3-year-old girl in ICU since Christmas following rare complications from the flu

TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD/Gray News) - A child in Arizona has been battling a rare neurological condition after getting the flu, including having to be admitted into the pediatric ICU.

Ryan Le says he had to take his 3-year-old daughter, Harper, to the emergency room on Christmas after she started stumbling and stopped using the left side of her body.

“Watching her not being able to pick up her left side, no sensation, as I said, her vocab had just gone down to ‘no,’ and that was the only thing she could say – you know it freaks you out a little bit,” Le said.

The father says Harper had come down with the flu a few days prior.

“Every time that she’s ever been sick or her brother’s been sick, we do the same thing as always – the ibuprofen, the Tylenol. The flu is usually a day or two, and then it’s kind of back to somewhat normal,” Le said. “This time it was – we kind of just fell off the edge of a cliff.”

CT scans showed swelling and blood pooling in Harper’s brain.

Her father shared that doctors diagnosed his daughter with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, a rare neurological condition that occurs after a viral or bacterial infection that causes sudden inflammation to the nervous system.

“It was definitely a major stomach drop pretty fast,” Le said.

Harper’s father said it has been especially hard to watch, especially considering how active his little girl normally is.

“She’s always been super energetic. She’s always laughing, she’s always smiling, she’s always running around doing something,” Le said.

Le and his wife, Randi, are both teachers for the Vail School District, and have received community support through a GoFundMe to help pay for Harper’s medical bills and recovery costs, a recovery Le said could take more than six months.

“Homebound healthcare for at least three weeks and then outpatient recovery,” Le said.

Harper’s condition has shown improvement, with her gaining some of her movement back. Her father said they are planning for her to able to be discharged from the hospital soon.

Le urges other parents to seek medical help early if they have concerns about flu symptoms.

“If you have questions, concerns, even the slightest concern, definitely get that help from medical professionals because, as I said, we tried to wait the couple of days like always, and now here we are,” he said.

The Pima County Health Department urges children and adults to get the influenza vaccine, which can lessen the severity of symptoms if infected.

Health officials have reported a rise in flu cases so far this season.

Copyright 2026 KOLD via Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.