Isaac
Isaac's
MCAD Story
My
son Isaac was born with a rare genetic disorder called Russell
Silver Syndrome (RSS) and congenital hypothyroidism. RSS is
a primordial dwarfism and he was born well below 3% on the
growth charts and never caught up. One issue with RSS is hypoglycemia
so my husband and I have made sure that Isaac eats every 3-4
hours since birth.
Around 12 am Friday June 17, 2005 I heard Isaac crying
and when I wen to his room he had thrown up everywhere. My
in-laws had a stomach bug the previous week and Isaac had
spent some time over there so I figured he had gotten it.
He threw up repeatedly all night long. I called the after
hours nurse at my pediatrician's office and she told me to
give him Pedialyte about 1 tablespoon every hour and to call
the doctor in the morning. Isaac continued throwing up all
day and I gave him 2-3 oz of Pedialyte every hour. I continued
giving it to him through the night. At 4 am I had given him
3 oz of Pedialyte at 4 am and I woke up around 5:15 am and
he was gasping and shaking. I called 911 and the paramedics
rushed us to a children's hospital in the area. He was lifeless
and pale..They checked his blood sugar and it was a 4! Normal
is at least 60. We were admitted to the hospital and the doctors
thought that Isaac had a seizure due to the low blood sugar
so they scheduled an MRI to check for brain damage. The MRI
came back clean and through various tests they preformed that
week they found out that Isaac has MCAD. The doctors told
me the startling news that it is a condition that is fatal
if undiagnosed. They set up an appointment with a metabolic
geneticist so we can learn how to handle this disorder.
Isaac was discharged from the hospital on Friday June
24th, 2005 and his doctor admitted that he had his "it's
not your fault" speech prepared because he sincerely
believed Isaac would have brain damage because of the seizure.
He said that "someone up there was looking out for your
little boy". I thank God that we found out before it
was too late. I am 27 weeks pregnant with Isaac's little sister
and she will have the extended newborn screen since she is
at risk for MCAD.
As
I look at Isaac laughing and playing with his toys I get choked
up thinking about how we almost lost him and how a simple
blood test told us about this deadly condition. One day I
will tell him how the awful events of last week caused us
to test his little sister... he may have saved her life.
Mimi Garza
Mom to: Isaac Arturo Garza born 1-19-04 in Ft. Worth,
TX
Sofia Elise Garza due 9-27-05
