speak or swallow.
He was able to regain about 70 percent of his full strength, but he still had minor tremors, was very clumsy, and lost a lot of weight.
Doctors are baffled why it’s taking him so long to recover this time.
In the meantime, they are providing him with general care and giving him a cocktail of medications, including strong painkillers, until they can come to a conclusion.
Ilse described her son as generally energetic and playful, who played basketball for his local club, Maroondah Magic, enjoyed playing pranks on his five siblings and was well-liked by his school friends and peers at Mooroolbark East Primary School.
But now he is mute and resigned to remaining in his hospital bed and relying on a special wheelchair to get out.
“It’s a shock, there’s been a lot of crying, a lot of crying,” she said.
The distraught mother has not left Cruz’s side for three weeks because he becomes distressed and starts crying, the only sound he can make, every time she leaves.
“Sometimes being by his side is not enough and I have to get into bed and hug him to calm him down,” she added.
The usually active boy (pictured) has since been diagnosed with influenza-induced encephalitis with encephalopathy.
Her mother revealed that Cruz had already battled the disease once before, when she was three years old, and recovered in just five days.
Cruz can only leave his hospital bed for 30 minutes at a time after staff “lift” him into a wheelchair, before becoming exhausted and needing to sleep again.
He has been ordered to remain in a “low stimulation” environment as much as possible to promote sleep and “gentle brain recovery.”
“We need to find some kind of diagnosis because my gut tells me there is an underlying medical problem,” he said.
“Because what are the chances of the same thing happening to the same person five years from now?”
Ilse still holds out hope that her son will recover and return to a certain normality.
“One of the things that really hit home for me was two weeks ago when a hospital staff member, and she meant well, asked me what special needs school Cruz attends,” she said.
‘I think that affected me because this can’t be their new reality. I refuse to accept that.’
Due to the requirements of Cruz’s treatment, there is a strict no-guest policy, except for his mother, five siblings and his stepfather Martin, who visit him three to four times a week.
With Ilse by their son’s side, Martin has taken an indefinite unpaid leave from his job to care for Cruz’s siblings, leaving the family without income.
Cruz’s family currently has no income, as his mother stays by his side and his stepfather is on unpaid leave to care for the children at home. (Pictured: Cruz with his siblings and step-siblings)
