A Florida woman says her daughter became paralyzed after getting a routine flu shot.
Carla Grivna says her child was happy and healthy until getting the flu shot just before the Thanksgiving Dayholiday last year. Three days later, however, her daughter Marysue could not move or talk, Grivna said. The child is now a bedridden 10-year-old diagnosed with a rare viral infection of the brain called Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis, or ADEM. Carla Grivna believes what happened is directly tied to the flu shot.
“The doctors won’t confirm it or deny it,” the mother told “Fox & Friends” Sunday. “Her father Steven and I are certain, due to all of our research, that this was what caused Marysue’s condition. She was a happy, healthy, running and playing 9-year-old then this happened.”
BYPASS THE CENSORS
Sign up to get unfiltered news delivered straight to your inbox.
You can unsubscribe any time. By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use
Grivna added: “There was no underlying condition. I mean so many tests at the hospital to try and find something else that could have caused it and they could not find anything.”
Marysue’s father has to carry her to get around.
“It can just appear out of the blue or after maybe a surgical procedure,” Dr. Juan Dumois told WTSP-TV in Tampa Bay. Dumois is a physician at All Children’s Hospital in Tampa Bay where he is director of infectious diseases.
He told the station Friday a flu shot can cause the illness, but he does not recommend not getting the flu shot.
“If I get the flu I’m more likely to get ADEM than from the flu vaccine,” Dumois said, adding that recovery is possible.
Grivna said parents need to educate themselves about the flu vaccine.
“Be informed and make an informed decision with you doctor’s guidance,” she said on “Fox & Friends.”
