When 6-year-old Witten Daniel suddenly lost the ability to move, speak or even breathe, his family feared the worst. Doctors had first suspected the flu, but the real cause was something far more serious.
It took his mother's determined late-night Google search to find the help that saved him.
According to a New York Post report, in April, Witten was taken to the hospital with dizziness and a headache. Doctors initially said it was the flu. But within 24 hours, his condition worsened -- he could no longer walk, talk, or even breathe on his own. Soon after, he lost consciousness.
"There are no words to describe how horrifying it is to see your child in that kind of condition," his mother, Casey Daniel, told KCBD.
Doctors quickly intubated him and ran tests. What they found was not the flu, but a rare and dangerous cluster of blood vessels leaking in his brainstem.
The condition, known as a cavernous malformation or cavernoma, is believed to affect about 1 in 500 people, according to Alliance to Cure. Many never develop symptoms, but when they do, it can cause seizures, bleeding, headaches, vision problems, and weakness. Around 20% of cases are genetic.
Doctors warned Casey that if her son survived, he might never walk again and would need a ventilator and feeding tube for life. Just two weeks earlier, Witten had been named MVP of his Little League team. Now, his future seemed uncertain.
A life-saving Google search
Refusing to give up, Casey turned to Google in the middle of the night. That search led her to an article by Dr Jacques Morcos, a neurosurgeon at UTHealth Houston who specialised in treating cavernomas.
She sent him a desperate email, and to her relief, he responded quickly. "I looked at the images and I thought this can be done. I said let's transfer you here," Dr Morcos recalled.
Witten was flown to Houston, where Dr Morcos and pediatric neurosurgeon Dr Manish Shah performed a delicate four-hour surgery. Against the odds, the operation was a success.
Within hours, Witten was awake, breathing on his own, and speaking again.
Six weeks later, Witten returned home to Lubbock in time for his 7th birthday. He has since started second grade and even returned to playing baseball.
"I want to say thank you to Dr Morcos and Dr Shah for letting me see my friends again," Witten said.
Dr Shah added, "In fact, we told him the only condition to playing ball was to send us pictures."
Casey says she will never forget the terrifying experience -- or the simple Google search that helped save her son's life.