Stories of medical staff dismissing the symptoms of their patients are unfortunately not few and far between. One Australian mother, Jessica Bye, is sharing the story of how her 12-year-old son's symptoms were dismissed by doctors, which led to him being paralyzed just moments after leaving the hospital. Maysen Bye had been in horrible pain for days.
He wasn't able to eat and he was also experiencing some extreme headaches. On July 31, 2023, his mother rushed him to the hospital. From there, they were transferred to a different hospital via ambulance.
But upon them arriving there, she said her son didn't receive the proper medical attention he needed. "They said they think his symptoms don't add up and that they think he's exaggerating," Jessica shared. She added that they appeared to simply dismiss his symptoms.
The doctors went on to suggest that the boy simply wanted to stay home from school, before discharging him from the hospital. "They questioned me and said, 'Has he expressed that he wants to spend more time with you?'"
But shortly after they left, Jessica shared that Maysen started slurring his words. "When I looked at him the whole left side of his face was drooping. He was paralyzed. I thought he was having a stroke or had a brain tumor."
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When they returned to the hospital, Maysen was taken more seriously and he was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, which is a rare neurological disorder where the body's immune system mistakenly attacks the nervous system, causing muscle weakness and temporary paralysis.
He is still in the hospital, and his mom says that he has a "long road to recovery." She has also filed a formal complaint with the hospital. "I want to know why they sent him home when the kid was so incredibly sick. I want this to change. I don't want this to happen to other people. I want the hospital to know that they've made this mistake because they can't fix their mistakes unless the mistakes are brought to their attention."
