Difficulty finding diagnosis for child’s chronic pain
During the COVID-19 lockdown, Courtney, mom of two, noticed that her son, Alex, then 4, began experiencing pain.
“(Our nanny) started telling me, ‘I have to give him Motrin every day, or he has these gigantic meltdowns,’” Courtney tells TODAY.com. “If he had Motrin, he was totally fine." What followed was a three-year search for the cause of the young boy’s increasing pain and other troublesome symptoms, followed by diagnosis help from not a doctor, but an AI tool.
Grinding teeth, exhaustion and moody
After the pain, Alex began chewing things. His parents wondered if his molars were coming in or he had a cavity. They took him to the dentist.
The dentist “ruled everything out” but thought maybe an orthodontist specializing in airway obstruction could help. The orthodontist found that Alex’s palate was too small for his mouth and teeth, which made it tougher for him to breathe at night. She placed an expander in Alex’s palate, and it seemed like things were improving.
Slow growth and imbalance
However, the parents were far from their child’s diagnosis and treatment. The mom noticed Alex had stopped growing taller, so they visited the pediatrician. The pediatrician then referred Alex to physical therapy. The boy seemed to have some imbalances between his left and right sides. “He would lead with his right foot and just bring his left foot along for the ride,” Courtney says.
Migraine and no diagnosis
But before starting physical therapy, Alex had already been experiencing severe headaches that were only getting worse. He visited a neurologist, who said Alex had migraines. He was also taken to an ear, nose and throat doctor to see if he was having sleep problems due to his sinus cavities or airway. In total, they visited 17 different doctors over three years. Still, there was no clear diagnosis that explained all his symptoms.
ChatGPT to the rescue
An exhausted and frustrated Courtney signed up for ChatGPT and used the AI tool to find a diagnosis by entering her son’s medical information.
“I went line by line of everything that was in his (MRI notes) and plugged it into ChatGPT,” she says. “I put the note in there about ... how he wouldn’t sit crisscross applesauce. To me, that was a huge trigger (that) a structural thing could be wrong.”
She eventually found tethered cord syndrome and scheduled an appointment with a new neurosurgeon. She told the doctor that she suspected Alex had tethered cord syndrome. The doctor looked at his MRI images and confirmed that the mom’s diagnosis was correct.
When Courtney finally had a diagnosis for Alex, she experienced "every emotion in the book, relief, validated, excitement for his future."
Tethered cord syndrome diagnosis and treatment
Tethered cord syndrome occurs when the tissue in the spinal cord forms attachments that limit movement of the spinal cord, causing it to stretch abnormally, according to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.
After receiving the diagnosis, Alex underwent surgery to fix his tethered cord syndrome. Alex is still recovering and his mom can see the joy on his face now.
Read more: Nipah virus in Kerala: Symptoms and prevention tips you need to be aware of
Start a Conversation
Post comment