Local

Swissvale woman suffering from mysterious illness

None — A local woman is suffering from a mystery illness that has recently been showing up in cities all over the United States.

“The best way I can describe it is if you are cold and you can’t stop shaking, but I don’t feel cold,” Nikki Elko said.

Elko, 23, of Swissvale, said she woke up a few weeks ago with an unexplainable twitch and shaking in her arms.

“I told my mom I needed to go to the hospital because nothing was getting better,” Elko said.

Elko spent four days in the hospital undergoing different kinds of tests.

“They did a bunch of blood work on me, took X-rays of my chest, MRI’s of two different EEG’s,” Elko said. “Everything came back normal, so the doctors don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

Elko, who worked as a hair stylist before taking a medical leave a few weeks ago, said simple tasks like getting a glass of water aren’t easy.

“Throughout the day it gets worse,” Elko said. “By the end of the day, my arms are really sore and it’s hard to fall asleep when you can’t stop moving.”

Elko recently learned of other mysterious shaking cases of girls in cities like New York. She said she hopes someone somewhere can find out what is causing the problem.

“I’m definitely worries and scared because I don’t know what’s wrong,” Elko said. “I wish someone would tell me. Even if it’s incurable, at least I would know.”