Help Him Heal
Donation protected
If you know my son #MyGabeBabe , you know he is normally full of energy, inquisitive about life, beyond passionate about fishing and aquatic life, a regular old comedian, the dearest, sweetest little helper, and so much more!
Gabe is ten years old, he started the 5th grade this year and had been doing very well! He was getting into the Halloween spirit by carving pumpkins and making a costume! On September 21st something drastically switched. Gabe turned and looked at me, he was pale as a ghost and seemed terrified. He then was up all night crying from a sudden onset of intrusive thoughts of worry. Gabe asked what was happening to him and since that day we have been on a determined quest for answers and healing for Gabe. His symptoms continue to persist and at their worst left Gabe confined to his room afraid of the light, terrified of the outdoors, scared of fish and fishing, unable to eat or sleep. His body would twitch as if jolts of electricity were zapping him, his body was restless. He was unable to leave the room, unable to go to school or to do his normal routine, and I was unable to leave his side, to work. This has been most of his days since September 21. After introducing some anti-inflammatory supplements and round the clock IBprofen on October 12, we began to see lower symptoms of anxiety/OCD days, we saw glimpses of good old Gabe, and even had two wonderful hours where he went fishing again! These glimpses were short lived and accompanied by the body twitching and other uncomfortable symptoms that have him on a daily emotional roller coaster. We visited several local doctors over the last few weeks and even landed ourselves in the ER, to no avail.
Then finally, through two wonderful local mothers we were introduced to a disorder that their kiddos had suffered and are being treated for. Although painstaking to hear their stories, it was also a welcomed blessing to point us in the right direction to getting the help Gabe so desperately needs and still awaits.
These sudden onset of symptoms are medically known as PANS or PANDAS. PANS stands for Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome. PANDAS is associated with strep.
When a child becomes ill with PANDAS or PANS, the brain becomes inflamed, unleashing a cascade of seemingly unrelated symptoms that may look like mental illnesses, behavioral problems or neurological issues. PANDAS or PANS may hit suddenly and affects each child differently. The family must learn a new language in order to take care of the PANDAS/PANS child. Gabriel is experiencing symptoms such as severe OCD , Tourette's, Extreme ADHD and many others, due to a faulty immune response when exposed to certain bacterias or viruses. This fascinating medical discovery is sadly under recognized by many medical professionals leading too often to misdiagnosis and improper treatment, which leads to more and more suffering for the children and families. Thankfully awareness is raising! There are amazing parents out there sharing their stories and amazing professionals who have devoted their life's work to helping PANS/PANDAS kiddos. We feel very fortunate to have found Gabriel one of those professionals, especially since he has had another flare up of crippling symptoms. Although well worth it, most,if not all, PANS/PANDAS specialists are out of state (from where we are located) and not covered by insurance, meaning an out of pocket expense.
Our hope with setting up this campaign is to : 1. Help Heal Gabe, we kindly ask, if you should find it in your hearts to do so, for prayers and positive vibes, and if you should find it in your means, for any monetary donation towards Gabe's journey to healing. 2. To create awareness, it is documented that 1 in every 200 kiddos are experiencing PANS/PANDAS, we need to inform ourselves as parents and loved ones of kiddos, as well as our schools, and our local doctors. 3. If we should be blessed over abundantly we would love to be able to donate excess funds to PANS/PANDAS research and help other families in need of seeing a specialist.
Although I'd much rather be starting a fundraiser to help Gabe start up his dream fishing bait business, or to help him get to a dream fishing spot, this is where God has us right now, and we know all things will be worked together for good.
We have hit many roadblocks but we are incredibly hopeful that he will overcome this and be able to help others with his story of healing and survival!
God Bless!
-Proverbs 13:12
http://www.pandasnetwork.org/understanding-pandaspans/what-is-pans/
http://www.pandasnetwork.org/our-role-and-impact/families-in-the-media/
Gabe is ten years old, he started the 5th grade this year and had been doing very well! He was getting into the Halloween spirit by carving pumpkins and making a costume! On September 21st something drastically switched. Gabe turned and looked at me, he was pale as a ghost and seemed terrified. He then was up all night crying from a sudden onset of intrusive thoughts of worry. Gabe asked what was happening to him and since that day we have been on a determined quest for answers and healing for Gabe. His symptoms continue to persist and at their worst left Gabe confined to his room afraid of the light, terrified of the outdoors, scared of fish and fishing, unable to eat or sleep. His body would twitch as if jolts of electricity were zapping him, his body was restless. He was unable to leave the room, unable to go to school or to do his normal routine, and I was unable to leave his side, to work. This has been most of his days since September 21. After introducing some anti-inflammatory supplements and round the clock IBprofen on October 12, we began to see lower symptoms of anxiety/OCD days, we saw glimpses of good old Gabe, and even had two wonderful hours where he went fishing again! These glimpses were short lived and accompanied by the body twitching and other uncomfortable symptoms that have him on a daily emotional roller coaster. We visited several local doctors over the last few weeks and even landed ourselves in the ER, to no avail.
Then finally, through two wonderful local mothers we were introduced to a disorder that their kiddos had suffered and are being treated for. Although painstaking to hear their stories, it was also a welcomed blessing to point us in the right direction to getting the help Gabe so desperately needs and still awaits.
These sudden onset of symptoms are medically known as PANS or PANDAS. PANS stands for Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome. PANDAS is associated with strep.
When a child becomes ill with PANDAS or PANS, the brain becomes inflamed, unleashing a cascade of seemingly unrelated symptoms that may look like mental illnesses, behavioral problems or neurological issues. PANDAS or PANS may hit suddenly and affects each child differently. The family must learn a new language in order to take care of the PANDAS/PANS child. Gabriel is experiencing symptoms such as severe OCD , Tourette's, Extreme ADHD and many others, due to a faulty immune response when exposed to certain bacterias or viruses. This fascinating medical discovery is sadly under recognized by many medical professionals leading too often to misdiagnosis and improper treatment, which leads to more and more suffering for the children and families. Thankfully awareness is raising! There are amazing parents out there sharing their stories and amazing professionals who have devoted their life's work to helping PANS/PANDAS kiddos. We feel very fortunate to have found Gabriel one of those professionals, especially since he has had another flare up of crippling symptoms. Although well worth it, most,if not all, PANS/PANDAS specialists are out of state (from where we are located) and not covered by insurance, meaning an out of pocket expense.
Our hope with setting up this campaign is to : 1. Help Heal Gabe, we kindly ask, if you should find it in your hearts to do so, for prayers and positive vibes, and if you should find it in your means, for any monetary donation towards Gabe's journey to healing. 2. To create awareness, it is documented that 1 in every 200 kiddos are experiencing PANS/PANDAS, we need to inform ourselves as parents and loved ones of kiddos, as well as our schools, and our local doctors. 3. If we should be blessed over abundantly we would love to be able to donate excess funds to PANS/PANDAS research and help other families in need of seeing a specialist.
Although I'd much rather be starting a fundraiser to help Gabe start up his dream fishing bait business, or to help him get to a dream fishing spot, this is where God has us right now, and we know all things will be worked together for good.
We have hit many roadblocks but we are incredibly hopeful that he will overcome this and be able to help others with his story of healing and survival!
God Bless!
-Proverbs 13:12
http://www.pandasnetwork.org/understanding-pandaspans/what-is-pans/
http://www.pandasnetwork.org/our-role-and-impact/families-in-the-media/
Organizer
Gabriel Meep
Organizer
State College, PA
