Audrey and Justin Wong say their daughter Isabelle was initially treated as a flu case before imaging at BC Children’s Hospital showed significant brain swelling and a rare neurological condition.
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Audrey and Justin Wong say they were left shocked after their daughter, Isabelle “Izzy” Wong, was almost not able to survive a severe neurological illness that they believe was first dismissed as a flu.
The parents said Izzy was 13 months old when she appeared to catch what “appeared to be a flu” during what Audrey described as “only last Christmas” when the family was “pretty much preparing us that she might not survive.”
Audrey said she took Izzy to BC Children’s Hospital, where she felt medical staff did not examine her in the way she expected. “I feel like I was dismissed, and she mentioned I think you have a very tired baby, she has the flu, I think she should continue to sleep. Neither of these physicians actually put their hands on her to see if she was plausible,” she said.
Justin said Izzy’s condition worsened quickly, describing that “For hours at a time her heart was at 200-220 at a time.”
As Izzy became increasingly unresponsive, the family said she was ordered an emergency CT scan, which they said revealed “significant swelling in her brain.”
On Christmas, the parents said an MRI showed Izzy had Acute Necrotizing Encephalopathy, which injured her brain permanently. They said doctors told them to prepare for the worst, that she “might not make it to see the new year.”
Despite those warnings, the Wong family said Izzy did make it to the new year, slowly overcoming obstacles doctors did not know she could. “She’s in this unique situation where her brain injury happened to her when she was young so we’re hoping to use that to our advantage in this two year window for her to reach the level of her peers. We’re going to do whatever we can,” Justin said.
The parents also said Izzy is now slowly learning how to do things again with the help of medication and physiotherapy, including learning to point and crawl.
In their message to other parents, the Wong family urged people to speak up when something feels wrong. “Hey parents, listen to me now- speak up for these kids who can’t speak up for themselves. You guys are their words,” Justin said. Audrey added, “It doesn’t matter if they need to kick and scream and yell, a mothers instinct or fathers instinct is usually onto something.”
The family has set up a GoFundMe to help support Izzy’s journey as she continues to face a long road ahead.
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