LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An Arkansas mom pleaded for parents to check their kids for ticks after a bite forced her son into the ICU.
Laiken Debusk is the mother of six-year-old Aiden.
When he started complaining of a headache and a slight fever, she thought it was a typical sinus infection. However, she quickly realized it was something much more severe.
Debusk described Aiden as a loveable kid who loves to climb trees.
At the end of June, Aiden and his family took a small hike through a wooded area.
When they got home, Debusk checked the kids for ticks and pulled them off. Within a couple of days, Aiden started to get sick.
"After two days of treating it with Benadryl, ibuprofen and Tylenol," Debusk said. "That turned into complete delusion, loss of all motor skill. He was going to the bathroom on himself."
They rushed Aiden to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with a tick-borne illness.
As he recovered from the tick bite, his body developed a reaction that led to seizures. Doctors put him in a medically-induced coma to treat his symptoms.
"If he comes out of everything, and we are praying, and we are hopeful that does," Debusk said. "He will have to learn how to do basic things again [like] walking and talking."
Recovery could take months before Aiden is back to himself.
Debusk said that parents should take extra precautions when being outside because she doesn't want other families going through this too.
"I just want people to make sure that they treat the yard, spray the babies, and keep an extra eye out," Debusk said.
Experts recommend staying away from grassy, bushy, wooded areas to avoid ticks. Using mosquito repellent with DEET also helps.