Photo: @sorsasta
A resident of the British city of Southport, Merseyside County, was paralyzed due to an infection that a stray cat transmitted to her. The Daily Mail writes about this.
While on vacation in Portugal, 24-year-old Gemma Birch adopted a cat named Katarina. “We let her into the room because she followed us everywhere,” she says. "I stroked her and gave her milk."
On the last day of her vacation, the girl started to vomit, then she briefly lost consciousness on the plane. At the hospital, she was found to have campylobacter bacteria found in raw chicken. Doctors assumed that Birch was poisoned by uncooked food, but this version had to be abandoned, since the girl eats only plant foods and fish. After that, it became clear that the most likely source of infection was a cat, which could pick it up in the trash.
Burch spent a week in the hospital and was discharged when she felt better. A few days later, she woke up at night because she fell out of bed. “When I sat down, I realized that I didn't feel the carpet under my feet,” she says. “I started scratching my feet, but I didn't feel anything.” The cause turned out to be Guillain-Barré syndrome - a disease in which the body's immune response to an intestinal or lung infection leads to damage to the nervous system.
“The next day, I was paralyzed below the thighs,” she recalls. - I couldn't do anything myself. The nurses had to wash me and sit me in the toilet. I didn’t control my bowels and bladder, I couldn’t use my arms and legs because they were weak.” Over time, the doctors managed to stop the development of the disease and put her on her feet. After 14 months, Birch was able to walk again.
The disease did not prevent the girl from continuing her higher education. She decided not to take academic leave and worked in a hospital and a rehabilitation center. Birch read books, studied lecture presentations, corresponded with teachers by e-mail, and was able to graduate at the same time as her twin sister.
