Mom Warns of Scary Symptom That Led to Daughter's Rare Diagnosis Days After Contracting Influenza A (Exclusive)

Kota Burden never expected a typical case of the flu would turn into a medical emergency.

When her daughter contracted Influenza A in late January, she initially worked to manage the usual symptoms: fever, vomiting, body aches, congestion and cough. After a week of care, her daughter seemed to improve for two days, but on the morning of Sunday, Feb. 2, things rapidly went downhill.

In a now-viral TikTok, Kota documents the moments that led up to the medical emergency which resulted in her 5-year-old daughter contracting Rhabdomyolysis, a rare but dangerous complication of the flu.

“She woke up and attempted to get out of her bed and she immediately fell down,” Burden recounts exclusively to PEOPLE. “She said, ‘Mom, my legs hurt so bad, like I can’t walk.’ ” Initially, Burden thought it might just be lingering body aches.

But, throughout the day, her daughter’s condition worsened. “She was able to walk but she was tip-toeing, she could not sit her foot flat on the floor, and I thought that was really weird.” By that evening, her daughter was unable to lift her legs or even wiggle her toes. “This was past the point of it being just a typical body ache … something was wrong," she says.

Burden contacted the on-call pediatrician, who recommended an immediate trip to the emergency room. “I was terrified because it was like she was paralyzed," she says. "She couldn’t do anything with the lower region of her body, which is very unlike her.”

At the local hospital, doctors quickly recognized the seriousness of the situation. That’s when they suspected it was Rhabdomyolysis. Blood work confirmed the diagnosis. Burden’s daughter’s muscle enzyme levels were at 950, far above the normal range for a child her age (under 200). “Her muscles were essentially breaking down,” Burden says.

According to the CDC, “Rhabdo occurs when damaged muscle tissue releases its proteins and electrolytes into the blood. These substances can damage your organs and lead to death, dangerous heart rhythms (arrhythmias), seizures, kidney damage or kidney failure, permanent disability, and/or nausea and vomiting.”

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Doctors explained that because her daughter had undergone a tonsillectomy, adenoid removal and ear tube placement just a week-and-a-half prior, her body was already compromised when she contracted the flu. “Her body wasn’t able to fight it the way that it should’ve," the mom explains.

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Thankfully, the doctors were able to flush the kidneys with intravenous fluids to remove the proteins. “By the first morning, she was able to finally move her legs again," Burden says. After two nights in the hospital, she was able to walk again, and by the third day, she was discharged to go home. 

Related: Toddler Ends Up in ICU After Strep A Infection Is Dismissed as 'Just a Fever'

Looking back, Burden emphasizes the importance of trusting your gut as a parent.

“I’m just glad that I trusted my instincts on knowing that something wasn’t right and took action when I did," she says. "If I would’ve waited any longer, things could’ve gotten a lot worse for her and could’ve caused permanent damage.”

Read the original article on People