Paralyzed after being bitten by a mosquito

A British woman had to sit in a wheelchair for 4 months and was nearly paralyzed polio for 3 weeks after being bitten by a mosquito during her vacation in Australia.

Natasha Porter, 23, from Crawley, West Sussex (England) has experienced an incident when she was on vacation for 2 weeks in Australia.

Porter said she flew to western Australia in March 2012 and took 7 months to work for a coffee shop here to accumulate money for her trip to the east coast.

However, just two weeks after arriving in Cairns on the tour it had planned, Porter was bitten by a mosquito and began to find his toes paralyzed. Only 2 days later, the loss of sensation spread to her arms.

Porter went to see a local pharmacist who thought her symptoms were just an allergic reaction. He prescribed her to take antihistamines.

After being bitten, Natasha Porter was paralyzed from the neck down and had to be tied to a wheelchair for 4 months.(Photo: SWNS)

However, when Porter's arms began to feel as heavy as rock and she couldn't lift them to brush her hair, Porter visited a doctor who diagnosed her with excessive stress and anxiety. Even so, the next 2 days, a couple of travelers and the team had to take Porter to the emergency room in the state of paralysis from the neck down.

The doctors tested and found Porter almost unable to move the body, except for the head. They determined that the British girl had Guillain-Barre syndrome . This is a rare and serious syndrome that occurs when the body's immune system attacks the peripheral nervous system.

The exact cause of the disease is still unknown, but according to experts, up to 60% of people with Guillain-Barre syndrome show symptoms when certain bacteria or viruses enter the body and stimulate the immune system. Outbreaks attack peripheral nerves. This causes the nerves to become inflamed, then stop working and in some cases paralyze the body.

Syndrome can be fatal, but about 80% of patients recover completely after weeks of hospital treatment. Meanwhile, others may take a whole year or even longer to return to normal.

In Porter's case, she was able to move back gradually due to physical therapy. Within 3 weeks, the young girl began to move her fingers several centimeters and six weeks after being paralyzed, she stood for a few seconds with the support of 3 nurses.

By November last year, Porter had flown back to his homeland with the help of two nurses. By the New Year, she was able to make short trips on wheelchairs and by the end of January dancing with her friends for the first time after the incident of memory.

Currently, Porter has fully recovered. She is planning to complete the journey around the world and climb the campsite at Mount Everest.