A New Mexico woman thought she had the flu when she went to the hospital. But that was only the beginning of medical story chaos that ends with 27-year-old Kiley Lane’s journey into dire sickness.
When Lane arrived at the Farmington, New Mexico hospital, she told the doctors and nurses that her stomach hurt and she felt nausea. She said she’d self-diagnosed it as the flu. But according to Fox News, doctors believed she was suffering from a bowel obstruction. They prescribed her laxatives and sent her on her way.
In the following weeks, Lane would return to the hospital. This time, doctors accused her of lying.
Lane’s mother, Julie Barron, told Fox News that doctors were stumped about her daughter’s condition and even though she might be lying. “At one point, they thought she may be faking it,” Barron said.
She was tested for hepatitis, flu, and pneumonia. All of these tests were returned negative.
Instead, Lane tested positive for hantavirus. Hantavirus is an illness spread from rodents to humans. Hantavirus is also extremely rare. It requires the spread of a rodent’s urine, saliva, or feces to the human. The CDC also claims that rodent bites can transfer the illness to humans. The symptoms of hantavirus seem to mimic the flu. Muscle aches, fatigue, fever, and stomach pains are all symptoms associated with both hantavirus and flu.
Hantavirus isn’t curable, but, if patients diagnosed with it are given oxygen, they are given higher odds for recovering. Lane was given laxatives on her initial visit and accused of lying about symptoms in her second visit.
Lane has been reliant on a Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation since February 5th. This helps to relieve strain on her internal organs. She is likely to need physical therapy following recovery. A campaign to help Lane’s family pay for medical expenses has been started at YouCaring.