Emerson is a very sweet young man. He is 12 years old, 6 feet tall, and is my gentle giant. He stopped eating drinking and speaking in mid-June. A telehealth appointment provided nausea medication, which proved ineffective, so I brought him into the emergency room, where they admitted him and diagnosed as G.I. issues. I followed up with his brand new primary care provider the following day (after our release) where he was given three immunizations. Adverse reactions can occur. On July 1, 9 days later, he broke out in hives, had awful back pain and stomach pain, and had drastic personality changes. Unlike my normally sweet young man, he became angry and agitated. I gave him Benadryl, cortisone cream, and a heating pad. The hives seemed to clear up and he seemed somewhat better the next day, although still agitated, just not as much. July 3rd, that completely changed. That evening, Emerson started hallucinating, saying wild things, and became violent. My oldest son and I called around to find assistance in caring for him. We were told “no” repeatedly. I finally arrived on a helpful organization through DCFS. They informed me that I should call the ambulance and request transport to a specific facility, so I did. They told me they were on their way soon. They sent Metropolitan police to our home. Upon their arrival, they went upstairs to his bedroom, asked him to come with them. He complied while I he stopped for just a moment to follow him immediately outside. I went to grab my house keys (because I assumed I would be riding in the ambulance with him). I locked up the house, followed them, and then saw my son, my 12 year-old CHILD with his head on the police car and his hands behind his back. The ambulance pulls up soon after that, where are they then proceeded to make an already traumatic situation even worse. Emerson acted more erratic on the ambulance ride. Then when we arrived at the emergency room, it was awful behavior. The emergency room staff was extraordinarily unhelpful. They insisted that my son was just autistic and experiencing the effects of puberty, and that caused psychosis so far beyond his baseline behavior. They had no answers for any of the physical symptoms that he presented, and instead just repeatedly insisted it was just autism and puberty that exhibited as psychosis. I insisted again that there was something physical that caused this issue to begin with, that I wasn’t sure what it was, but that what this was happening was not autism and puberty. My dear son has BEEN in puberty. I have already successfully raised one child to adulthood and I know damn well that that wasn’t what it was. They were discriminating against my son. But, I digress. While in the emergency room, I repeatedly had no choice but to deal with a staff that would not be quiet. Literally all night long while my child and I were attempting to sleep, they were hooting and hollering all damn night right next to our open door. Additionally, they trash-talked fellow parents and fellow pediatric patients, as well as their own fellow staff in ridiculous ways, including mocking, laughing, and cracking jokes at the expense of children in their care. They held us in the emergency room for three or four days. Forgive me right now. I am so exhausted I can’t recall the exact number of days. They repeatedly insisted that it was nothing physical and that it was just all a psychiatric incident, unprovoked out of nowhere, and had no desire to conduct further test testing beyond minor blood work. Finally someone listened and they admitted us to ICU. They ran tons of tests, however due to the delay in testing, many of the tests are showing as negative. They have continued pumping him full of fluids and antipsychotic medication, instead of treating the organic problem that started this all along. Therefore, he’s not showing a lot of improvement. They have refused to admit that it could be a possible immunization reaction — which does occur. They declined to prevent any evidence that it is anything at all, but they keep insisting that is just a psychiatric problem and nothing more. I’m well aware that he is suffering from psychiatric problems, however, that is not what caused the physical problems and this manifested because of them. Because of their delays, Emerson is now experiencing tongue swelling, lip swelling, rigidity in his body, and continuous, abnormal behavior while they just insisted it is nothing to be concerned with at all. They have considered flying him to other organizations on the West Coast to provide the care that he needs. However, at this time I have been unable to work. I am seeking assistance with household bills and upcoming medical bills during this difficult time, although it is hard for me to ask for help at all. I am here asking for my child. Emerson, while on the spectrum, has mild autism, he’s mostly highly functioning and has a very sweet disposition — with the exception of a few instances, where he behaved as a normal child trying to figure out the world. He routinely engages in “I love you more” debates with me, loves his cats, adores his brothers, and enjoys all things FNAF, Stranger Things, Super Nintendo, animatronics, and Wii.