The Boy With Rabies

Symptoms

By the next week, Theo had begun to show symptoms. He ignored it and thought it was just the flu. Theo started to have symptoms when walking home from school. He was walking across the street looking at the crosswalk when suddenly, two crosswalks appeared. His head began to ache. He blinked several times before his vision returned to normal. He ignored it and kept walking. He slowly walked in and was stopped by his mother.

 "Sweetie," she said, "Let's get going to the doctor." 

"Okay..." he said softly. Theo's double vision returned as his mother drove down the road. He tried not to show his discomfort.

 "You okay, honey?" He heard his mother ask. 

"Yeah, I'm fine." He lied. His mother knew something was wrong. Theo's voice would always have so much energy, but now, it showed weakness.

When they got to the doctor, Lisa almost had to carry him in. She quickly rushed him in, and the doctor brought them straight to a room. The doctor noticed something was genuinely wrong with him from the way Theo was slouching and struggling to keep his eyes open. 

"Has he been bitten by an animal recently?" The doctor asked. 

"He was bitten by a raccoon last week," Lisa said.

The doctor's eyes widened. "I'm afraid it's rabies, and by now I can't help. He needs a hospital." Lisa's eyes widened as she looked back at her son who began to sob. 

"I'm so sorry mama, I-I-I," His breathing quickened as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he lost consciousness. 

"Shit," the doctor said running to Theo's side along with his panicking mother. "WE NEED AN AMBULANCE DAMMIT! " The doctor yelled into the hallway. 

A nurse quickly dialed 911. By the time the ambulance arrived, only the whites of Theo's eyes were showing. The paramedics lifted the boy onto the stretcher and rushed him out of the building. He was placed into the ambulance, but by then, foam began oozing out of his mouth.