Ryker Roque, a 6-year old boy, was trying to help a bat when he ended up in a local hospital in Orlando, Florida where he was fighting for his life with a revolutionary treatment called “The Milwaukee Protocol.” At first there weren’t any symptoms and the boy didn’t want to go, until about a week later he had numb fingers, headaches, and hallucinations. Henry Roque, Ryker’s father, found the bat and put it into a bucket ordering his son not to touch, but the boy did so anyway. They had been in the household for one to two weeks before Ryker arrived at the hospital. Henry Roque said he “never loved anyone or anything more.” Ryker was announced dead on January 16, 2018.

A former dispatcher for the Ontario Police Department, Margie Christensen expressed how devastating this tragedy is “knowing that he was just trying to help the bat and ended up dying is sad. The father should’ve been more careful in being ensured of his son’s actions while this bat was present. These cases are not common from where I live but, it’s scary to know one scratch can end your life.”

Rabies symptoms are often found too late, leaving the chances of  living very rare. The treatment used on Ryker Roque and many more was created by Rodney Willoughby. ” The Milwaukee Protocol” requires antiviral drugs and a chemically induced coma. This treatment was found effective within two U.S children and eighteen people worldwide since created in 2004.