this is "nightline." >> tonight, medical mystery. >> very life-changing, affecting disorder. >> the illness taking aim at children. >> something wasn't right. i knew this was something out of the ordinary. >> starting as a common cold, then paralyzing kids, even killing some. with no cause, no cure. families and doctors scramble to find answers. plus behind the music. ♪ her lyrics may ring a bell. the songwriter who went from a college dorm room to big collaborations. >> i've worked with beyonce, jay-z, cardi b, kehlani, sizza -- >> what's next for the 21-year-old powerhouse?

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good evening. thanks for joining imagine a child catching a cold that mysteriously turns into paralysis. it's a rare and baffling illness, and so far the cause or

cure are unknown. abc's dr. jen ashton joins doctors as they search for answers. >> you ready to go home? >> no. >> no? >> reporter: for the last two months 4-year-old camden carr has been at the kennedy krieger institute in baltimore fighting for his life. >> what, baby? >> i'm getting better. >> yes, you are, day by day. >> reporter: with temporary chris and the rest of his family keeping vigil, camden's body is recovering from the aftermath of a vicious modern-day medical mystery, one that nearly killed him. >> wow, that is so cool, buddy. >> reporter: has now left a once-active boy mostly paralyzed. >> i'm grateful he's getting better. i know it's a long process.

>> reporter: his diagnosis? acute flaccid mile ligyelitis, similar to poe i don't in terms of striking symptoms. it strikes quickly, mostly in children. first appearing like a normal cold. in its wake victims left in a state of partial or full paralysis that can lead to death. it has afflicted 543 children in the united states since 2014. it has no known vaccine or cure and the cause is unclear. mystifying doctors and experts. camden carr was one of at least 210 children across 40 states to contract afm in the 2018 outbreak. >> three, two, one, blastoff! >> reporter: until doctors better understand afm, the only help for children like camden is hours of daily physical therapy. >> when i first met him, he had not really gotten out of bed yet. he was very afraid of everything

that we did here. even just getting from his bed into the wheelchair, from the wheelchair onto our mat tables. >> reporter: camden likely faces a lifetime of recovery. >> what we've seen here is really promising. >> to even just see the movement in his left leg now that he didn't show at all, just a couple of months ago, is really exciting to see. >> reporter: in 2014, there was a sudden outbreak of afm. the center for disease control and prevention created a task force and started tracking and researching this perplexing disorder. >> there are a number of different viruses, certain autoimmune conditions, that can lead to the exact same symptoms and the exact same findings on an mri. >> reporter: specialist dr. benjamin greenburg has worked with cdc and treated patients with afm since 2009. he's one of several doctors across the country trying to solve this mystery. >> our read of the data says that between july and november during these years of 2014, '16, '18, that the majority of

children were probably impacted by this group of enero viruses. >> reporter: that's why doctors believe there's a link between the occurrence of certain viruses and why outbreaks of afm have been roughly every two years. experts like dr. greenburg fear it could become worse. >> could it mutate to become more virulent and cause more cases of paralysis over years to come? >> it's paralyzing and it seems to be targeting young children. >> reporter: the latest outbreak began making headlines across the country last october. >> an unfolding medical mystery in minnesota after six kids are diagnosed with a sudden polio-like illness. >> he started complaining of just really bad neck stiffness, couldn't move his neck, hen his left arm. >> reporter: 7-month-old zoe was diagnosed with afm three weeks ago. >> despite investigation by cdc and its partners, we don't know where afm comes from. we don't know what's causing it. >> reporter: the lack of information has left families like camden's urging health

officials to do more. >> never been to washington. i'm kind of glad that i'm doing it for my son. >> reporter: in november chris carr traveled to washington, d.c. with several other item lease to met with members of congress and the cdc. >> it's already hard enough on people that are going through this with their children. it's even harder when you've got to deal with the cdc that's not doing their job. >> reporter: this growing frustration towards health officials is a sentiment that robin roberts feels more than most. >> we did everything the cdc said to do. we did everything a pediatrician tells you to do. and this crazy thing still happened to us. >> reporter: in 2014, after a perfectly normal family pizza night, robin's son carter went from being a healthy 3-year-old boy to a quadriplegic. >> something wasn't right. i knew this was something out of the ordinary. >> reporter: at that time, admittedly even less was known about this disease. the doctors treating carter were left scrambling for answers. many having never seen anything like this before. >> we were dismissed by the first physician that came in

there. i insisted that something was wrong. there was actually another doctor. he said, look, i'm worried about a possibility of a meningitis, possibly a stroke, or something else going on here. >> reporter: it would take the doctors ten days, several spinal taps, and an mri to eventually determine carter had afm. >> there was no cure or treatment. really telling us to kind of resign ourselves to what they call supportive care. that means, tair care of him the best we could. >> reporter: for two years robin and her family became full-time caregivers to carter, putting him through intense physical therapy. >> you're trying to do all the things that all of those wonderful professionals did for your child to help them, but it's just mom and dad. >> reporter: on september 22nd of 2018, carter passed away from respiratory complications she said were related to afm. >> he said something hurt. like i said, there's this routine of respiratory things you do. so continued doing that.

called my husband, who was out with our oldest daughter. and i screamed that something wasn't right. it wasn't more than two minutes that the alarms were going off on all of his machines and the numbers went down. and the last thing he said was -- before he closed his eyes was -- was, mommy, i'm fine. >> reporter: robin and her family have pushed health officials to put more focus on afm in hopes of sparing other families the pain they have endured. >> i think the cdc could be following these cases more closely. i applaud them for putting together the task force that just recently started, but i think the efforts are long overdue. >> reporter: for her it's personal. the cdc still hasn't acknowledged her son carter's death was a result of afm. the cdc tells abc news in a statement, cdc is very concerned about afm, adding, we have established an afm task force of

national experts to help us develop a comprehensive research agenda. we value the experiences and stories of parents whose children have afm and pledge to work with them to find the cause. >> i don't just think carter would be here if he hadn't had afm, i know he would. this is not a cold that's going to go away. find out what's causing this, or more children are going to die. >> reporter: in december, it was time for little camden to come home. >> daddy! >> reporter: and the burden of care weighs heavily on his father. >> i've heard a lot of stories about kids that's had afm and struggles and the problems they've had ongoing through the whole situation. >> reporter: despite facing an uncertain future, chris is doing all he can to remain hopeful. >> i'm just hope that will my son's different than the others, i think. like i feel for the other families that did lose their child, and i cannot imagine what they go through.

i just hope that's not my child. >> and in the coming weeks "nightline" will be documenting a cutting-edge nerve transplant operation that could provide hope for some patients. up next, you may not know her name but you've heard her songs. the young songwriter behind cardi b's "ring." ♪ ring ring ring ring ♪ i can't keep this on the low ♪ i want you to make it ring ring ring ring ♪ she's doing it again. (vo) no cover up spray here... it's the irresistibly fresh scent of febreze air effects. cheaper aerosols can cover up odors, burying the smell in a flowery fog. switch to febreze air effects! febreze eliminates even the toughest odors from the air. and it uses an all-natural propellant to leave behind a pleasant scent you'll love. use anywhere odors can spread. freshen up, don't cover up. febreze air effects.

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♪ ♪ ♪ you need something that i saw

you need something thaw saw ♪ >> sounds like a pro. a few years ago nija charles was just another fan in the crowd. since then she's taken her passion for music from her college dorm to the top of the charts with some of today's biggest artists. ears abc's ashen singh. ♪ don't listen to nobody >> reporter: this 21-year-old is the music industry's secret weapon. writing songs for some of today's biggest stars. >> you know, beyonce's top of the top. when i was able to work with her it was just like -- i made it made it. >> reporter: from beyonce and jay-z's "love happy." to "ring," the hit track on cardi b's grammy-nominated album. >> cha it ring ring powerhouse in action. ♪ i'm doing it >> reporter: out of that smallo

so unique that stars have her on speed dial. >> hey, wes! >> reporter: in this session she's working alongside merta beats, one of the biggest producers in hip-hop known for chart-toppers like drake. ♪ working hard girl every day >> it's very effortless. i come to the studio, she can pull up on me, i pull up some beats, she can just go crazy. ♪ can you tell me you had eyes on ♪ >> it's crazy because it's like my favorite artists are now like the people i work with, you know what i mean? so, you know, maybe like ten years ago, not even ten, two years ago i was at their concerts and now i'm in the studio with them. >> reporter: from a fan in the stands to having a seat at the table, nija is skyrocketed and has the accolades to prove it. >> so this one is my number one billboard plaque for the carters

album. the meek mill went number one, 21 savage went number one. this one is cardi, invasion of privacy. this is my board of future goal goals and everything that i want to accomplish this year. >> what are the 2019 goals that we're looking at? >> to have at least three top tens. a number one song on pop radio. a number one song on hot 100. to get back into making beats again. >> reporter: but despite that confidence, nija says working in a male-dominated industry comes with its challenges. >> every time i'm in a room with -- full of males, i have something to prove. because i feel like as a woman, we don't get as much respect. and we're also not looked at as the person who's going to be running with them. so every time i come in i have to make sure they know that, you know, i'm on the same level as you guys. >> reporter: it wasn't too long ago that these studio sessions were just dreams for the jersey girl. >> how did you find music? >> i was 13.

and i had asked my mom if she would buy me a mini keyboard because i really wanted to produce. she got it for me and then right then and there i started banging on the keypad. i was, you know, making beats for, you know, awhile. and then i was like, all right, let me sing on them. so i started doing that. yeah, i like the beats but who's this singing? >> so it was never actually about singing? >> no, i was a producer at first. i just found my way into songwriting. >> reporter: a few years later, nija was a student at new york university making beats and recording lyrics in her dorm room. >> i was recording snippets on instagram. eventually like a and r and other producers started seeing it. i just built my network that way. >> reporter: soon enough nija was heading of flying acro jug studio sessions and studying. >> honestly, i was just like, wow, this is the start of my career. >> once you get that call, i understand that you're flying out every couple of weeks from

l.a. -- from new york to l.a.? >> every weekend. it was very hard. there were some classes i definitely had to skip. it was time management. knowing that i had to hurry up, finish my homework before i got on the plane. >> reporter: nija has since dropped out. now living in l.a., she's working on music full-time. what was the hardest part about getting used to life out here? you're a northeasterner. you're a jersey girl. >> right, right. i think it was getting adjust to one weather. i'm so used to there being a change and seeing the leaves fall. >> reporter: tonight we're meeting up with cardo, the producer behind drake's hit track "god's plan." ♪ god's plan god's plan >> reporter: nominated for record of the year at this sunday's grammy awards. so we're in the studio right now. legendary producer cardo just walked in, empty-handed, sets up his laptop, makes a fresh beat from scratch. gives to it the sound engineer, now nija's in the booth.

>> reporter: no pens no paper, not a sin ri anija's booth layi melodies on the beat. >> her being a songwriter, not only that, a very talented songwriter in a male-dominated industry, for her to poke out and be that light is like -- it's rare. you feel me? it's like she's actually opened up that door for more females to do what she's doing. i think that's incredible. ♪ as soon as i drop we lit >> reporter: from top producers to singers, nija is working with seemingly everyone and across all genres. you're writing for some of the hardest rappers in the game and some of the biggest divas in the industry. do you ever feel like you have to play a different part? >> yes. i definitely have to play a different part. it's kind of like acting. especially writing for rappers. i've never experienced any of the things that they've experienced. but i listen to this music and i watch movies so i think capturing that, also listening to their story, that's my job to listen to them and bring that

out in the song. >> reporter: back in the studio with murda, nija is doing her thing.the two previously worked cardi b's track "i do," part of her grammy nominated album "invasion of privacy." the other track "ring" featuring one of her favorite artists kehlani. >> i was crazy. the year before i went to one of her concerts. me and my sister went to baltimore to watch her. and, you know, i -- i'm a big fan. so me being a fan and hearing her sing some of my lyrics, it was just -- i loved it. >> reporter: during a quick break in the studio, a call from someone special. >> what up? >> what's up? >> what kind of advice are you giving her? >> man, i don't even think she needs my advice, honestly. i really don't. i think that she is exactly where she needs to be. and is going at the exact pace that she needs to be going. i'm learning from you at this point. >> reporter: she's got the world at her feet.

and the stars behind her. it safe to say that this is just the beginning for nija. >> what's next for me? a solo career, you know. a lot of artists that i look up to and a lot of producers i look up to, just people in general, having encouraged me to really pursue a solo career. and i'm excited about it, you know. there's a lot of the big artists i'm going to be working with. so i'm excited to put that out. >> anything we can know about it? >> top secret. just know it's big artists, you know. we're going to put it out there. ♪ no i don't want to know about it know about it ♪ >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm ashen singh in los angeles. ♪ i'm somebody nobody up next, airport connections. the businessman and the baby. bss of the year, what'll you choose? how 'bout lobster lover's dream? more like a lobster dream come true. ancrmyobster lgu

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finally tonight, the heart-warming story behind the photo that went viral. the baby and the businessman. fast friends made at an airport. >> i asked did she want to sit next to me? i showed her snoopy videos. we had a good time. >> 16-month-old carter jean's

father touched by this stranger's kindness, posting online, sharing more than 140,000 times. writing, i couldn't help but think, different genders, different races, different generations, and the best of friends. this is the world i want for her. of course, if you want to make a connection, there's always our full episodes streaming on hulu. thanks for watching "nightline." good night, america. shshow me homecoming. baby sloth videos on youtube. amy, do you uh mind giving someone else a turn? oh yeah i made myself a little comfortable here.

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