Jeanna...better git up or Travis will have to shoot ya
Posted on 11/24/2004 3:05:57 PM PST by Jean S
Her fragile nervous system was rapidly deteriorating when Milwaukee doctors tested fate and allowed her body to develop natural immunity against the deadly rabies virus.
And on Tuesday, the gamble paid off as doctors declared Jeanna Giese the first person to survive rabies without prior vaccination. The 15-year-old Fond du Lac teen - who had been in grave condition and on a ventilator for a month - is now in an intermediate care unit for intensive rehabilitation.
She's weak, can't move or talk, but most important to her parents, she's still alive.
"I told the doctors, this is the one that's going to walk away," said John Giese, her father. "It took a while for everyone to believe us, but I think they all believe us now."
Using an innovative approach, a team of eight specialists at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Wauwatosa intentionally placed Giese into a coma within an hour after her diagnosis on Oct. 19.
The goal was to protect her brain while the virus ran its course through her body, said Rodney E. Willoughby, the pediatric infectious disease physician who headed the care team.
Within three days, Giese was on a four-drug cocktail - two anti-virals that helped salvage her brain and two anesthetics. She was never given a rabies vaccine because it is considered ineffective once clinical symptoms develop.
"It was an informed gamble," Willoughby said. "We had an idea of what we wanted to do, but no one had done this in an animal model, so, yes, we jumped out of thin air."
Prior to Giese, there were only five documented cases of survival once clinical symptoms from rabies appeared, but each person had been immunized against the virus after being bitten, said Charles E. Rupprecht, current chief of the rabies unit at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
Rupprecht, who was at the news conference on Tuesday, called the announcement "a very historic occasion."
"Basically, we had a race, and Jeanna won," he said.
"This is pretty astounding," said Thomas Bleck, a professor of neurology and a director of the Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit at the University of Virginia.
"There's nothing about induction (of coma) that's new," he said. "But the risk here was that the treatment might not have worked."
Rabies is a potentially fatal viral disease that is usually transmitted through a bite from an infected animal.
Early symptoms in humans include fever, headache and general malaise, but as the disease progresses, neurological symptoms appear and may include insomnia, anxiety, confusion, slight or partial paralysis, hallucinations and difficulty swallowing. Death usually occurs within days of the onset of symptoms.
Giese reported being bitten by a bat at church Sept. 12 after picking it up by its wings, and indicated that the wound had been thoroughly washed after the incident. She did not receive medical treatment after the bite.
She was admitted to Children's Hospital on Oct. 18 with periods of unconsciousness, double vision, slurred speech, and weakness in her left arm, which was also jerking, Willoughby said.
"After the worrisome exam, I knew there was not much to offer," he said.
But friends and family of Giese thought differently.
John Giese told doctors to do whatever they could to save his daughter. He and wife, Ann, called upon a greater force to help save Jeanna.
"The day after we found out, I called on everyone we knew for prayer," John Giese said. "We believe a lot of that snowballed and that it really made a difference.
"Miracles can happen," he said. "We really believe it - and it did."
When classmates at St. Mary's Springs High School in Fond du Lac learned of Giese's condition, they began doing whatever they could to help.
Some sent letters, others made ribbons and posters, and many offered their prayers.
They have also posted angels on lockers that carry a single word - believe.
Ann Giese has read every card to her daughter and says she continues to talk to her.
While Giese was still in a coma, Ann read aloud one card from a mother who had lost her child. Giese's face turned red and her heart rate jumped, said her father.
"We believed she could hear us," he said.
Though doctors remain cautiously optimistic about Giese's progress, the battle is far from over.
"She has to do her exercises and see how far she can go," Willoughby said. "She had a major attack on her brain and every peripheral nerve in her body. She's not out of danger until she's home."
No one knows how long it will take Giese to fully recover, nor if there will be any long-term effects from the illness.
But the novelty of what happened has the CDC rethinking the treatment protocol for rabies, Rupprecht said.
"This is encouraging, but we obviously need to know more details about exactly how the patient was treated," said Alan C. Jackson, a rabies expert and a professor in medicine at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.
"This isn't necessarily the combination that will allow all patients to survive who have rabies," he said. "But it does give optimism that a patient with rabies can live even if they did not receive a rabies vaccine prior to onset of the disease."
Maybe she's a Gila monster masquerading as a cat.
Sorry to hear about your cat bite. A cat I had once bit me, but it barely penetrated - it was just a tiny bite.
I had some swelling and that was just a tiny tiny barely there penetration. It seems that cats must have a tremendous amount of bacteria on their teeth.
Hope you get better real soon!!!!
Peace
I'm not sure why your cat would have bit you. Maybe a vet might have some ideas as to why she acted that way.
I had a friend who had a cat that liked to bite for no reason. If he saw flesh exposed on the arms or hands, he would go after it if you were holding him. And he could be calm and sweet one minute and then suddenly clamp his teeth down on your arm. He never broke skin on me, but it did hurt (he had been known for breaking skin on others though).
I have also been bit by a cat before - a puncture wound on both sides of a finger. It bled a lot and hurt for a long time. Keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't get worse, and if it does, go back to the doctor ASAP. I hope you feel better soon!
She's getting more peevish, so I'm pretty sure she'll be just fine. She'll get a buttload of turkey tomorrow.
bttt
Jeanna...better git up or Travis will have to shoot ya
This is happening to a friend of mine. She has a calico who is pushing 20 years old, and the poor thing sometimes just goes off on anybody around her, biting and attacking. We've nicknamed the cat "Psycho Kitty" because she occasionally just goes gonzo and attacks ankles and whatever else she can get to. She even punctured my hand and ankle on one visit - but I WAS warned.
My friend has a standard warning she issues when anyone comes to visit her; "Don't pet the cat", and she locks up the cat if she has guests. Her vet told her that it is probably senility that is causing this, and has suggested euthanizing her which my friend will not do. Sad.
Here is a statement about the frequency of rabies in Virginia, in cats:
"February 26, 2003
STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENT STRESSES IMPORTANCE OF
RABIES VACCINATIONS FOR PETS
(Richmond, Va.) - The Virginia Department of Health is urging citizens to keep their pet's vaccinations up-to-date and to avoid contact with wild animals. The message of Rabies Awareness Week, March 2-8, 2003, is "Help Make Rabies a Thing of the Past," and emphasizes the importance of vaccinating companion animals, such as dogs and cats, against rabies for their protection as well as the protection of families.
In 2002, 27 cats and 4 dogs tested positive for rabies in Virginia. Among those cases, most of the animals were strays, and probably not vaccinated. That total is the third highest number of rabid cats in the history of rabies statistics in Virginia."
In 1997, there were 59 raccoons with raccoon-strain rabies, in addition to 2 cats and one skunk with the raccoon variation.
Oh yeah, I'm practically out the door. Vroom vroom.
Mrs Felis got nailed by our 16 yo Persian about a month ago. She (the cat) has seizures and during one of those she popped her so bad between thumb and forefinger it looked like a snake bite. Of course hardhead Mrs Felis waited 3 days to go to doc, but the infection hadn't gotten a good start at that point. Antibiotic and tetanus shot.
She still is in a little pain, doc thinks Mimi the cat got a tendon which should heal in time. Infection is gone. Kitty is on new meds that appear to control seizures...she's always been a handful, even when healthy.
Always go to a doc for cat bites.
Sage, wise advice. My father got "cat fever" years ago after being chomped by our old Siamese. Fever, chills, the works. Nasty to watch, even nastier to undergo I'd bet.
Remind me again why we put up with these beasts... ;-)
my kitty is also a calico. vet said calicos are often more tempromenal than other cats. i have an office at home and whenever a client comes in i warn them not to pet her. i will give a sterner warning after this.
just returned from the er. had iv antibotics, given stronger pain meds, a cast and told to see an orthopidic doc next week. got to get dinner ready. am very thankful they didn't keep me.
Be careful with that cat bite -- my cat bit me on my hand two weeks ago, and it landed me in the hospital for two days with an IV antibiotic drip. Watch for streaks running up your arm -- if any appear, it's a good idea to go to the emergency room.
please tell your wife if it happens again to go to doctor right away for antibotics, just as a prevenative. i wish i'd gone tuesday afternoon when it happened. i waited until wed. i might have avoided the trip to the hospital if i'd gone on tuesday.
Because after you die they'll dispose of your body???
just got back from er. if swelling isn't down by tomorrow, have to go back to hospital.
lol, i skipped the thread i think you are referring to. title was enough for me.
Yeah. Sorry your cat tried to get an early start...
Giese reported being bitten by a bat at church Sept. 12 after picking it up by its wings...
So was this the Church of Ozzie? Maybe he's given up on reality TV and decided to follow in L Ron Hubbard's footsteps.
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