By nearly all accounts, 12-year-old Kali Hardig
should not be alive.
During a swim at a water park in July, she contracted
parasitic meningitis, a rare infection caused by brain-eating
amoebas that has a survival rate less than 1%.
Only two patients had been known to survive in the last half-
century.
But Kali is a fighter and, against all odds, she made it.
Wednesday, after nearly seven weeks, she finally went home.
She can talk, she can take a few steps on her own, and she's
been undergoing rehab.
On Monday morning, she'll reach another milestone: she'll
head back to school part-time. She'll be in class in the
morning, and in physical and speech therapy in the
afternoons.
"I've been in the hospital a long time," she told CNN affiliate
KARK earlier this week. "A long time."
Uncharted territory
Soon after entering the Arkansas Children's Hospital earlier
this summer, Kali was in critical condition; she was
unresponsive and unable to breathe without the assistance of
a breathing tube.
Kali's doctors have been in virtually uncharted territory as
they treat her for the rare amoeba, called Naegleria fowleri.
Of 128 known cases in the past half-century, just two patients
have survived, according to the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
Dr. Sanjiv Pasala, one of Kali's attending physicians, said
doctors immediately started treating her with an anti-fungal
medicine, antibiotics and a new experimental anti-amoeba
drug doctors got directly from the CDC. They also reduced
the girl's body temperature to 93 degrees. Doctors have used
that technique in some brain injury cases to preserve
undamaged brain tissue.
Two weeks ago, doctors checked the girl's cerebral spinal
fluid and could not find any presence of the amoeba.
Pasala said that while other cases have not met with such
favorable results, what may have made a real difference is
that Kali's mother got her to the hospital so quickly.
"I feel blessed. I feel just overwhelmed. She's doing
wonderful," her mother told the affiliate this week.
'Death within one to 12 days'
Kali is one of two 12-year-olds who recently contracted the
amoeba. Zachary Reyna of Florida died last month of the
parasite, even after receiving the same experimental drug
that was given to Kali. He contracted the amoeba after
kneeboarding in a water-filled ditch by his house August 3,
his family told CNN affiliate WBBH.
Naegleria fowleri is found in hot springs and warm
fresh water, most often in the southeastern United
States.
Between 2001 and 2010, there were 32 reported
cases in the United States, the CDC says. Most of
the cases were in the Southeast.
The amoeba enters the body through the nose and
travels to the brain. You cannot be infected with
the organism by drinking contaminated water, the
CDC says.
The first symptoms of primary amoebic
meningoencephalitis appear one to seven days
after infection, including headache, fever, nausea,
vomiting and a stiff neck, according to the CDC.
"Later symptoms include confusion, lack of attention to
people and surroundings, loss of balance, seizures and
hallucinations," the government agency's website states.
"After the start of symptoms, the disease progresses rapidly
and usually causes death within one to 12 days."
Why 'nightmare bacteria' on the rise
'One of the most severe infections'
Willow Springs Water Park in Little Rock is the most likely
source of Kali's infection, according to a news release from
the Arkansas Department of Health. Another case of the same
infection, also called primary amoebic meningoencephalitis,
was reported in 2010 and was possibly linked to Willow
Springs.
"Based on the occurrence of two cases of this rare infection
in association with the same body of water and the unique
features of the park, the ADH has asked the owner of Willow
Springs to voluntarily close the water park to ensure the
health and safety of the public," the news release said.
What's in your pool water?
Dr. Dirk Haselow of the Arkansas Department of Health told
CNN affiliate WMC that Kali's case was "one of the most
severe infections that we know of."
"Ninety-nine percent of people who get it die," Haselow said.
But not Kali. She wasn't about to give up that easily.
Courtesy: CNN.COM
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