Alison Doyle/Tiktok Alison Doyle finding dead bat in toilet
A dead bat, a viral TikTok, and a powerful reminder of why quick medical action—and patient accommodations—can save lives
Alison Doyle/Tiktok Alison Doyle finding dead bat in toilet
When Alison Doyle walked into her downstairs bathroom one quiet afternoon in her new home, she wasn’t expecting anything unusual. She had moved in just a month earlier. It was laundry day. But instead of clear water in the toilet bowl, there floated something small, black, and unmistakably lifeless.
It was a bat. A baby bat.
“I looked down and it was a baby bat, it was deceased,” Alison recalls. She didn’t scream, but she did reach for her phone.
What happened next would propel her from a mundane household chore to the bright lights of a Canadian emergency room—and into the centre of a viral TikTok moment that would ultimately highlight two very different life-saving topics: rabies prevention and disability accommodation in healthcare.
From Shock to TikTok
Alison says she rarely uses that particular bathroom and had no idea how long the animal had been there. She filmed the strange find and flushed the small body away, thinking it would make a quirky social media clip.
But once the video hit TikTok, the comments exploded—not with laughs, but with urgent warnings.
“I had like 100 people telling me that I should get a rabies shot,” Alison says.
At first, she was surprised by the level of concern. The bat was dead. She hadn’t noticed any bites. But the flood of messages made her reconsider. She called paramedics for advice.
Their response was swift and serious: go to the ER now.
“The likelihood of me contracting rabies is extremely low,” they told her, “but the percentage of you dying if you do contract rabies and don’t actually get help is wildly high.”
That was enough. Alison grabbed her things and headed to the hospital.
Why Bats Raise Rabies Alarms
Bats are the leading cause of rabies deaths in North America, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Their bites can be nearly invisible, leaving no obvious marks, and even a tiny exposure can be dangerous. Once symptoms appear, rabies is almost always fatal—but it is 100% preventable with prompt post-exposure treatment.
The rule from public health officials is clear: if you wake up to a bat in your room, touch a bat, or find one near where you sleep or live, seek medical attention immediately—even if you’re unsure about contact.
As Alison would learn, “no visible bite” doesn’t mean “no risk.”
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A Hospital Visit with a Twist
For Alison, getting medical care came with an extra challenge: she is autistic, with Level One support needs. This means she functions independently but still faces significant sensory challenges in environments like an emergency room—bright lights, noise, crowded spaces, and unpredictable interactions.
Her instinct, upon arrival, was to tell the nurse, If you don’t think I need to be here, I’d rather just go home.
But the nurse reassured her that coming in was the right choice. That validation mattered.
Medical staff quickly decided to start her on rabies post-exposure prophylaxis—a series of shots given over multiple days to prevent the virus from taking hold.
“The first day you get five shots… then a few days later another shot,” Alison explains.
In Canada, she discovered an unexpected silver lining: paramedics could come to her home for follow-up injections, at no cost.
“That’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” she says.
When Healthcare Meets True Accommodation
Despite feeling physically unwell from the shots, Alison was impressed—shocked, even—by how well the hospital accommodated her needs.
“They put me in a private family room,” she says. “It was dark, it was quiet, there was a sofa and an armchair. I just chilled in there for five hours. It was the best level of care I’ve ever received.”
Before she left, a nurse even handed her a gluten-free banana popsicle, mindful of her celiac disease.
For Alison, it was a reminder that small acts of thoughtfulness can turn an overwhelming experience into a safe one.
Why Her Story Resonates
Alison’s TikTok didn’t just attract bat jokes—it drew in other autistic people who related to her need for accommodations in medical settings.
She also used the moment to point out a visibility gap: while she is a white autistic woman, she says the most visible representation of autism online often leaves out Black, brown, and Indigenous voices.
“Autism is a spectrum,” she says. “It looks different on everybody and it doesn’t have a look.”
Lessons from a Dead Bat
Her key takeaway? Take rabies seriously.
“If there is a deceased bat in your household, it got in there because it was alive,” she warns. “They have very small teeth… they can bite in a very undetectable way. If you value your life, go get rabies shots.”
She also hopes her experience serves as a case study in why listening to patients, validating concerns, and providing sensory-friendly spaces can literally change lives.
Final Word: Alison’s strange afternoon could have ended as just an odd story online. Instead, it became a global reminder that quick action saves lives—and that healthcare works best when it treats the whole person, not just the condition.
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Sources
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PEOPLE Magazine, Woman Went to Use the Bathroom. What She Found in the Toilet Landed Her in the ER for a Rabies Shot, August 11, 2025. Link
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CDC – Rabies and Bats
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