Mystery Illness Leaves Age 15 Girl Permanently Blind, Doctors Completely Stumped
A Northland, Missouri, teen is fighting a mysterious illness that has stumped medical professionals and has left the 15-year-old blind.
Jordyn Walker has dealt with bowel and stomach issues during multiple years of her life, according to Jordyn’s Cause Funding Research and Recovery Facebook group, having multiple bouts of colitis since she was first diagnosed with it at the age of 3.
But last summer, tooth pain and bleeding from her nose, eyes and ears were added to her usual symptoms, KMBC reported.
The illness had progressed from stomach pains and bloody stools, and Jordyn ended up losing her sense of taste and smell.
“We went to every specialty – allergy, immunology, rheumatology — every specialty, with no answers,” Kendyll Walker, Jordyn’s mom, told KMBC.
“We were searching and were told it was a one in a million case and probably would never happen again.”
But it did.
On Dec. 12, Jordyn was rushed to the emergency room at the University of Kansas after ten days of stomach pain, vomiting and bloody stool, according to Jordyn’s Cause Funding Research and Recovery.
“My whole face just turned purple and bruised and giant with blood,” Jordyn told KTRK.
While they were in the ER, Jordyn’s illness got worse and she ended up in the pediatric intensive care unit.
Jordyn’s mother was rightly scared as she didn’t know what was happening to her daughter.
“It was terrifying to watch it happen all over again and knowing that we couldn’t do anything about it,” Walker told KTRK.
Jordyn was hospitalized for an agonizing 16-days as more tests were run, medications were prescribed, and two surgeries were performed to reduce the swelling in her eyes.
Jordyn’s doctors still couldn’t say exactly what was causing her symptoms. They didn’t know what was happening to her.
“There’s no answers. There’s nothing they could do,” Walker told KTRK.
Jordyn’s illness still remains unsolved, and she is now faced with permanent blindness from the mystery medical condition without explanation.
“She won’t get a chance to drive,” Walker told KTRK. “Or see her sisters get married like she wants so much.”
Jordyn was finally released from the pediatric ICU on Dec. 28 and happily reunited with her dog, Jax.
Despite her illness, Jordyn is keeping a positive outlook. As a talented archer and up-and-coming journalist, she has a lot to look forward to.
“I’m not going to let this stop me,” she told KTRK.
The family is just looking for answers and for someone to help solve the illness that Jordyn is dealing with.
“If anybody has any idea what this could possibly be or what type of testing she could go through to get an answer, so this doesn’t happen again, we would be immensely grateful,” Walker told WDAF.
Jordyn has been equipped with an emergency kit to help with her symptoms, and her family is planning to visit the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for help.
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