Isaac
Garza
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
