This blog is written by both Rob and Anne-Marie. Indented and italicized paragraphs are written by Rob.
We visited the Clinic for Special Children, in Lancaster, PA. There’s a reason we decided to come here, in the middle of Pennsylvania, Amish community. There’s a man here, Dr. Strauss, a world-renowned specialist in GA-1. He helped create and redesign the formula Reagan drinks, he’s helped with the protocol for treatment and during our meeting, he said things that turned our world upside-down and kept it spinning long after we left.
In the middle of this corn field, is a cutting edge facility filled with people who have seen more GA-1 patients than anyone. You see, the Amish are more prone to genetic disorders due to their small genetic profile. And Dr. Strauss has treated hundreds of children with GA-1 not just in the Amish community, but throughout the world.
He eloquently explained GA-1 and the part of the brain that GA-1 attacks, comparing sections of the “basal ganglia island” to a pizza, with a cheese part and a crust part. He explained that there’s only one type of cell, “located in the crust” and this is the only location in the entire body where this type of cell is located, and that GA-1 only seeks out this type of cell.
After looking at Reagan’s MRI and going through the history of how her crisis unfolded, he confirmed that the manner in which she collapsed is how GA-1 works and that it’s a terrible disorder. He also said that had we done an MRI the day before her crisis, everything would look normal. Her MRI on the day of her crisis proves it was an isolated incident, and shows that the one type of cell this disorder goes after, was destroyed.
We continued our discussion, he said the greatest risk for damage like this is until the age of two. After two, the risk declines greatly, which we already knew. But, what we didn’t know is that if there is a crisis and GA-1 destroys the one type of cell in the crust of the basal ganglia, it’s gone. There are no other cells like that in the brain or the body, and the risk for another crisis is essentially removed.
Now, no one will come right out and definitively put on paper that a crisis will never happen, ever again, but as we spoke to Dr. Strauss our level of stress and anxiety started to ease up. Yes, Reagan will have GA-1 forever, it’s in her DNA, but we can begin de-emphasizing it’s impact in our lives.
Looking back, planning and bringing home Reagan on day two of her life was essentially like moving into our newly constructed dream home. On day four, when we received the devastating news of her genetic disorder and learned about this terrible thing called GA-1, we essentially boarded up the windows and barricaded ourselves inside, as if we were preparing for a category five hurricane. When Reagan had her crisis, our new and perfectly planned home was damaged and we dug in deeper—or to use a phrase only Floridians say during hurricane season, we hunkered down.
But at this appointment and to continue with the analogy, Dr Strauss began to take down the boards that covered our windows to show that the storm had passed. Yes, the storm’s damage had been done, but the damage HAS BEEN mended in a new way, this time with character and uniqueness
GA-1 doesn’t need to define Reagan, and up until this point it has been defining so many of our waking hours.
Now our position is slowly shifting; if she doesn’t drink all her formula, it’s OK. If she doesn’t meet exactly 20g of protein a day, it’s OK. So many times we’ve felt the pressing weight of not meeting a specific protein goal, so much so that we end up begging Reagan to ice cream or cookies to help her meet the protein goal. He gave us a wide range of 18g – 25g of protein for a goal. Just writing that makes me feel more relaxed. This approach, is mainly due to her age and the lowered risks, but also because she’s had a crisis and that particular type of cell is gone.
Dr. Strauss said Reagan reminds him a lot of another GA-1 patient of his. She recently turned 19, is going to college and just got her driver’s license. She also has a movement disorder and had a crisis.
“You will be surprised at how independent she will be.”
I could have cried when Dr. Strauss said that.
Then, we talked about the medicine. He wanted to know why she was on such a concoction of neurological medication. Rob and I discussed that it was due to her movement disorder and everyone being fearful of more seizures. We just thought this is what you do. He colored in our thinking by telling us it’s because when doctors see a problem, it’s like a popped nail and they can’t help but grab a hammer to fix it.
Seizures are a common occurrence during a metabolic crisis, and Reagan had three. But she hasn’t had any since then. We’ve driven ourselves crazy wondering if she hasn’t had seizures due to the medication she’s on, or is it because she’s not prone to have them at all? No one has felt comfortable taking her off the medications because what if she has another seizure? Dr. Strauss likened that line of thinking to walking around with an open umbrella over your head and rain boots on every day because it might rain.
The months following Reagan’s crisis were understandably dark times for both of us, and even though we have emerged from that darkness, it has stuck with us. For the past 4+ years, we celebrate every gain Reagan makes with extreme joy, but there is always a part of us that wonders if it will be taken away. When will GA-1 pull the rug back out from under us? When will this all come crashing back down? Living like that has taken an unseen mental, physical and emotional toll on both AM & I. And when Reagan gets sick, like every child does, we retreat within ourselves, preparing for the worst.
But hearing the words from Dr Strauss “begin de-emphasizing GA-1 and its impacts in our lives” was something freeing for both of us, as if someone had removed the albatross from around our necks. Do we still need to watch what she eats, make sure she drinks her milk (formula), and be cautious when she is sick? Absolutely, but that sort of normal is music to our ears. We can do that.
“Get out from under this dark cloud that her crisis has had on your life. It’s over. It’s never going to happen again.” Those words spoken by Dr. Strauss to us were like a crisp breeze over our face.
I get nervous writing something with such finality and while those were his words, what if he’s wrong? There are others in the medical community of genetics who aren’t so willing to provide guarantees. In medicine and in life, there aren’t guarantees and we understand that. But the freeing feelings Rob and I felt as we sat in that patient room were unmistakable.
What now?
Well, we’re going to start systematically weaning Reagan off her neurological medications, there are four of them and this could take a few years to accomplish. Two things could happen, 1. her movements might increase and 2. she might have a seizure.
If her movements increase, we’ll see by how much or if she’s able to work through them. The benefit of removing some of these medications is her clarity can increase, her behavior and mood could improve, maybe her talking too. The risk and reward have shifted. Before she couldn’t control her arms from flailing, and now she’s trying to run and do ballet twirls and pliés all over the house.
And we’ll pray she doesn’t have any seizures. But we’re putting the rain boots away and our house isn’t going to be boarded up anymore. GA-1 is here to stay, and we have a healthy respect for it, but we’re ready to de-emphasize it in our lives and try to live a more normal life.
