14 DAY TRIAL // Good news, folks! 12-year-old Kali Harding, whom doctors were forced to put into a medically induced come after she had contracted a brain-eating parasite, has made significant progress on the road to recovery.
Live Science says that the girl is no longer in a coma. Furthermore, it appears that she has regained her ability to speak.
For the time being, the girl can only utter simple words such as “yes,” “no,” “mama,” “daddy” and the like. However, her condition is stable and doctors are confident she will soon show further signs of improvement.
Tests have shown that Kali's body no longer contains any traces of Naegleria fowleri, i.e. the brain-eating parasite she contracted while swimming at a water part in Arkansas.
The same source informs us that, all things considered, Kali will spend several more weeks in the hospital. Later, she'll have to be in therapy for several months.
It is likely that the girl has developed some long-term deficits, but, overall, doctors are pleased with her evolution.
To treat this 12-year-old girl, specialists resorted to a cocktail of antifungul drugs. The girl was also administered an experimental drug dubbed miltefosine.
Despite being given the same treatment, 12-year-old Zachary Reyna from Florida, a boy who also contracted this parasite, did not survive.