BALTIMORE — An 8-year-old Baltimore boy is home and recovering after a strep throat infection triggered a rare condition that left him paralyzed and fighting for his life for months.
Tyshaun Monroe was admitted to Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital after a strep throat infection set off Guillain-Barré Syndrome, a condition in which the immune system attacks the body's own nerve cells.
"Since his brain wasn't able to send any nerve signals to his muscles, he was essentially paralyzed," his doctor, Michelle Chudow, said. "Silently trying to scream if you touch, just evening touching his skin, that's how much pain he was in, no reflexes."
Tyshaun required a tracheostomy and was placed on a ventilator and a feeding tube. His medical team described him as being in an extraordinary amount of discomfort from nerve pain throughout his stay.
"In an incredible amount of discomfort from nerve pain because those nerves had been attacked," Chudow said. "We honestly did not think we were gonna get him walking again, but being able to move in a wheelchair on his own was sort of our goal, right?"
Tyshaun's aunt, Angela McDonald, spent countless nights by his side in a room filled with medicine, monitors, and the sound of machines.
"Them long nights and then you got the machines going off and on. Oh, then he stopped breathing a little bit. I'm like, OK, OK, OK," McDonald said.
The ordeal began with what many parents consider a routine illness. About a week after Tyshaun started antibiotics for strep throat, his body began shutting down. The infection triggered Guillain-Barré Syndrome, in which the immune system turns on itself.
"Instead of just attacking the infection, it starts attacking its own nerve cells," Chudow said.
McDonald said the experience was especially difficult because it was not Tyshaun's first fight for survival. In 2022, a strep throat infection led to a dangerous epidural abscess that was treated at Johns Hopkins.
"I saw the tube and I just started crying. I only saw him for 5 minutes. I had to get out the room," McDonald said.
Despite the prognosis, Tyshaun's team of doctors, nurses, occupational therapists, and speech-language pathologists refused to give up. McDonald said the team made a personal commitment to his care.
"She (Dr. Chudow) was like, I'm not going to sleep. I'm not doing that. I'm not. I'm just gonna be on it and she was on it," McDonald said.
Tyshaun eventually began responding to treatment, surpassing every expectation.
"If we can get him talking and moving in a wheelchair, we would have considered that a success. We are so far beyond that now, which just makes me glow every time I think about it," Chudow said. "The first time he started walking with a walker, he said, Oh, I'm a grandpa now. Like, just funny, just a happy, funny kid."
Chudow said she's happy Tyshaun is finally home, but he will be deeply missed in the hospital halls.
"He's like the life of the unit. Everybody loves spending time with him. He's become sort of a role model for the younger kids," Chudow said.
By the end of May, Tyshaun was officially discharged. His tracheostomy has been capped and is set to be removed this week.
For his first meal out of the hospital, Tyshaun skipped the fast food.
"He didn't say McDonald's, he said seafood boil. He wanted a seafood boil. Oh my gosh," McDonald said, tearing up.
McDonald said the family is still in the recovery process but is focused on moving forward.
"We're still in the recovery stage. We're still going to get there, but he's home and he's happy. I'm glad he's OK. I'm thanking the doctors, especially Doctor Chudow," McDonald said.
McDonald summed up the family's feelings simply.
"He's happy. I'm happy. We are all happy, the whole family is happy," McDonald said.
