CHARLOTTE — Three-year-old Logan Reese was diagnosed with transverse myelitis, a rare neurological condition caused by inflammation of the spinal cord, after experiencing sudden paralysis on St. Patrick’s Day.
[ Local family of boy with rare disease raises awareness, spreads hope ]
Logan was airlifted to Atrium Levine Children’s Hospital after his parents found him unable to move his body. His condition, transverse myelitis, is a rare inflammation of the spinal cord that affects approximately eight in every one million people, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
“He was saying his arm wasn’t working, and his legs were kind of funny. And next thing you know, a few hours later, he couldn’t breathe,” said Logan’s father, Kevin Reese.
Kevin Reese explained that Logan’s mobility has been severely affected, with very minimal leg movement and no movement in his fingers or extremities.
“It has taken away his mobility from basically the neck down,” the father said. “Very minimal Leg movement. now, but no like finger movement, extremities.”
Stacy Reese, Logan’s mother, is also facing health challenges as she battles thyroid cancer and lives with long-term vocal paralysis.
“It was a struggle,” Kevin Reese said. “She couldn’t really speak. Had to go through breathing therapies, eating therapy, speaking therapy, to overcome that.”
Kevin Reese shared that his wife had to undergo breathing, eating, and speaking therapies to cope with her condition.
Despite the challenges, the Reese family remains optimistic about Logan’s recovery and advises other parents to be vigilant about unusual symptoms in their children.
The Reese family continues to hope for Logan’s recovery while urging parents to take extra precautions if their child shows unusual symptoms.
Kevin Reese said there’s a chance Logan will be in the hospital through the end of the year.
His wife is taking part in a clinical study at Vanderbilt University.
If you would like to help the family, click here.
VIDEO: Local family of boy with rare disease raises awareness, spreads hope
This browser does not support the video element.