WORCESTER, Mass. -- Despite his cerebral palsy, Derek Collette never lagged very far behind.
He rode the school bus with other special-needs children, hustled to class on crutches and got decent grades for a child with a learning disability, if not on par with those of an average 13-year-old.
Then, in May, the first wave of swine flu hit Forest Grove Middle School here.
It swept Derek under. Doctors say the H1N1 influenza virus somehow inflamed the nerves in his spine, crippling him.
Derek's plight may be extreme, but it isn't unique. He is one of thousands of children and adolescents with neuromuscular disorders, asthma and other conditions who are suffering consequences of H1N1 that will linger long after the 2009/2010 swine flu pandemic ends.
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