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\nA 3-year-old girl in Arizona was hospitalized on Christmas after developing a rare neurological condition from flu complicationsHarper Le\u2019s dad said he took her to the hospital after she started stumbling and stopped using the left side of her bodyHarper had a CT scan, which showed swelling and blood pooling in her brain, and she was diagnosed with Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM)<\/p>\n
A 3-year-old girl in Arizona was hospitalized in an intensive-care unit after developing complications from the flu.\n<\/p>\n
The parents of Harper Le told KOLD<\/a> that their baby girl developed a rare neurological condition from influenza A complications, which left her unable to use the left side of her body, days after coming down with the flu.\n<\/p>\n \u201cEvery time that she\u2019s ever been sick or her brother\u2019s been sick, we do the same thing as always \u2014 the ibuprofen, the Tylenol,\u201d Harper\u2019s father, Ryan Le of Vail, told the outlet.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cThe flu is usually a day or two and then it\u2019s kind of back to somewhat normal,\u201d he explained. \u201cThis time it was \u2014 we kind of just fell off the edge of a cliff.\u201d\n<\/p>\n University Medicine Family Medicine Clinic in Tucson, Ariz.<\/p>\n Google maps<\/p>\n He said he grew concerned after she reportedly started stumbling around and stopped using the left side of her body, which prompted him to take her to the emergency room on Christmas Day.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cWatching her not being able to pick up her left side, no sensation, like I said her vocab had just gone down to \u2018no\u2019 and that was the only thing she could say \u2014 you know it freaks you out a little bit,\u201d the dad recalled to KOLD.\n<\/p>\n He noted that her behavior was a drastic difference from how she normally was \u2014 \u201csuper energetic.\u201d Ryan told the outlet that \u201cshe\u2019s always laughing, she\u2019s always smiling, she\u2019s always running around doing something.\u201d\n<\/p>\n He said that doctors took his daughter to get a CT scan, which showed swelling and blood pooling in her brain, per KOLD. She was then diagnosed with Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM), a rare neurological condition that causes inflammation in a person\u2019s central nervous system after a viral infection, per Cleveland Clinic<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \u201cIt was definitely a major stomach drop pretty fast,\u201d Ryan recalled getting the news.\n<\/p>\n Ryan and his wife, Randi, who are both teachers in the Vail School District, said they launched a GoFundMe<\/a> to pay for their daughter\u2019s medical expenses as she continues her recovery. On the crowdfunding website, they noted that she \u201cis going to require long term care and therapy.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Ryan told KOLD that her recovery is expected to take more than six months with \u201chomebound healthcare for at least three weeks and then outpatient recovery for OT, PT, and for speech.\u201d\n<\/p>\n He noted to the outlet that Harper was regaining some movement back and was scheduled to be discharged from the hospital soon. He also urged other parents to seek medical help as soon as possible.\n<\/p>\n Pills, tissues and glass of water on window sill.<\/p>\n Getty<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.\n<\/p>\n \u201cIf you have, you know, questions, concerns, even the slightest concern, definitely get that help from those medical professionals because, like I said, we tried to wait the couple days like always and now here we are,\u201d Ryan told KOLD.\n<\/p>\n This comes as flu cases have reportedly been on the rise<\/a> in the U.S. More than 7 million cases of the flu have been reported this season \u2014 which have resulted in an estimated 81,000 hospitalizations and 3,100 deaths.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n The rise in flu cases have mainly been attributed to a variant of Influenza A (H3N2) known as “subclade K,” and experts noted that to mitigate it is by getting the flu shot<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n