Dad’s urgent warning to parents after daughter, 4, fights for her life in a coma
Gary Dunion and his wife Angelina Dunion, 38, assumed their little girl was just joking around when she complained she was cold but it turned out to be way more serious
Sienna remains in a coma in hospital
A four-year-old girl is fighting for her life after developing a rare brain condition triggered by the flu.
It was November when Sienna Dunion, four, began complaining of being cold but Gary Dunion and his wife Angelina Dunion, 38, assumed she was just joking around. They kept her off school the next day when she had a slight temperature.
But things took a tragic turn when Gary found her unresponsive just a couple of days later and rushed her to hospital. Doctors were forced to put Sienna into an induced coma when her eyes rolled back in her head and she could no longer communicate.
Sienna Dunion (left)Gary Dunion, Angelina Dunion and her sister Ariana Dunion (right) (Image: Kennedy News and Media)
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The 41-year-old was ‘shocked’ when an MRI scan revealed his daughter had Acute Necrotising Encephalitis (ANE), an extremely rare brain condition that doctors said was caused by the flu, which Sienna has never been vaccinated against.
Sienna had emergency surgery on 22 November after doctors discovered her lactate levels were extremely high and they had to remove 60% of her intestines to save her life.
The dad-of-two fears he might never hear his child’s ‘infectious belly laugh’ again as it is unknown when she will wake up and if she’ll ever be able to walk, talk or eat.
The parent set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds to help with the extensive treatment and care his daughter will need in the future.
Gary says they are wrestling with the guilt of not getting Sienna vaccinated against the flu. Now the recruitment director wants to spread important awareness about the rare condition and urges parents to vaccinate their kids against the flu.
Gary with Sienna and Ariana(Image: Kennedy News and Media)
Gary, who lives in Corby, Northamptonshire, said: “It’s been horrendous and I can’t comprehend how a really funny, caring healthy four-year-old three weeks ago goes to this and potentially may never recover.
“She’s got the most infectious belly laugh that we may never hear again.”
Gary took Sienna out on a scooter ride but knew something was wrong when she only lasted about five minutes and said she was freezing. He kept her off school on the Monday due to having a temperature but on Wednesday things took a dark turn.
Gary said: “On Wednesday morning I took our eldest to school and I got back at 9am and my wife said ‘something’s not right with Sienna, she’s not conscious or answering any questions’.”
After rushing Sienna to hospital doctors put her on a fluid drip before noticing her fingers had started clawing so took her for a CT scan which showed a couple of anomalies on her brain.
She was put in an induced coma after becoming uncommunicative and as transferred to a different hospital where she was diagnosed with ANE.
Gary said: “It’s just a complete shock. I’d never heard of that before in my life. They said it’s a very, very rare but aggressive brain condition triggered either by the flu or COVID-19.
“It creates a response in the immune system where the immune system does not recognise the danger and the virus keeps on attaching itself to the brain and it doesn’t fix itself or try to fight it and then attaches itself to the spine.
“There were no signs of the flu. The fact she was a bit rundown with a bit of a temperature but she was still running around and playing and being funny until she went asleep on that Tuesday afternoon and then she woke up completely different which is mind boggling.
“We thought it was a common cold she’s had a thousand times. We treated it with Calpol and Nurofen. It’s honestly insane.
“Now reality has set in. It just feels so unfair on Sienna, who’s the most beautiful girl. We don’t understand why this has happened. There’s no rhyme or reason when she’s one of a handful of people globally who’s ever had this.
“There’s so much determination from me now. She’s been fighting from hell so it’s my turn now to stand up for her.”
Sienna in hospital with a deadly brain condition ‘from not getting the flu jab’(Image: Kennedy News and Media)
Sienna began plasma exchange, a blood purification therapy, but had to have emergency surgery after doctors discovered she had abnormally high lactate levels.
They discovered 60% of her intestines were damaged beyond repair and had to remove them and she then had a second surgery due to air collecting in her abdomen.
Now it is believed it could be between three and six months before Sienna, who remains in a coma, is discharged from hospital and she will then need intensive rehabilitation.
Gary said: “They told us this is going to be a very long road and when Sienna wakes up she will not be the Sienna we know. She might walk again but she might not. She might have permanent disabilities for life.”
The dad hopes his fundraiser will help to support his daughter’s future treatment and send her to a neurorehabilitation centre which costs around £8,000 a week.
He now wants to spread important awareness about the rare condition to help others and urges others to vaccinate their children with the flu, which Sienna didn’t have.
Gary said: “For me it’s raising awareness around ANE and what it is. No one is immune from it even though it’s absolutely very rare.
“There needs to be some serious medical studies around what the factors are that trigger it. Beyond that, what’s the treatment and the early interventions, what’s the recovery from this and what’s the prognosis. It’s so much guess work.
“We didn’t give her the flu jab and the biggest message for me to parents is to vaccinate your children with the flu. It doesn’t eradicate you from getting this but we didn’t give her it because we’d heard some pretty horrendous stories.
“There’s been a lot of trepidation around the COVID vaccination and people are quite wary about what they’re putting into their children and I think that’s impacted certainly us.
“The guilt from us is like ‘my god, should we have just vaccinated her’. So many parents out there just aren’t doing it because they are unsure what they’re going to do or if they are really going to need it.”