PANDAS – one word that can destroy one’s future❗️ HELP❗️

I have been watching my son’s suffering for many years! I have been looking for help and begging doctors for it... Now, when we finally have a proper diagnosis, I have to act quickly! I am begging for your help – without it, Marcel does not stand a chance...

My son was a premature baby, but his development was regular at first...and then everything changed. He stopped responding to his name, speaking and started living in his own world. He was diagnosed with autism. Then, he was constantly suffering from infections – ear infections. bronchitis, tonsillitis...  He was always ill and doctors were prescribing more and more antibiotics. 

Just before his fourth birthday, he was so weak that he ended up in hospital. He was diagnosed with severe anaemia and his red blood cells were damaged – a blood transfusion was necessary! I remember the fear, tears and thinking about the worst… Leukaemia? Fortunately not but nobody was able to explain why Marcel’s body destroyed its own red blood cells...

I had been looking for answers everywhere. I visited many specialists but I was always told that "this is typical for autism". But I knew it was something more! Marcel was suffering – he was pointing at his head, chest, crying and screaming...

Fortunately, we found a great dietitian who recommended necessary tests. The results were shocking! It turned out that streptococcal bacteria accumulated in Marcel’s body! This lead us to St. Lukas Centre in Gdansk. 

There, he was properly diagnosed with PANDAS. It is an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks its own brain and causes severe inflammation, changes in behaviour, headaches, anxiety and aggression. Now I know it is not autism but a cruel disease that has been attacking my son!

Marcel underwent tonsillectomy and antibiotic therapy but it is not enough! The only chance to stop this process is immunoglobulin therapy and it has to be started as soon as possible. The therapy has to be started immediately – a delay may cause more damages to his body. Unfortunately the cost ot the therapy is enormous and we do not have the financial means to cover it...

We cannot wait. I am asking with all my heart – helps us gather the funds necessary for Marcel’s treatment! Let’s give him a chance to live without pain, a chance to have a childhood that he has never had...

Marcel’s Mum