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"We Watch
1 When You Can't"
WE PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING SERVICES:
• Sitter surveillance (hidden camera
rental and set-up).
The Summer Birthday
• In home consultation and literature on
hiring a sitter & general child safety.
GAIL ZIMMERMAN SPECIAL TO THE APPLETREE
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service needs. All services will be provided
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SKIING
M
y son Daniel was
born on a blustery
March day. It was
the first March birthday in our
family, and I quickly learned
about the unpredictability of the
weather. Some birthdays were
mild and sunny. Others brought
blizzards. Birthday party plan-
ning was a challenge.
No matter how creative we
got, though, Danny never could
have exactly the kind of birth-
day party he wanted: one that
took place out-of-doors. "Why
can't we go to a baseball game
or have a pool party?" he'd ask
year after year.
"Because you don't have a
summer birthday," I'd reply.
And I'd make reservations at
Chuck E. Cheese or the Burger
King with the magician or some
other indoor venue that would
hold 15 or so active little boys.
As Danny's 7th birthday ap-
proached, we sent out invita-
tions to another "indoor"
birthday party. It was February,
and he and his younger sister
Julie were both home sick. Julie
got better and returned to nurs-
ery school. Danny just couldn't
seem to shake it.
We'd visit the pediatrician
every few days. "It's just a
virus," one doctor assured me.
A few days later, the diagnosis
was bronchitis. My son grew
more and more lethargic. He
fell asleep putting on his paja-
mas. "Just give him plenty of liq-
uids and keep an eye on him,"
the doctor said.
I stayed home from work the
next day, and Danny and I sat
on the couch watching TV. I
heard a gurgling sound. I called
my son's name, and he didn't
respond.
My husband met us at the
hospital as we pulled up in the
ambulance. They took our child
away and put us in a special
room. A doctor came in to
speak with us. "Your son is hav-
ing a seizure," he said. "We're
trying to stop it"
They finally stabilized Danny
and tested him for every con-
ceivable kind of infection. They
gave him spinal taps and blood
tests. They brought in
specialist after special-
ist, all trying to
figure out what -4(
was wrong with
Danny, why he
wouldn't wake
up.
For four days,
Danny slept After
ruling out every-
thing else, the doctors deter-
mined that Danny had a
"para-infectious encephalopa-
thy." He'd had an autoimmune
reaction. In fighting the virus,
his immune system had timed
on Danny himself, causing en-
cephalitis-like symptoms.
"When he wakes up, it will
take two weeks to two years for
your son to recover," the doc-
tors said. "He may have brain
damage, paralysis, speech diffi-
culties, hearing loss or amne-
sia."
When Danny woke up, he
was like a stroke victim. His
movements were awkward and
slow, his speech slurred. In two
weeks, he was perfectly back to
normal, back in school and
looking forward to his birthday
party — even if it was to be
held indoors.
But about a week before the
party, Danny didn't seem quite
right For the first time since I
could remember, I beat him in
Connect Four, and I was win-
ning at Sorry!, too.
I insisted the pediatrician
meet us at the emergency
room. "There is no way this can
be happening again," she said.
She was wrong.
■ Danny was show-
/ ing signs of an au-
/ toimmune reaction
and was readmit-
ted to the hospi-
tal. The doctors
weren't sure if he
had an allergic reaction
to medication or an intermit-
tent encephalopathy. If the latter
were true, then every time he
caught a cold or other virus, the
same autoimmune reaction
would occur.
The doctors took him off the
medication, and he seemed to
improve. He was released from
the hospital, but the doctors
weren't taking any chances. For
two months Danny would have (,
to stay home from school and
have no contact with other chil-
dren his age. The risk of infec-
tion was too great
Missing school wasn't a prob-
lem for Danny. "But what about
my birthday?" he asked. "This
Gail Zimmerman is assistant editor at The Jewish News. Her son Dan is a college freshman.