Bennett was a typically developing 7-year-old boy
when he started second grade, the first year back to school full time after COVID-19, without masks. That December, he came down with a string of illnesses, including Flu A, Flu B, and COVID-19. Both of his older brothers tested positive for strep, but Bennett never became symptomatic.
In January, Bennett was sent home from school on three consecutive days with stomach pain. He had also developed a blinking tic and had become nervous and fearful. We took him to his pediatrician’s office and were sad to hear that his primary doctor had switched practices. We saw a new, unfamiliar Nurse Practitioner who listened to Bennett’s symptoms and, without examining him, diagnosed him as being constipated. She told us that his blinking tic was “just dry eyes.” She sent us home with Miralax.
The next morning, our worst nightmare began. Bennett woke from bed drenched in sweat and urine. He kept saying he was afraid. “I’m afraid of sticking up my middle finger. I’m afraid I might say a swear word. I’m afraid that I killed somebody”.
He began confessing minor transgressions and demonstrated auditory hallucinations, panic attacks, and increased motor tics. He was wracked by fear. He begged me to get him to a new school so that he could make new memories.
A Google search of “rapid onset OCD in children” led me to PANDAS, and I knew we had our answer. We called our primary doctor and got an appointment at his new office within a few days. By some miracle, he believed our story and was willing to start Bennett on antibiotics and swabbed him for strep. Though he wasn’t comfortable treating Bennett’s PANDAS completely, he helped us when we were at our most desperate, and we are forever thankful.
I was able to get a cancellation with a functional medicine doctor in our state via telehealth within a few days, and we began piecing together the puzzle that is Bennett’s story. She prescribed us continued antibiotics, got us started on anti-inflammatory medications, and helped us gather herbal treatments to help ease Bennett’s symptoms.
Since our difficult journey began, we have built an entire team of specialists and continue to work every day toward total healing.
Two years later, Bennett is largely in remission these days, though he still struggles with lingering OCD and motor tics, and he still flares in response to infections and immune stressors.
We try to spread the word about PANDAS wherever we can because we know that early treatment can save lives. We know that someday, there will be a cure for PANDAS. Until that time, we will keep fighting.
We will never give up!
Gabriella True
