For nearly two years, we followed three families as they grapple with this horrifying reality. Heres abcs chief medical correspondent, dr. Jen ashton. Here you go. Reporter this is the hill familys last hope. One for their 8yearold son quinton. Getting ready for a potentially lifechanging surgery. After a Mysterious Illness changed his life forever and left him partially paralyzed overnight. He was unable to move his neck, his arm or he had a really hard time walking. It was pretty scary. You feelin all right . Yeah. Reporter this moment may not just define quintons future. Can you give me a mask please. Reporter but the futures of children like him across the country, looking for answers. Here we go, buddy, hold my hand. Reporter and hope. A medical mystery. The scariest part of this is how little we know about it. Reporter as the country struggles to contain the covid19 epidemic, medical experts are sounding the alarm that another outbreak is hiding in the shadows. 2020 is expected to be another peak year for a disease known for acute flaccid my lightis or alm. It attacks a childs nervous system, akin to polio. There is no reason for me not to expect an outbreak in 2020. Reporter tonight, we take you inside this medical mystery. The race to find a cure. I was probably one of the very first cases of it. Reporter we go inside the hospitals Innovative Healing therapies. And were with the families of children already stricken as they fight for their future. As a mom, i just want to, like, help hem. I couldnt do anything for him. You always feel like something is going to happen at any given time. That thing, you built that . How long did that take you . About two weeks. Reporter when you first meet 8yearold quinton hill, its hard to miss his playfulness and good nature. Ever since he was little, you can put him in a corner with anything and hell play with it, like hell entertain himself. Reporter you guys just must think, this is so easy, were the best parents. I wont going to lie, i remember seeing friends and family having a hard time and i was like, ive got life too easy. Reporter but in september of 2018, life got a lot more complicated. We at church, and he started complaining that he just had a little bit of a sore throat, the beginning signs of a cold. Went from a cold to a flu symptoms to all of a sudden like, dad, i cant move my arms. I was sick, i wanted to get off the couch. Reporter he would spend two grueling weeks in the hospital, undergoi undergoing dozens of tests. It was that second week that you heard the term afm . Yes. No known cure, no known treatment. Dont know how it spreads. Reporter what neither the hills nor the doctors knew was that quinton was part of 2018 outbreak of afm. Reporter it would affect at least 238 children in 42 states. The word acute refers to how quickly the symptoms come on. And we have seen children go from normal to paralyzed in a matter of hours. Reporter a neurologist at the university of texas southwestern, dr. Greenburg, has researched this rare illness for nearly a decade. And while the cdc has only been tracking cases since 2014, he knows it has been here longer. Its a lifechanging event for the entire family. This turns worlds upside down. Hes my buddy, you know . Hes still my buddy, he aint changed, but i know he just cant run up and hug me. Thats what i miss the most. Wow, that is so cool, buddy. Reporter we first met camden carr and his family in october 2018. I can do did. Reporter afm would devastate the 3yearolds small body, leaving him severely paralyzed. Unable to afford a home nursing aide, the brunt of camdens care has fallen on his parents, chris and brittany. Medicate, switch his bed out and brittany. Medicate, switch his bed out from a normal childhood b hey, daddy, daddy. Whats wrong . I love you. I love you too, buddy. Reporter i know this is hard, chris, but how has afm changed your son . Every way, shape or form you can imagine. He cant use the bathroom on his own. Cant scratch his own nose, arm. Imate only certified caregiver. Im the only person who can do anything in an emergency situation for him. If i mess up, you know, my son passes away, its on my shoulders, no one elses. Reporter fo reporter for children like camden, the damage is permanent, present ago leave time of challenges, but theyre not impossible to overcome. As one of the earliest afm patients, sarah todd hammer has been through it all. Over ten years ago, i was 8 years old, and i couldnt move even a single toe, and now here i am 18 years old and heading off to college. It is extraordinary, honestly. Reporter at the time of her diagnosis in 2010, doctors knew even less about afm and diagnosed her with a different disease. Its really difficult having something that doctors dont seem to have the answers for. No one really knew how to treat me, and so i decided to go visit dr. Greenburg in texas, and he rediagnosed me with afm. Reporter the study of early cases like sarah todds have allowed doctors to pin point the cause, the likely culprit is a virus, called virus d 68. Why is it causing paralysis in this way . Part of it is it has mutated. Reporter u. S. Cases spike every other year during the fall months. There have been outbreaks in 2014, 2016 and 2018. This year will be no different. And while theres no cure, doctors hope Public Awareness will help minimize the spread of afm. And sarah todd is doing her part. Hi, guys, its sarah welco todd, welcome back to my youtube channel. Reporter she helps others navigate the challenge of the illnesses. You can have a great life no matter what, and i dont think having a disability can stop you from achieving what you want to achieve. Reporter its that spirit of perseverance that has propelled sarah, despite the difficulties, shes learned to drive. There you go. Reporter sarah todds journey, perhaps a sfwlglimmer hope for young afm patients. After quintons diagnosis, he was sent home and began exercising to strength his right side. Its hard as a parent to see all that atrophy, and when he has his shirt off and the one side of his body is super, super bony and the other side, hes showing me how strong he is. Show me your muscle on the right side. Yeah. Now show me your curl on your left side. T eafms difficult to treat. May it turns off the nerve in the spinal cord. Medically speaking, right now we dont have ack on that circuit switch in the spinal cord. Surgery takes about two hours. Reporter dr. Mitchell suryea is a doctor with Childrens Hospital los angeles. He and his team have pioneered an innovative surgery to reconnect paralyzed limbs to the pine. Its daunting for families. Medically its not as though we can take a pill or injection and it turns back on. So then you get to nerve treatment. Reporter in many cases, children have regained some mobility to their arms and legs. Now hes planning to try that surgery on quinton. But success isnt guaranteed. When we come back, the surgery that could change quintons life. I had this hundred thousand dollar student debt. Two hundred and twentyfive thousand dollars in debt. Ah, sofi literally changed my life. It was the easiest application process. Sofi made it so theres no tradeoff between my dreams and paying student loans. Student loans dont have to take over for the rest of your life. Thank you for allowing me to get my money right. Thank you for allowing me to get my money right. Iwith vicks sinex saline nasal cmist. Tion for drug free relief that works fast. Vicks sinex. 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What about wireless data options for the family . You can customize and save. What about internet speeds that can keep up with my gaming . Lets hook you up with the Fastest Internet from xfinity. And now with our stores reopening, were putting Healthy Practices in place. Come visit a store today. Stop in or book an appointment online at a time that works for you. Now thats simple, easy, awesome. Ask. Shop. Discover at your local xfinity store today. Quinton hill has undergone months of intensive physical therapy. His left arm was paralyzed by acute flaccid myelitis or afm, that striefkes and paralyzes children every other year. For quintons parents, erica and james, the past year has been a heartbreaking and endless storm to navigate. All right, here we go. Reporter but theyve come across an innovative nerve transplant surgery that has given them hope. It could restore movement in quintons elbow and shoulder. Dr. Mitchell seruya and his team in los angeles have successfully operated on at least 40 afm patients, but the surge are you can take ten hours. You cant just cut a section of nerve out and splice it in. Its like turning offer t the p to the house with a circuit breaker. Its like Electrical Engineering for the human. The hardest part for me is the unknown. I want him to be as functional as possible, right . And just the day that he can raise both arms and give me a twoarmed hug, that will be a happy day. Reporter its quintons surgery day. How are you filing, q . Good. Are you ready to do this . Hmmm. Love you so much. Reporter for quinton, the reality is setting in. Well take good care of him. The goal today is about stealing nerves from other areas to power up his shoulder to give him the overhead reach that he needs. So were going to mark out shoulder first, in terms of our shoulder incision. The leading edge of the pec, ill mark an incision here. The last area to consider is the ribs. Reporter before surgery, dr. Seruya preps a few different areas, marking where he will look for strong nerves. So its quite an ordeal. We have a lot on our plate, and well basically get started. Reporter during the operation, dr. Seruya determines the strongest attorney nerves are in quintons chest. He then takes those functioningg nerves and connects them to the damaged nerves. Signals are probably the longest day ever. One of the hardest days. Reporter he tells the family the surgery did not go as well as he would like. While he was able to transplant and connect nerves, there werent enough strong nerves to connect his shoulder. Quinton will have to have a second surgery. Im disappointed in the fact that i couldnt do more for him. Unfortunately, we found out that the weakness caused by afm had been more wide spread than we initially thought. Wanted to bounce back strong for q and just remember that everything happens for a reason, right . And that whatever we can get back we will. Reporter as fall approaches, the centers for disease prefecture a prevention and control have identified 16 cases so far this year, the centers have recognized two deaths related to the disease. And this year, theres the increased concern of the covid19 pandemic. What things are you specifically concerned about this season with respect to afm . This seasons going to be unlike any other because of what were seeing with the covid pandemic. One of our concerns is as kiddos come to the emergency room with respiratory symptoms everyone is testing appropriately for the coronavirus, but we have to test for other viruses as well. In this case, we are reminding our colleagues not to just des for the coronavirus but other viruses that could be related to afm. Reporter what are signs and symptoms parents should be on the lookout for. The thing to remember is often there is a preceding respiratory illness. A common cold, but 99. 99999 keep going percent of colds, will never result in afm. Its afterwards, if you ever have a child who either shows symptoms of weakness, complains of weakness, or notice thaor not arent using an arm or leg in the same way they normally do, that should definitely prompt you to seek medical attention to get an evaluation. Reporter 4yearold camden carr and his family have been dealing with the effects of afm for nearly two years. While camdens condition has improved, it is clear his young life and body have been forever changed. To take care of someone who needs roundtheclock medical and nursing care is expensive. What kind of toll has it taken on you financially . Every day i get up, bill in the mail. I check my mailbox, ill come back with another bill for him. Financially, i have lost everything. Reporter whats on your mind as you think of camdens future . I would like to see him being in school, having normal activities. More therapies, you know, physical therapies during the day. Moving forward, you know. I want to see him moving again. Reporter until theres a cure, experimental treatments and physical therapy are the only options, and while theres always a risk, quintons parents say it was one worth taking. Nice save, good job. Reporter after a second surgery and months of therapy, finally, progress in the form of normalcy. Playing catch with dad. Today he continues to get stronger, hell brag to you that he can lift a pound or couple pounds against graphity in actual weight. Its fun to see that. Reporter but even with the recovery of some of the small things, quinton still faces a mountain. One he will need to continue climbing every single day. Hes an example of resiliency, an example of perseverance and just works hard at it every day and really doesnt complain. Im proud of him that as far as hes come, i know its not going to continue to slow him down in his future. Well be right back. Rter, co . 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If i could, baby id how can i, when you wont take it from me you can go your own way go your own way your wireless. Your rules. Only with xfinity mobile. We want to thank dr. Jen ashton and her team for that incredible story. Thats nightline for tonight, you can watch our full episodes on hulu. Goodnight, america. Dicky from hollywood, its jimmy kimmel live, with guest host, ben platt. Tonight, zendaya, and music from muna and the knocks. And now, ben platt. Hello, and welcome to jimmy kimmel live. Im your guest host, ben platt. Im whats known as a triple threat. I sing, i act, and i post absolutely savage yelp reviews. Ive also won a tony, an emmy, and a grammy. And i was one of times 100 most influential people, which means i am now above the law in perpetuity whats that . Im being told that is not in fact the case. But it was crazy. I was on the same list with lebron james and kim jong un. Between us we have 1 tony award, 3 nba championships and thousands of human rights violations. Its weird. Im used to performing in front of big, loving audiences in rooms filled with applause and laughter. Now here i am doing a show alone in an empty house, and the slight wrinkling of a masked cameramans eyes is the only way i can tell if any of this is funny and i see a smattering of wrinkle. All right. But not to worry, if anything goes wrong tonight, i have a