Boy, 10, paralysed in hospital for 300 days after falling ill on family holiday

08 January 2024 , 11:44

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Jude Keil has spent almost a year in hospital with a mystery condition which has left doctors baffled and could be the first known case in the world (Image: Collect/PA Real Life)

A boy has spent more than 300 days in hospital paralysed by a condition which has left doctors scratching their heads.

Jude Keil was first admitted in February last year suffering from shortness of breath and speech loss while on holiday in Morocco - unable to move all but a few fingers. Unknown to dad Peter and his wife Emma, 41, the 10-year-old had an unknown type of motor polyneuropathy - an umbrella term for conditions of the nervous system.

Jude's conditions, the family were told, were a result of him failing the dispel the CO2 from his lungs and, as a result, he was suffocating. Since then, the youngster and avid F1 fan has sadly lost his ability to speak.

Now using a wheelchair due to being unable to stand or move his arms of head, Jude's brain has thankfully remained untouched, his parents say. But the cause of Jude's mystery illness has so far baffled doctors and experts around the world.

It's suspected the condition is to do with his nervous system, and could be connected to a lack of absorbing riboflavin (vitamin B2). Now Peter and Emma, who also have daughter Elodie, two, fear Jude's condition will get worse or even present itself in his sister.

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"Pretty much every neurologist in London – and if not the UK – knows about Jude's case," said Peter, a signal engineer for Transport for London. I think there's always going to be hope until we physically sit down one day and a neurologist says he's regressing – I hope that never happens."

Peter and Emma were able to take Jude out of hospital on their own after receiving training (Collect/PA Real Life)

"His personality is still in there," Peter said. "On the outside, he's different. But on the inside, he's still this funny, charming, cheeky, 10-year-old boy that just wants to really run around the garden, kick a football, ride his bike and swim in the sea." He added: “There were so many minor things, it was kind of like death from 1000 paper cuts.”

One small ray of hope has been the return of some finger movement after several months. The family had first noticed something was wrong on their trip to Morocco in September 2022, with Jude, normally a fit and active child, not swimming or snorkelling due to shortness of breath.

Initially suspecting he may have asthma, they took him to see a doctor who prescribed him an inhaler which did not help. Looking back on videos from November 2022, the couple believe they missed a key symptom of his condition, as clips show the youngster's right arm was slightly weaker.

Jude continued to undergo tests, but was later rushed to A&E after choking on some Pringles, with doctors still drawing a blank. On February 10, he spoke for the final time telling his dad he wanted to sleep after trying to speak to his mum on the phone.

"Unbeknownst to me, he wasn't just exhausted, he was dying," Peter said. "He didn't have the strength to get the CO2 out of his lungs. It was like he was suffocating with a bag over his head, except there was no bag."

Jude after being induced into a coma in February last year (Collect/PA Real Life)

Jude fell unconscious and was induced into a three-day coma and transferred to the Evelina Children's Hospital in Southwark, marking the start of 311 days there. Since then, Jude's physical condition has deteriorated to the point where today, he can barely move a finger.

"A lot of the muscle wastage is from being stuck in bed for 10 months, but also attributed to his condition," Peter said. "He's lost the use of his arms completely and you have to support his head because otherwise it would hang down. So he's in a very supportive wheelchair."

Suspicions of a brain tumour proved false after scans came back blank. Jude's symptoms have been shared with experts across the world, with many believing he suffers from a rare type of motor polyneuropathy.

But his exact symptoms do not match any of the possible conditions, suggesting Jude could be the first patient in the world to develop his condition. The youngster however has been able to continue studying with the help of an eye gaze tablet, where he can use his eyes to scroll instead of his hands.

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"He can still roll his eyes – he gives you the best eye rolls in the business," said Peter. "It's wonderful because we know it's still Jude inside." Now the couple have launched a fundraiser you can support here to pay for the equipment Jude needs, saying "we want to make sure that he lives rather than just exists."

Susie Beever