An 8-year-old boy was left ‘possessed’ after a throat infection caused him to have tics, random outbursts, and laughing fits.
It was in 2018 when Jack MacLaine, now 10, started complaining of a sore throat to his parents. But they thought nothing of it when the symptoms disappeared.
After a few days, the cheerful boy was suddenly very anxious. His parents, 64-year-old Neil and 44-year-old Alison, were left confused when their son told them he ‘didn’t deserve friends’ and was ‘going to take his clothes off and sit outside until he froze to death.’
His behavior became erratic for months and there was a time when he held a knife to his throat and said he wanted to ‘go to heaven.’
Jack was eventually diagnosed with Pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders or PANDAS syndrome. The condition results in infection-killing antibodies attacking brain cells, causing numerous erratic behavioral changes, such as tics and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
“He was a really sociable eight-year-old. He loved playing football, doing gymnastics, martial arts and being with his friends,” said Jack’s mother. “But in January 2018 that changed overnight.”
Speaking about the first signs, Mrs. MacLaine said: “When we got back in the car to go home, he just kept apologising over and over. He was saying, “I do not deserve to have friends,” and, “I do not deserve to play football.”
“Then that became, “I do not deserve to live”. He said, “When we get home I’m going to take my clothes off and sit outside until I freeze to death”.
“We were really shocked as he’d never said anything like it before. We were asking him if something had happened.
“We thought maybe when he’d been out playing that a bigger person had done something awful to him. He kept saying that nothing had happened and he couldn’t explain why he felt like that.
“There was one moment when he was jumping up and down on my neck laughing this evil laugh and when he spoke it was like it wasn’t his voice. It was as if he was possessed.”
Jack developed a stutter and vocal tics. He would repeat meaningless phrases, became sensitive to smells and noise, and barked like a dog.
“He was very irritable. We felt like we were walking on eggshells around him. He had really severe mood swings and really isolated himself. He couldn’t cope with people,” his mother expressed.
An MRI scan showed nothing unusual, Mrs. MacLaine started conducting some online research and that’s when she came across PANDAS.
After a Skype consultation with Dr. Tim Ubhi, Jack was diagnosed with the condition and the doctor devised a treatment plan of ibuprofen and antibiotic, which the boy’s doctor agreed to.
Many children with PANDAS are misdiagnosed with other conditions, such as autism. If caught early, it can be effectively treated.
“I felt like he was the first person to listen to me,” said Mrs. MacLaine. “Dr Ubhi suggested it could have been caused by a strep infection at the back of the throat, because his strep levels were raised.
“Looking back, about a week before it happened, Jack was complaining of a sore throat, but that was it.”
Only a few days after taking antibiotics, Jack was back to his old self again!
One of the saddest consequences of the condition was the damage it has done to his relationship with little sister Cara, who has become wary of her big brother.
“They were like two peas in a pod before all this, then he withdrew and was really irritable and she didn’t understand what it was about,” Mrs. MacLaine said. “But she is a constant source of love and optimism to us all.”
Mrs. MacLaine has joined forces with the PANS PANDAS UK to help raise awareness of the condition.
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