Another Reason For New England Parents To Be Leary Of Ticks

A 5-year-old girl woke up temporarily paralyzed from a tick bite on June 6th. Her name is Kailyn and she lives in Mississippi. Her mother Jessica Griffin says "she could not walk and could barely talk" in a post on Facebook. Griffin shared what she called "scary" pictures of her daughter with a reminder to all parents to check your kids for ticks. She went on to say that doctors ruled Kailyn's condition as tick paralysis after "tons of blood work and a CT scan." The paralysis is caused by a toxin in tick saliva, according to WMTW. Even though it's rare, it's still alarming for parents who live in New England, because tick populations have been increasing in the last two years which raises the possibility of contracting paralysis, lyme disease, and other illnesses. In fact, five out of six New England states are in the top ten for lyme disease, according to 24/7 Wall Street. Massachusetts is the only New England state that is not on the list.

Take a close look at the picture of the tick bite on Kailyn's head that caused the paralysis. It looks like a regular tick bite.:

Fortunately, Kailyn is going to be okay. Her mom shared another picture of her walking out of the hospital with balloons later the same day.:

Thank you Kailyn and Jessica Griffin for this very important reminder about the dangers of ticks. WMTW has some good tips on what to do if you find a tick attached to your body or your kid's body. Click this link to read them.