Collaboration puts Smethwick student on the road to recovery – and University
A grateful patient is off to study at university after a diagnosis in Birmingham and life-saving treatment in Wolverhampton to recover from a rare disease.
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Deeksha Bali, aged 18 from Smethwick suffered headaches and struggled to walk after contracting a condition in June which caused seizures and left her unable to breathe or move. She spent a total of 56 days in hospital and had to learn to talk and walk again.
A disease called Autoimmune GFAP Astrocytopathy, or GFAP astropathy, was diagnosed by the clinical immunology service at Birmingham in collaboration with Dr Suneesh Thilak, an intensive care consultant at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT).
The disease sees the immune system attacked by a protein of the nervous system – Deeksha’s case was the first one diagnosed in the West Midlands in the last decade.
After initially being admitted to City Hospital Birmingham , Deeksha was transferred to the Integrated Critical Care Unit (ICCU) at New Cross on July 7,
She was placed on the PrisMax system, which filters kidneys and exchanges plasma. placed into an induced coma, put on a ventilator and had a tracheotomy fitted, along with a course of steroids to prevent progression of the disease.
She also had a total of six and a half plasma exchanges where her blood and antibodies were replaced. The treatment reduced brain inflammation and prevented further damage caused by a misdirected immune response against her brain tissue.
During this time, Deeksha was on a ventilator for 14 days before being transferred to a respiratory recovery ward, prior to being discharged in August. After passing her A-levels she is now preparing to study biochemistry at Birmingham University
Mr Andy Macduff, a consultant for intensive care and respiratory medicine at RWT, who oversaw her care, said: “I have never seen a patient with this disease before, but time was of the essence to provide her with aggressive treatment in the intensive care unit.
“Thanks to our colleagues across the West Midlands, Deeksha has made a dramatic recovery, as people with this condition usually get sick for a long time.”
Professor Tonny Veenith, Clinical Director of Research at RWT, said: “This was an excellent collaborative working with various specialities and hospitals in the region and beyond to save Deeksha’s life.
“Complex patients like this requires national and international collaboration between clinicians.”
Deeksha’s father, Sunil said: “It was the worst experience of our lives. After the second round of plasma, Deeksha came round after sedation, couldn’t move, and said, ‘What’s the point, dad?’
“But after the third and fourth rounds, she gradually got better. We are thankful for the excellent care she had.
“Our special thanks to the team at New Cross Hospital, including the consultants and nursing staff who have been excellent."
