'She has to learn how to walk and talk again': Parents' shock as their three-year-old daughter is left like a two-month-old after contracting the FLU
- Toddler is learning to walk and talk again after she contracted a deadly flu
- A secondary infection then attacked her brain, leaving her partially paralysed
- Three-year-old Hayley Henwood is now in intensive physiotherapy to walk again
- Her scare comes just one week after a ten-year-old Perth boy died from the flu
- The WA flu season hit earlier than usual this year and many weren't prepared
A three-year-old girl is learning to walk and talk again after she contracted the flu and the virus attacked her brain - leaving her paralysed.
Hayley Henwood, from Perth, came close to death amid one of Western Australia's worst influenza epidemics.
She first contracted the flu, then a secondary infection in her head left her with the brain of a two-month-old.
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Hayley Henwood (pictured), from Perth, came close to death amid one of Western Australia's worst influenza epidemics
Her mother, Emma Henwood, said her daughter was so sick she was barely able to sit up, and didn't eat anything for three weeks.
'When they came [to hospital] and the nurse saw her having seizures, that's when they rushed her through to MRI and that's when they realised she had something ... starting to attack her brain that was secondary from the flu,' Ms Henwood said.
'Talking to her is a little bit delayed, she's got to think about what she's saying and asking her questions like 'what's wrong' is a bit open ended for her at the moment, you need to give her options.'
After spending the month in hospital, Hayley is now facing six weeks of intense physiotherapy before doctors will be able to determine if the damage is long-term.
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'It's certainly emotional watching her go through it all all over again, but she just takes it all in her stride which is awesome,' Ms Henwood said.
Hayley's scare comes just one week after ten-year-old Mataiapo Faithfull Puttz William Maku died from complications of the flu at Perth Children's Hospital.
Ms Henwood was terrified to think she could have seen the same fate with her daughter.
She had planned to get both Hayley and her brother immunised, but by the time she had her first symptoms it was too late.
Western Australia's flu season hit earlier than usual this year and many families didn't expect it and weren't prepared.
A three-year-old girl is learning to walk and speak again after she contracted the flu and it attacked her brain, leaving her with the brain of a two-month-old
WA Health Department's Doctor Andrew Robertson said vaccination rates for children under five are only sitting at 24 per cent.
Health Minister Roger Cook has had to take drastic action and allow chemists to give flu shots to kids as young as ten - when before only adults could get immunised.
More than 5,400 people in Western Australia have been diagnosed with the flu so far this year - a large jump from the 1,235 people diagnosed this time last year.
So far 15 people have died because of the flu compared to the four people in the first six months of 2018.
Western Australia's flu season usually peaks in August and September, but the early spike has forced hospitals to set up quarantines in emergency rooms.
She first contracted the flu, then a secondary infection attacked her brain and left the toddler partially paralysed
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