Megan West from Coventry says her son Elliot developed a limp and other symptoms in December 2024, but doctors initially dismissed her concerns before an X-ray confirmed the diagnosis
Elliot’s ‘weird’ walk was put down to attention-seeking(Image: )
A worried mother who brought her four year old son to see their family doctor after becoming increasingly alarmed by several inexplicable symptoms, including an unusual way of walking, was informed he was simply doing it to gain “attention”.
Megan West explained that her son Elliot began displaying the peculiar gait – positioning his feet excessively outwards and extending his arms – back in December 2024. However, it took until June the subsequent year before the actual cause behind his condition came to light.
Whilst medical professionals had originally attributed Elliot’s symptoms to viral illnesses, they also suggested he might have adopted the strange walking pattern due to envy over the attention his baby sister was receiving.
Yet an X-ray conducted in June 2025 uncovered that the youngster was actually battling spinal tuberculosis – a bacterial condition that can impact the vertebrae.
The illness, typically linked with individuals residing in overcrowded and inadequately ventilated Victorian-era housing, remains relatively uncommon in modern developed nations. Megan, hailing from Coventry in the West Midlands, maintains that her son could have received treatment far earlier had she not been “dismissed” by healthcare practitioners.
The rare condition left Elliot with a distinctive off-centre walk(Image: Kennedy News and Media)
Megan described: “He’d walk and run funny, he would tend to have his hips swinging to each side with his arms flaring around and knees touching.
“I took him to the GP so many times but was always told it was a viral infection. I took him for his weight loss, you could see his bones and they said he was likely just skinny like his dad and didn’t meet the requirement for a dietitian as he was above the line.
“I brought him in after noticing his legs weren’t as strong as they ought to be. The doctor informed me he was neurologically intact and had good leg power and was likely doing it for attention because he had a baby sister.
(Image: Kennedy News and Media)
“He would say ‘my legs don’t work’, we went to A&E and did the x-ray and that’s how we found he had tuberculosis.
“The X-ray showed calcified lymph nodes in his lungs and they recognised the TB, it means there was a previous infection in his lungs.
“We went to the GP for many different reasons but they kept dismissing it as a viral infection.”
Megan acknowledged that the illness was rather rare nowadays, which explains why it wasn’t initially detected. “It is a disease from very long ago, so when it came up, I thought maybe it would be a simple infection,” she explained.
An X-ray revealed the truth(Image: Kennedy News and Media)
“Then they turned around and said his spine will collapse.”
Elliot needed an operation, alongside a robust regimen of antibiotics, to bring the disease under control. “It was a lot to process,” Megan remarked.
“He’s restricted to just walking and can’t walk long distances yet so spends most of his time currently recovering in the house due to his limits and he can’t do usual daily activities other children can.
“He may also be having another surgery in the next six months if the TB mass on his spine hasn’t sufficiently shrunk, which we won’t know until his next CT scan to check the progress.”
Elliot lost a huge amount of weight(Image: Kennedy News and Media)
Megan went on to say that she harbours no resentment towards her GP for initially overlooking the rare condition when she brought Elliot in: “He may also be having another surgery in the next six months if the TB mass on his spine hasn’t sufficiently shrunk, which we won’t know until his next CT scan to check the progress.”
“I do not blame his GP for any of this, I understand TB is especially difficult to diagnose in children.
“I do however wish they’d have listened to my concerns more and perhaps looked at the bigger picture with his previous check ups but all that matters is Elliott is now recovering well and on the right path.
“Listen to your child and push when you don’t feel things are right because no one knows their child better than yourself, obviously GPs don’t always get it right.
“Kids don’t fake things for too long for attention.”
Elliot’s undergone one surgery, and may need a second procedure(Image: Kennedy News and Media)
What is Spinal Tuberculosis?
According to the NHS, Tuberculosis (TB) is typically an infection which targets the lungs. Whilst treatable through antibiotics, it poses serious risks if left unaddressed.
Should TB have migrated to different areas of the body, such as the lymph nodes, skeletal system or brain, additional symptoms may emerge, including: enlarged glands, generalised discomfort and pain, inflamed joints or ankles, abdominal or pelvic discomfort, constipation, discoloured or murky urine, headaches, nausea, mental confusion, neck stiffness, a rash appearing on the legs, face or elsewhere on the body.