My son’s doctors thought he had a virus — now he’s paralyzed from a brain tumor

August 22, 2023

A woman from England is issuing a warning to other parents after her son ended up paralyzed from a brain tumor — though doctors initially believed his symptoms were from a virus.

Keiley Ebbs, 38, noticed that her son Jett, 6, had been complaining of vomiting and was constantly crying about pain he experienced in both his arms and legs.

He was also exhibiting clumsiness and would walk into walls.

“They kept saying it was a viral infection and to take him home and give him over-the-counter medication,” Ebbs told the UK’s NeedToKnow.

“I had it in my head that he had a brain tumor; I’d seen the symptoms before in my job as a carer,” she continued.

But after seven trips to the emergency room, the Lincolnshire resident felt in her gut that something was wrong with her son, so she pushed doctors for a CT scan.

Child in the hospital with tubes coming from his nose and stomach. — A mom from England is warning others about the dangers of misdiagnoses.

Photo of a mom and her son. — Keiley Ebbs’ son, Jett, was experiencing pain in his arms and legs before being diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Photo of a child in a hospital bed. — At first, doctors thought Jett had a viral infection.

It was then that they found a brain tumor that was traveling down his spine.

“I was frustrated that the doctors kept saying the same thing and didn’t seem to listen to me,” Ebbs told Jam Press.

“I feel like they thought I was exaggerating, but I knew there was something seriously wrong with him.”

After the diagnosis, Jett was immediately rushed to a different hospital, where he underwent a 10-hour surgery to remove the mass from his brain.

The procedure was so intense that Ebbs had to “sign his life away” in case he never woke up, an experience that she described as both “strange” and “heartbreaking.”

Photo of a woman and her son. — Ebbs still pushed for doctors to give him a CT scan, which revealed a brain tumor.

Photo of a little boy in a wheelchair. — “They kept saying it was a viral infection and to take him home and give him over-the-counter medication,” Ebbs said.

But the battle didn’t end there.

After his first surgery, Jett underwent 11 more procedures, including craniotomy and shunt surgeries, which involve a tube being put in the brain or spine to drain fluid and relieve pressure, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

However, the shunts kept failing, and he contracted a severe infection, which left him in a coma for multiple days.

By this point, the tumor had wrapped around his spine and he could no longer move his legs.

Photo of a boy with his mom. — After multiple surgeries, Jett developed an infection and went into a coma.

Photo of a boy in a hospital bed with a stuffed animal. — Ebbs said that when Jett woke up from the coma, it was a “miracle.”

“The coma should have been two weeks but, in Jett fashion, he decided to wake up after five days, trying to pull out his tubes,” Ebbs said.

“It was a miracle.”

Although Ebbs’ little boy has been through the hardest parts of the illness so far, he has been left with brain damage and is paralyzed — now a permanent wheelchair user.

The doctors are still unable to give a prognosis for him, but Ebbs said Jett has maintained his positivity and a smile through it all.

“He has gone through all of this with a smile on his face and is so full of life,” she said.

Photo of a woman with her son. — “I was frustrated that the doctors kept saying the same thing and didn’t seem to listen to me,” Ebbs said.

Now, Ebbs is urging other parents to push for answers if they feel something is wrong with their child, especially if it may be something as serious as Jett’s condition.

She also cautions others not to ignore any warning signs.

“Don’t think that you are being an overprotective parent,” she told the outlet.

“Push and push if you think there is something wrong.”