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| Jordan |
My son Jordan started out with flu-like symptoms. I didn't pay much
attention as having three children, I figured he'd shake it off. He was
lying on the couch watching TV when I heard my husband screaming for me. My
son had a seizure and was lying on the couch moaning unintelligably and
jerking. We called the paramedics who came and took his blood sugar (which
was normal). The paramedics rushed him to a small, local hospital where
they gave him 40 mg valium (a seditive) due to his jerking and did a CT of
his head. The CT came back normal, but they air vaced him to a large
hospital.
At the large hospital he was taken to pediatric ICU. The first day he
moved continuously, what they called non-purposeful movement despite large
amounts of sedation. A spinal puncture, drug screen, EEG, and MRI were
done. All tests were negative. My son spiked a high fever, high blood
pressure. On the 2nd day he went into what is called decerabate posturing,
a kind of rigid frozen position, indicative of severe mid-brain damage.
Little hope was held out to me that my son would wake up any time soon.
That was a low point in my life, praying to God to spare my son maybe; that
if he'd be a vegetable to please take him. I didn't leave my sons side for
five days, I literally camped on his ICU room floor. I remember talking to
him, I didn't ask him to wake up, I told him not to be afraid and to just
sleep while his sick brain healed. On the fifth day he of all things woke
up. He knew who his family was, he could read, but he couldn't walk well
and he had visual hallucinations. We were able to take him home.
A week after that, Jordan relapsed, not into a coma, but painful leg
cramps, inabliity to walk and constant visual hallucinations. Again he was
hospitalized where on top of everything else he started throwing up coffee
ground vomit (a sign he was bleeding in his stomach). His eyes were
constantly dialated as big as saucers and he kept thinking that his IV arm
board was a tv remote control. The doctors gave him some zantac and
clonidine and he improved remarkably. He again went home.
Jordan continued to improve, but he'd have "attacks". Painful flu
symptoms, high fevers. They went from once a week to every month,
eventually improving.
Jordan is now 18, aside from a weird hicupping movement he makes
periodically, he looks normal. He graduated from high school, barely. I'd
like to say that he is all peaches and cream, but I've had a lot of problems
with Jordan. He seems "odd". He seems to be almost a sociopath. He lies,
does things that he knows that he'll be caught at, steals. He did work but
got fired for stealing. This is not the way that he was brought up. Is he
a bad seed, or is there something else going on? He never talks about his
feelings. A very strange child.
I love my son and would welcome any suggestions.
Thanks,
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Jordan
Any Town, U.S.A.
Posted: January 20, 2005 |
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