What can cause seizures in an infant?

The Al-Mahdhari family received their fourth daughter with a hope to see her sleeping on her small bed as soon as her mother was discharged from Saber private hospital in Mansoura, Aden, where she gave birth.

The baby was born on Friday, March 6 and was to be discharged by the hospital with the mother on Monday morning because the mother, Marwa, had a cesarean. On Sunday night the mother, was having difficulty breathing that she was given oxygen.

“The nurses used to give me the baby four times a day for breast feeding. When they brought her on Sunday night at around 10 P.M. the baby was crying so much and not able to breast feed. I told them that I think she was having difficulty breathing. They took her from me and the next morning they brought her again to me but she was still crying and her nose was bleeding,” said the mother.

The painting was mainly in the reception area and corridors between the incubators where the infants were kept and the maternity ward were the new mothers stay. The father, Toufiq Al-Madrahi suspects that their daughter inhaled the paint while she was going back and forth passing by fresh paint. Three other new born babies died during the same week.

However, the following morning after the shift doctor signed the discharge paper for mother and baby to go home, the little baby was reported dead. She died as a result of inhaling toxic fumes from the newly painted walls of the hospital.

Around eight a.m. on Monday, a doctor brought the baby to her aunt, telling her to urgently rush the baby to another hospital because the baby could not breathe. She died almost at once in the second hospital which diagnosed the cause of death as a severe deficiency in her circulation and respiratory systems. Her death came just four days after she was born.

Al-Madrahi, claimed that he has a forensic medical report stating the cause of death.

“They painted the hospital in the presence of patients and new born children. The components used in painting are dangerous and cause asphyxiation. This resulted in three children’s deaths, and my newborn child was the fourth,” said Al-Mahdhari. “Those who killed my daughter by their carelessness are no different from Israeli soldiers who kill Gaza’s children with their guns.”

Following the death of his daughter, Al-Mahdhari filed a complaint to all concerned authorities, including the Ministry of Health. Accordingly, the ministry sent a committee to inspect the hospital’s internal environment and to check the painting and toxic fumes complaint.

The committee issued a report stating that the maternity ward is agreeable with medical standards except for the painting issue, which they highlighted. The report indicated that there was a smell of fresh paint in the second floor in the maternity ward which can cause asphyxiation, especially for new born children.

The committee retrieved the files of the mother and child in question to follow up on the case.

Although the law of medical negligence has been issued since 2000, it is still questionable why no authority takes responsibility for executing it. Many victims of medical negligence are losing their rights due to the absence a formal legal system used as a reference point for negligence disputes.

Al-Madrahi’s daughter’s forensic report proves that the cause of the newborn girl’s death was inhalation of harmful chemicals which inflame respiratory tissues. It is regarded as harmful for adults too.

“My daughter was a healthy baby. The hospital’s carelessness was the only cause of her death” said Al-Mahdhari, who is currently suing the hospital, accusing them of causing the wrongful death of his child.

“The Ministry of Health can not demand or be responsible for closing any hospital because of its administration policies, even if there were medical mistakes, unless the court sentences its closure. However, we may close a hospital for other legislative reasons, such as if it has no license,” said Dr. Assem Al-Samaoy, the general director of private medical buildings in the Ministry of Health.

Regarding medical negligence cases, Al- Samaoy added that it is the responsibility of the Supreme Medical Council and not the Ministry of Health’s responsibility.

Although the Supreme Medical Council is regarded as the formal place for anyone who suspects medical negligence or medical malpractice, most doctors and hospitals either do not know of this council or do not acknowledge it.

Consequently, the plaintive of any medical negligence case is not aware of who will bring the negligent person responsible. Furthermore, there are no practical steps to implement this law according to concerned bodies such as the Ministry of Health and the Doctors’ Syndicate.

“People whose children died in Saber Hospital were misinformed that it was the will of God, and they accepted that blindly,” said Al-Mahdhari. “When people’s carelessness is the reason, then why do they regard it as a matter of fate or God’s will?” he asked.

However, one of the reasons that results in postponing any practical steps of establishing the Supreme Medical Council is the random work of Doctors Syndicates, Al-Samaoy regarded. “There are three syndicates of doctors: the Doctors’ Syndicate, the Pharmacists Syndicate, and the Dentists Syndicate. These three do not cooperate and they all work independently from each other,” he said.

Although the autopsy done for the little baby proves the cause of death, Saber hospital does not consider the report to be credible because it was done by an independent agency and not by the government.

Yemen Times attempted to contact Saber Hospital staff but the deputy director, Mr. Waheeb Al-Kazmi, refused to comment except to deny that these are all false accusations against the hospital.







Paint and your health

Liquid paint and varnish removers are among the most toxic products used in homes and workshops. The active ingredients inmost common paint removers are organic solvents which may damage the skin, eyes, respiratory tract, nervous system, and internal organs. Special precautions must be taken in their use, especially if there are children present who might come in contact with either the material or its vapors. Paint stripper formulations in paste form are less hazardous than the liquid forms because they only contain around 50% solvents rather than 100% as found in the liquid forms.



Respiratory System Damage

All solvents can irritate the sensitive membranes of the nose and throat to varying degrees. Solvent concentrations which can irritate nose and throat membranes also may be capable of damaging sensitive lung tissue. These inhaled substances commonly enter the blood stream here they can attack other internal organs and the nervous system.



Skin Diseases

All solvents can cause skin disease (dermatitis) by dissolving the skin’s natural protective barrier of oils. If the skin experiences enough direct contact with a solvent, it can turn dry and white and become cracked and fissured. In case of skin or eye contact, wash immediately to avoid burns and other serious damage.



Damage to Internal Organs

Dermal contact with paint remover solvents, besides causing deterioration of the skin, can result in absorption through the skin. Damage to the skin may lead to greater penetration of the solvents, resulting in internal organ injury. Chronic exposure may damage the liver and kidneys, which are responsible for detoxification and elimination of toxic chemicals from the body. Certain solvents can cause heart damage. Benzene, an ingredient in paint removers up until 1978, can damage bone marrow, causing aplastic anemia and leukemia.



Brain and Nervous System Damage

The most commonly experienced symptom of acute solvent exposure is narcosis or intoxication resulting from the solvent causing depression of the central nervous system (CNS). Drinking or inhaling grain or ethyl alcohol produces similar results. CNS depression can produce varied symptoms including irritability, fatigue, headaches, dizziness, sleepiness, loss of coordination and reflexes, nausea, and a staggering gait. Although these acute effects are reversible if exposure to the solvent is discontinued, narcosis symptoms are an indication of overexposure to a solvent. Chronic exposure may cause permanent brain damage, including behavioral changes, loss of memory, decreased intellectual abilities, confusion, seizures, etc.

Source: www.naturalhandyman.com

Easter Lily can cause seizures in your pets

The gorgeous lily makes its appearance each year, decorating church, home, and garden. This year, I brought one home myself—and promptly asked my husband to take it to his office. I didn’t want to risk having my Easter lily anywhere near my cat Seren. For cats, the fragrant blooms can mean death.

Many lilies are lethal to cats. Easter lilies, stargazer lilies, and Asiatic lilies are the most dangerous, and different cats react in various ways. The plants contain a chemical that can damage the kidneys, and kill your cat. Just biting a leaf or petal, or licking up the water from the vase can be enough to cause serious kidney disease.
Dogs often gnaw leaves, dig up the plant, or eat the whole thing. Cats aren’t as likely to eat plants, but just biting a lily leaf or petal can kill kitty. Felines more often paw-pat and shred leaves and stems during play, and may be poisoned when they later lick and clean their paws and claws.

Cats poisoned by lily toxin typically suffer kidney failure within 36 to 72 hours. Symptoms include vomiting, lethargy or loss of appetite. Some cats suffer permanent kidney damage and lose their lives, while others can recover if treated in time with dialysis that gives the organs enough time to heal.

The easiest way to protect your cats is to keep toxic plants out of reach—or out of your house altogether. Besides lilies, other potential harmful plants include rhododendron, sago palm, kalanchoe and schefflera. Azalea can cause vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, coma and death. Eating or chewing caladium, dieffenbachia or philodendron makes the tongue and throat swell up so breathing is difficult. Mother-in-law’s tongue (snake plant) causes everything from mouth irritation to collapse. Crown of thorns and English ivy will prompt thirst, vomiting and diarrhea, stomach pain, and death in one to two days. Holly also causes stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea.

There are many other plants that prompt mild problems, such as excess salivation or mouth discomfort. Keeping these out of reach of curious paws may be sufficient to protect your animals. But pet lovers should steer clear of the worst plant offenders, both inside and out.

If you see your pet with one or more of these signs, particularly if a suspect plant is within reach, get help immediately! First aid can save the cat or dog’s life. Then take the pet to see the veterinarian as quickly as possible.

Different poisons require very specific first aid. Usually that will be either 1) induce vomiting, or 2) give milk or water to wash out the mouth and dilute the poison. Making the pet vomit the wrong poisonous plant, though, could make a serious situation even more deadly, so you MUST know what to do for each type of plant.

Detailed advice for dealing with the most common plant poisoning is available in the book The First-Aid Companion for Dogs and Cats. The ASPCA Animal Poison-Control Center is available for telephone consultations (1-888-426-4435) in case of poisoning emergency.

You can keep your pet family members safe and sound by choosing only pet-friendly safe varieties for your garden and home. Callalilies and peace lilies, which don’t belong to the Lilium genus, are harmless to cats.

For an exhaustive list of nontoxic plants (as well as a listing of poisonous ones!), go to www.aspca.org to visit the Animal Poison Control Center page (halfway down the left side of the homepage). Listen to the online radio podcast Pet Peeves (at www.petliferadio.com) for more insight on Episode #6 titled “Deadly Temptations.”

Amy D. Shojai, an IAABC Certified animal Behavior Consultant, is a nationally known pet care specialist and author of 22 pet books including The First-Aid Companion for Dogs & Cats. Subscribe to her free monthly e-newsletter Pet Peeves at her website www.shojai.com

HHV-6 infection causes seizures in young children

The recently discovered human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) appears to be both a passenger and a pathogen. This often silent virus which belongs to the Betaherpesvirinae subfamily and infects human indiscriminately, has now been shown to be active cause of some neurologic disease in children and possibly in adults, experts said at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.

A survey conducted in the British Isles from October 1998 through September 2001 showed that 8% of patients (13 of 156) under the age of 2 years with encephalitis who had fever and convulsions had primary HHV-6 infection. However, much remains unknown about the actual mechanism by which the virus causes disease.

Investigators are now looking into the pathogenicity of this virus in older children and in adults. Some of the data presented at the meeting also suggest that this virus is unique among the human herpesviruses, because in some individuals HHV-6 becomes incorporated into the human chromosomes.

They think that about 1% of people are born with this virus. If a person has this virus integrated into their chromosomes, it is in their germ line. So, they have inherited it from either their mother of their father. Since the virus is in chromosomes and is therefore in every cell in the body, such people are absolutely full of vial DNA. It is even in their hair follicles, a consultant virologist at the Royal Free & University College Medical School, London said.

Just because the virus is in the chromosomes doesn’t mean that it is multiplying or that it is an active infection. This is something that is entirely new in terms of herpes viruses and does not jive with how herpes viruses have been viewed.

Right now, the whole field is open. There is so much they still don’t know. It has long been known that primary HHV-6 infection in young children causes exanthema subitum, a rash illness with high fever, but the severe neurologic disease is new and surprising. It is unknown how this virus affects normal adults. However, it always remains as a passenger in the body and in immunocompromised adults — that is, stem-cell transplant and solid organ recipients — it causes encephalitis. It is fatal in bone marrow transplant patients; 40% of those who become sick with this virus will die.

The take-home message for primary care physicians is that in some children, HHV-6 may cause a severe neurologic illness with prolonged seizures requiring supportive therapy, including ventilation and sedation. Furthermore, in the 1% of individuals where the virus is integrated into chromosomes, high levels of viral DNA will be found in blood and in cerebrospinal fluid, which may confuse the diagnosis with a variety of conditions.

Seizures and Shaken Baby Syndrome

There were statistics, graphics and numerous handouts.

But the primary teaching tool that Royane Walker used to warn about shaken baby syndrome is her grand-daughter, an angelic-faced, wheel-bound 8-year-old girl named Madison.

“We'll never be sure what happened,” said Walker, who has legal guardianship of Madison. “My daughter was at work. Her father was frustrated and shook her. It only took three seconds. She was nine weeks old. She'll be nine weeks old for the rest of her life.”

Walker and another adult daughter, Maggie Kershaw, presented a 90-minute program on Monday to teacher Thomas Howe's class at the I Avenue Community Day School, a program for at-risk teens who don't fit into a typical high school environment.

“Stop it!” Kershaw said as she carried a special doll to demonstrate the dangers of SBS into the classroom. She quickly shook the doll several times, causing lights to illuminate inside the doll’s plastic head. “This is exactly what you don't want to do with a baby.”

According to Kershaw, such rapid, violent jerks of a baby's head can cause severe brain damage, even death. Typically, SBS causes paralysis, seizures and convulsions. A victim, such as Madison, can also lose her ability to suck or swallow and must be fed through a tube in her stomach. Many become blind or lose peripheral vision.

And many victims are male, perhaps because boys are frequently higher-strung than girls, prompting frustration by a parent. Statistically, most perpetrators are the baby's father, or the mother's boyfriend, she added.

“Take a deep breath,” Kershaw suggested to the future parents. “Count to 10. Read a good, inspirational poem or book, and always call for help. Remind yourself that the crying will end. You want to try everything you can think of.”

According to Howe, the one-time class will encourage students to become productive and helpful community members. Not only do some of Howe’s students have infant siblings at their homes, but two male students are expecting to become young fathers in a matter of months.

For the full story, read Wednesday's edition of the Daily Press. Call now to take advantage of our subscription special, 12 weeks for $25 (regular price is 12 weeks for $37.50). To subscribe to the Daily Press, call 241-7755 or click here.

Seizures, a main cause of car accidents

My Injury Board Colleague Randy Appleton recently reported about an accident that occurred when a woman blacked out while driving. Too often accidents happen and the driver doesn't remember a thing. The police officer investigating the accident determines that the driver suffered a blackout and that led to the accident.

Not only is is tragic circumstances when the accident results in someone being injured, now the driver is left with the scary questions as to what caused the blackout. Doctors will look for a medical condition - seizure, epilepsy, heart problems, diabetes, etc - that caused the blackout. But now there may be another answer - Chantix.

Chantix is a medication that is used to help people quit smoking. While many people say that is has helped them in this regard, the side effects experienced were worse than the smoking habit. Chantix has been linked to seizures, suicides, heart problems, and diabetes. There have also been numerous reports of traffic accidents due to blackouts while the affected driver was taking Chantix. I think that it is telling that the Federal Aviation Administration will not allow pilots to be taking Chantix and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has banned operators of tractor trailer trucks from using this prescription drug.

If an accident happens due to a driver blackout, Chantix needs to be added to the list of consideration for potential causes.

Lyme Disease and seizures

Ashley Miller tossed a pack of needles and syringes onto a table while a nurse took notes on a sheet of paper.

“What’s your pain level today?” the nurse asked, looking for a number between one and 10, with 10 being the worst.

“About an eight,” Miller said, arranging her 100-pound, 5-foot-3-inch frame into a reclining chair.

“Where does it hurt?”

“My jaw, neck, knees and wrists,” Miller said.

“Still using the wheelchair around school?”

“Yes.”

Miller, a 20-year-old student at Methodist University, suffers from Lyme disease, a tick-borne illness that’s wreaked havoc on her joints and nerves and caused her to have seizures.

While the disease itself is a certainty — Miller has tested positive for the bacteria that causes it — the idea of long-term, or chronic, Lyme disease is hotly disputed in the medical community.

As a result, Miller’s insurance doesn’t pay for her medical visits or the 20-plus pills she takes every day.

It’s also why her doctor, after trying to help for two years, has nearly given up.

“He’s either running out of ideas, or he thinks I’m beyond the scope of his practice,” she said.

Every week, Miller goes to Home Choice Partners to have the needle changed on an intravenous port that has been surgically implanted into her skin, just under her right collarbone.

She receives medicine and needles in the mail once a week so she can inject herself daily with antibiotics.

Miller thinks she contracted the disease while conducting a science experiment in the woods near her high school, Reid Ross Classical.

Since then, her condition has worsened. Her joints and muscles have become so weak that she uses a portable wheelchair to get to classes on campus.

Miller is one of thousands of people across the country in a similar situation, said Pat Smith, president of the Lyme Disease Association, a New Jersey-based advocacy group for Lyme disease patients and the doctors who treat them.

Smith said treating Lyme disease for longer than a few weeks can put doctors into tricky territory, one in which insurers won’t pay and doctors can lose their licenses for over-treating patients.

The Infectious Diseases Society of America, which sets the guidelines for the treatment of Lyme disease, advises doctors against long-term antibiotic therapy, saying it’s unproven, potentially dangerous and expensive.

Once the guidelines were set, most of the medical community and insurance companies followed suit.

“The guidelines became a de facto law,” Smith said.

Basically, Smith said, “the guidelines say there is no such thing as chronic Lyme disease.”

It also means there’s not an approved treatment, either.

But some patients, such as Miller, believe the long-term antibiotic therapy — and other treatments not included in the guidelines — could be the only hope they have for a cure.

“There are so few doctors nationwide willing to take risks,” Smith said. “There’s a huge amount of risk for treating Lyme disease long-term.”

For several years, battles about the definition, diagnosis and treatment of chronic Lyme disease have been waged in medical journals, courtrooms, boardrooms and legislatures.

Lyme disease was discovered in the 1970s by Dr. Allan Steere, a rheumatologist at Yale University who interviewed several adults and children suffering from juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.

Steere eventually found the patients had a disease caused by bacteria transmitted by a tick. He named it Lyme arthritis, and later Lyme disease, after Lyme and Old Lyme, Conn., where the disease was first found.

Since then, thousands have been diagnosed with the disease, which can be cured with antibiotics if discovered in its early stages.

The disease often is characterized by a round rash that appears a few days after the initial bite and spreads over time, sometimes forming into the shape of a bull’s eye, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Doctors also can diagnose Lyme disease based on other symptoms, such as facial palsy, arthritis, and a history of possible exposure to infected ticks, the CDC sayd.

Some laboratory tests help, but they aren’t always reliable, said Dr. Megan Davies, a medical epidemiologist at the N.C. Division of Public Health.

If not caught early, symptoms can become murkier and include muscle and joint pain, arthritis, cognitive defects, sleep disturbance or fatigue, the CDC says.

In the eastern United States, black-legged ticks transmit the disease, usually in their nymphal stage in spring or early summer, Davies said.

North Carolina reports a relatively small number of Lyme disease cases every year, compared with states in the Northeast, where thousands of cases are found.

The largest number of cases North Carolina has seen was in 2003, when 156 were reported to the CDC.

Last year, 50 cases were reported, Davies said.

Part of the reason for lower numbers could be under-reporting and under-diagnosis, but it’s also a result of the ecology, Davies said.

In the South, the nymphal stage of the black-legged tick tends to feed on reptiles rather than rodents or small mammals.

Reptiles are not good hosts for the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. As a result, bacteria don’t survive as easily and are less likely to infect humans, Davies said.

“It’s a natural phenomenon that seems to be protecting mammals in this area,” she said.

Search for a cure

While that could be good news to people afraid of contracting the disease, it’s cold comfort to Miller, who keeps searching for a cure.

She plans to go to a doctor in South Carolina who treats patients for the disease exclusively. It’s a pricey proposition — $750 for a first-time consultation, with treatments that aren’t necessarily sanctioned by the greater medical and scientific communities.

But so far, Miller said, it’s all she’s got.

Staff writer Jennifer Calhoun can be reached at calhounj@fayobserver.com or 486-3595.

Alcohol and seizures

IT HAS been confirmed that alcohol causes depression. Depression is an enduring feeling of hopelessness, sadness, unhappiness and causes a bleak and dull outlook towards life. And when we are suffering from depression we cannot be at the top of our game. It is hard to function at our best when we are fatigued and are experiencing a general lack of interest, also caused by depression. It may as well be significant to point out here that depression causes anxiety. So people who suffer from depression will also have episodes of anxiety.

Since alcohol is a recognised depressant, it stands to reason people with depression should not drink. This applies to people suffering from hyper depression too. Studies have revealed that doctors do not diagnose correctly for almost 65 per cent of people who are depressed.

The depression caused by alcohol actually starts with our physical body. First, alcohol lowers the serotonin and nor epinephrine levels in our brain. These chemicals are the chemicals that give us a element of good feelings: a feeling of well being and they help us to feel normal. The anti-depressant drugs were intended to build these chemicals back. After a long drinking session, since alcohol can take these brain chemicals down to ground zero, it can take a long time for the anti-depressants to bring these brain chemical levels back to where they need to be.

Alcohol also nullifies the effects of stress hormones. This is why after drinking we feel worse than ever, because alcohol depresses our nervous system and our brain. A study was done that go behind people, who were only drinking one drink a day and later than these people stopped drinking for three months, their depression scores better. And that is only at one drink a day, so it is simple to visualise the impact the kind of volume an alcoholic takes in daily can have.

Alcohol wipes out every vitamin in our system after a drinking session. A folic acid deficiency will add the brain aging and in older people, dementia. The folic acid deficiency also adds to overall depression. Further, the alcohol in our body also breaks down and speeds the elimination of antioxidants in our blood.

Antioxidants are seriously important to our health because antioxidants fight free radicals and free radical injure causes diseases and aging. Our immune system in fact creates the antioxidants, which then neutralise the free radicals.

Alcohol can activate a gene that has been linked to depression and other mental problems. The outcome of this activation can cause not only depression, but seizures and manic depressive episodes too. Although the majority of problem drinkers associate depression with their mental and emotional states, the fact is this kind of depression originates in our physical body's response to drinking alcohol.

An important characteristic of the disease of alcoholism is that it is progressive. Most people only consider of the progression of the disease in terms of quantity and occurrence consumed. But it is as well progressive in the severity of the consequences incurred from nonstop use. Alcohol affects social and relationship problems, health, psychological and cognitive functioning and moral and spiritual problems.

Lupus and seizures?

Only in retrospect could Wendy Rogers recognize the early, somewhat mundane, symptoms: strange rashes and redness around her face, little pimples on the bridge of her nose.

In college, she had an episode of extreme dizziness, almost vertigo, and spent a week undergoing tests and an MRI.

"The doctor told me I had a brain tumor," the Torrance woman said. "I knew I didn't have a brain tumor. Are you crazy?"

Turns out, she was right. But the diagnosis, which didn't come until years later, wasn't much better — Rogers, 36, has an incurable autoimmune disease called lupus. Not knowing much about it, she says it didn't sound so bad at first.

That was before the grand mal seizures, months in the hospital, chemotherapy, kidney failure, dialysis, plasma treatments and a blood transfusion. She currently takes two dozen medications.

The emotional carnage was no less painful — she lost her marriage and her career as a teacher.

"It's been hard," she said. "I've had to give up a lot of things. It's been worse than I ever imagined."

Rogers needs a kidney transplant. For now, she undergoes dialysis three days a week, three hours each sitting.

Between doctors appointments and work with support groups, Rogers is now a national spokeswoman for lupus awareness.

"Lupus is like anything else," said Duane Peters, senior director of communications at the Lupus Foundation of America. "The earlier you know about it, the earlier you can start treatment and the better your chances."

The foundation, along with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council, is launching a widespread campaign featuring video clips, sound bytes and testimonials of eight women across the country who have lupus.

Rogers is among them, and will be featured in the two-year campaign that is expected to reach 33,000 media outlets across the country.

The campaign was spawned in part because of the experience of women such as Rogers. Most aren't diagnosed until the disease has already ravaged the body's organs, making treatment more difficult and life more painful.

More than half of the women surveyed for the campaign said they started noticing symptoms an average of four years before diagnosis, Peters said.

"We want to shorten that period," he said. "If you experience joint pain, overwhelming fatigue, skin rashes or hair loss it might be something to ask your doctor about."

The disease strikes mostly women 15 to 44 years old. Black women are about three times more likely to contract lupus, a disorder of the immune system.

Joint pain, swelling and rashes are common because the immune system is essentially attacking itself and, later, the organs it is supposed to protect.

Rogers was diagnosed at age 27. She didn't understand the full implications of lupus, however, until she and some friends took a trip to Palm Springs and hiked in 114-degree weather.

"I was so tired," she said. "I can't even explain it. It's like suddenly your body is made of lead."

Because the skin is a major organ, exposure to sun can cause lupus "flare-ups" when the disease becomes active. The incident put Rogers in the hospital for six months.

It was then she learned she also had two blood disorders, one that causes excessive bleeding, the other that causes blood clotting. Her kidneys were under siege; they weren't filtering any of the toxins out of her body.

Shortly after her diagnosis, Rogers and her husband split up and divorced. Her mother moved from Texas to take care of her, and her 19-year-old daughter pitched in, too.

She was into her first year as a teacher - a profession she fell in love with, though a slight detour from her dream of becoming an optometrist - when she resigned to focus on her health. Rogers now lives on disability, thankful she had medical coverage through her former employer.

Throughout the process, however, Rogers, a quick-witted and outspoken advocate, challenged her doctors to dig deeper and find the right treatment. At one point, after her doctor said she would need a blood transfusion, she acknowledges she "lost it."

"It was quite a scene," she said, smiling, shaking her head. "It was a genuine moment of insanity. I used to be a cheerleader, and I know I have a loud mouth."

Finally, her doctor grabbed her by the shoulders, and said firmly three times: "Don't give up."

"I don't know what happened, but finally I heard him," she said. "When I heard that, I realized that God is in control of this situation, and I'm going to make it through. I knew then that I was going to be all right."

melissa.evans@dailybreeze.com

Seizures and Autism often co-exist

As people around the country observe National Autism Awareness Month, families in the Lakes Region who have children with autism, along with families facing other developmental disabilities, are planning to meet with the New Hampshire Senate Finance Committee to urge it to restore the funds needed in the state budget to reduce the number of people on waiting lists for services.

While a state law passed in 2007 requires that waiting lists be eliminated, Governor John Lynch's proposed budget has no money set aside to serve those on the waiting lists for developmental disability and acquired brain injury services.

The services, provided through the state Bureau of Developmental Services, include nursing or home health aid care and occupational and other types of therapy.

According to the bureau, it would need $27 million over the next biennium to continue to pare down the wait list per the state law. It is supposed to be provided to people with developmental disabilities when they reach the age of 21, which is the age they can no longer attend public school.

Until the age of 21, people with developmental disabilities receive services from various public school systems under federal law.

Lisa DiMartino of Gilford has a 13-year-old son, John Michael, who has both Cornelia de Lange syndrome and autism.

She helped organize the hearing, which will take place Tuesday, April 14, at Laconia Middle School at 5 p.m.

Locally, DiMartino said, there are 31 developmentally disabled adults on the waiting list for services.

DiMartino said that, although her son has several years to go before he will need added state services during the day, she wants to advocate for other families now and make sure the funding is still a priority when John Michael turns 21.

"We worry about the future of our children," DiMartino said. "When a developmentally disabled person turns 21 and there is no funding for services, it means the person sits at home and their parents will either have to quit their jobs to be with their children or spend a lot of money to pay for services."

John Michael was diagnosed with Cornelia de Lange syndrome when he was six-months-old.

DiMartino said the syndrome is a genetic disorder that causes seizures and developmental delays.

She added that her son also was diagnosed with autism when he was 10-years-old.

DiMartino works for Lakes Region Community Service Council as its family-to-family coordinator and as the legislative liaison.

She also organizes local support groups, one in the Lakes Region for families with an autistic member and one in the Plymouth area for families with members who have special needs.

Melissa Drew of Gilford is the mother of Liam Drew-Huckins, 11, who was diagnosed with autism at 18 months old.

Drew said he had started talking and seemed to be developing at an average pace when "everything stopped."

"He stopped talking, started spinning, had blank stares," Drew recalled, adding it seemed she went from having a child to a shell of a child.

Shortly after being diagnosed, Drew said, her son received early intervention services which helped him learn how to communicate and accomplish other tasks.

Currently Liam can say very few words so he communicates mostly nonverbally. He and his mother communicate with hand gestures and Liam has a computer that helps him express what he wants or needs. The touch-screen computer has picture symbols for words and phrases and, when he touches the symbols, a computerized voice is emitted from the machine.

Drew said that, with the computer, she has been able to ask Liam about his day.

Like a typical young boy, Liam usually doesn't want to talk about school, but he'll excitedly seek out and play words that indicate what he did in the community that day.

Both Liam and John Michael attend Gilford Middle School. Liam is in fifth grade and John Michael is in sixth grade. They both have occupational coaches provided by a company that contracts with the Gilford School District and helps them throughout the school day. They escort the boys to their classes and bring them out into the community during part of the day to learn basic skills such as shopping and counting money or to volunteer at places such as food pantries and libraries.

Drew said Liam loves going to the library and has very strong word recognition skills. He also has been riding horses for the past three years and enjoys visiting one of his school service providers at her home because she has horses.

Since Liam was little, Drew said, service providers have taught him through a method called Applied Behavior Analysis.

"It's a type of therapy they use to get him to come out more, positive reinforcements to produce the behavior response one is looking for and to help avoid unwanted responses," she said.

Both Liam and John Michael receive services after school.

John Michael has providers that help him with basic skills and occupational therapy. Liam receives care from nursing aids or assistants who help him with daily hygiene and other tasks.

Drew said Liam needs 24/7 care, as he is impulsive. He has started three kitchen fires in the past due to a fascination with knobs.

She said the last kitchen fire began in a microwave when Drew went to take a shower and Liam put food in the microwave and set the timer for 10 minutes.

"It's constant hands-on with our children," DiMartino said. "If he's not watched, he'll run out in the street, go off with strangers."

One positive development over the past year is the friendship that has blossomed between Liam and John Michael.

Liam moved to the area with his mother last year from the Merrimack area.

DiMartino said John Michael likes spending time with Liam both in and out of school. The two have competed in the Special Olympics together.

DiMartino said John Michael met Liam last year when he and his mother moved to the area from Merrimack.

"Their friendship means the world to me," DiMartino said, who added that John Michael, like many children with autism, do not socialize easily with other children and sometimes do not show an interest in socializing.

DiMartino said the two laugh a lot together and have seemed to develop their own way of communicating through words, sounds and gestures.

Drew said Liam is atypical of many with autism in that he is very social, he will make eye contact and he likes to give and receive hugs. Some with autism have sensory perception and nerve issues to the point where a gentle touch, a hug or a handshake is physically painful to them and emotionally upsetting.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, Ga., autism spectrum disorders are a group of disorders that cause substantial impairments in social interaction and communication and the presence of unusual behavior and interests.

Many people with autism spectrum disorders also have unusual ways of learning, paying attention and reacting to different sensations. The thinking and learning abilities of people with ASDs can vary from gifted to severely challenged.

Disorders within the autism spectrum include autism, Aspergers syndrome and pervasive development disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS). The three conditions, along with Rett Syndrome and childhood disintegrative disorder, make up the larger diagnosis category of pervasive developmental disorders.

According to the CDC, autism spectrum disorders may occur in all racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups and are four times more likely to occur in boys than in girls. The CDC's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network released data in 2007 that found about 1 in 150 8-year-old children in multiple areas of the United States had an autism spectrum disorder.

A disorder within the spectrum may be detected in children as young as 18 months old. All autism spectrum disorders begin before the age of three and last throughout a person's life.

ASDs can often be detected as early as 18 months. While all children should be watched to make sure they are reaching developmental milestones on time, children in high-risk groups, such as children who have a parent or brother or sister with an ASD, should be watched extra closely. A child with any of the warning signs should be checked by a health care professional.

Daryl Carlson/Citizen photo Liam Drew-Huckins, left, and John Michael DiMartino, who both suffer from forms of autism, are best friends.

DARYL CARLSON/CITIZEN PHOTO Core Vocational Services employee Kate Jameson works with John Michael DiMartino who has a form of autism.

Core Vocational Services employee Sidney Fitzgerald, left works with Liam Drew-Huckins who has a form of autism. Daryl Carlson/ Citizen photo

Daryl Carlson/Citizen photo Lisa DiMartino, left, and Melissa Drew discuss the daily challenges of raising children with autism.

Lafora Disease makes young man's life, a nightmare!

FRIENDS of a West Lothian woman have joined together to raise funds to help treat her son’s rare illness.

Alice Morgan (50) originally from Broxburn, has an 18-year-old son, John Sharp, who suffers from Lafora Disease.

The epileptic condition, which is believed to affect only one in a million people, manifests itself during the teenage years and causes seizures and eventually dementia.

John first became ill three years ago while on a camping trip.

He suffered a seizure while out swimming and had it not been for the quick thinking of his friend, it’s feared he may have drowned.

Initially, John was treated for epilepsy but tests revealed the teenager is suffering from Lafora.

There is no cure, but research is taking place into the illness, which is caused by a genetic mutation.

Alice, who now lives in Jersey, has set up the charity Hope for John and aims to raise £80,000 to help fund another year of study into the condition.

As part of that effort, Alice’s friends in West Lothian have organised a race night.

Connie Madden said: “There is no government funding towards the research so its down to people to fundraise and collect money.

“Alice has set up a registered charity to help raise funds and in the last few months it has raised £23,000.

“Alice is still well-known in West Lothian and has a lot of friends here, so myself and friend Bernadette Sweeney decided to organise a race night.”

The women’s efforts are paying off with several companies giving their support by sponsorship.

But Connie said that it’s vital they have a good turnout at the event at St Philomena’s in Winchburgh on Saturday, April 18, to ensure that as much cash as possible is raised to help John.

She said: “Local pubs in Broxburn have sponsored races and we are now selling the horses. We have been sending out letters to companies asking for their support and have had a good response so far, but obviously we would be glad of any other help on offer.

“And hopefully we will sell lots of tickets for the race night and raise vital funds.”

Alice, Connie and Bernadette have been friends since they went to school together at St Mary’s Academy in Bathgate.

And Alice explained she is pleased by the support of her friends in helping raise funds since watching her son’s suffering is very painful to watch.

She said: “Sometimes John barely talks, can hardly hold a glass in his hands, can no longer read a book and takes a lot of time and energy to write a simple word.

“He also has to be helped to get fed and dressed.

“The only Godsend is that he seems quite unaware of it all. Sometimes when | look at him, he seems so sad it is heartbreaking.

“And then I say something and after a pause he gets it and lets out a huge laugh.

“I have to hold onto the hope that one day he will be laughing all the time and a cure will be found and John and all the other children like him and any future children, unfortunate enough to be cursed with Lafora, will never have to go through this ordeal.”

For more information on Hope for John, or to buy tickets for the race night, local people should contact Connie Madden on 07880 765606 or Bernadette Sweeney on 01506 500694.

Vitamins for seizure disorder

Researchers say taking a special vitamin supplement during pregnancy could prevent hydrocephalus - one of the most common birth brain defects.

Tests on rats showed a combination of folates dramatically reduced the rates of hydrocephalus - in which fluids build up in the brain's chambers.

They even seemed to work after the condition had started to develop.

But the work, published in the Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology, is still at an early stage.

HYDROCEPHALUS Excessive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the cavities of the brain Puts a harmful amount of pressure on tissues in the brain Most obvious symptom is an unusually large head size. Other symptoms can include: vomiting, sleepiness, irritability, downward deviation of the eyes and seizures Many children also display symptoms that can be mistaken for naughtiness, such as verbal aggression and swearing, hyperactivity, not paying attention and generally unusual behaviour They may also experience learning difficulties at school

The team from the universities of Manchester and Lancaster hope to get permission to start clinical trials in pregnant women with babies diagnosed with hydrocephalus.

The supplement itself is not currently available, so they are also seeking the support of a pharmaceutical company willing to produce it as a pill.

At present hydrocephalus affects one in 1,000 live births. There is no satisfactory treatment for it other than surgical diversion of the fluid through a tube, known as a shunt, from the brain to the abdomen or heart.

However, shunts are permanent and prone to infection and blockage, which means patients may require several operations during their lifetime.

Most of those with by the condition have impaired mental and physical ability, although the effects can vary widely.

Chemical composition

The team also say they have shown it is the chemical composition of cerebrospinal fluid - rather than the fluid itself putting pressure on the brain - which causes the problems.

Hydrocephalus can cause severe disability and learning difficulties, so the possibility of prevention through a specific vitamin supplement is exciting Andrew Russell ASBAH

Lead researcher Jaleel Miyan said: "Cerebrospinal fluid is not a liquid which simply cushions the brain and carries chemicals around it. It is actively produced and transported and plays an essential biological role in developing the brain".

The combination of supplements appeared to stimulate this process.

At present women are advised to take folic acid - a synthetic substance found to prevent spina bifida - but this does not appear to promote brain cell growth in the same way as the combination.

Andrew Russell, head of the Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus, said: "Hydrocephalus can cause severe disability and learning difficulties, so the possibility of prevention through a specific vitamin supplement is exciting.

"ASBAH is helping with this ground-breaking research because many babies born with hydrocephalus today survive, but with a lifelong disability.

"However, a lot of further work is still needed to prove this approach is effective, through clinical trials.”

Dr Imogen Montague, a spokeswoman for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said the study was "potentially very exciting".

"There are so few things we can currently do to decrease the incidence of birth defects so these findings are really to be welcomed.

"But we do have to be cautious about the results - extrapolating results from rats may be problematic, and we need to know both whether it works, and whether it is safe for use in humans. Any general use would still be a long way off."

Insomnia and seizures

Whether wide-eyed over an upcoming presentation or riding the waves of a midnight caffeine jolt, many people suffer from the occasional restless night with missed sleep.

But habitual tossing and turning may be the result of a more serious sleep problem or sleep disorder. Insomnia, apnea and sleepwalking are a few of the common disorders that could lead to sleep deprivation. And that can cause irritability, difficulty concentrating, frequent napping, emotional outbursts and complications in work and relationships.

Kaye Liles, manager of Pulmonary Laboratories for the Memorial Medical Center/Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, and Dr. Jerry Reedy, medical director of the Sleep Lab at St. John’s Hospital, offer advice to help individuals recognize symptoms. They also offer treatments for combating sleep disorders.

How much is enough?

Sleep is essential to good health and long life. Studies have shown that sleep-related problems and disorders can play a role in stroke, asthma, epilepsy, and seizures.

How much sleep you need depends on your age. Kaye said that:

* Toddlers need about 10-12 hours (including naps) during a 24-hour period devoted to sleep.

* Teenagers need eight to nine hours.

* Adults and senior citizens need seven to eight hours.

“Those (senior citizens) that sleep five to six hours generally nap in the afternoon,” she says. They generally need the same amount of sleep as younger adults.”

Why sleep slips away

Sometimes, you’re your own worst enemy when it comes to getting a good night’s sleep.

Eating foods loaded with fat and spices and drinking caffeine and alcohol may upset your sleeping patterns.

“The common misconception with alcohol is that people drink it thinking that it will help them fall asleep,” Kaye says. “While alcohol does cause people to fall asleep quickly, it also leads to fragmented and disrupted sleep.”

Reedy calls these “mal-adaptive behaviors. People think they’re doing the right thing, but it actually disrupts the sleep process.”

Kaye also says exercising late in the evening stimulates the body and can lead to difficulty sleeping. “A person should exercise at least four to six hours prior to bedtime,” she says.

Your “environment” before bed can also lead to a loss of sleep.

Avoid going to sleep with a light or television on, because these may be disruptive during the night.

“Singing yourself to sleep” by listening to music also can have a negative affect on a good night’s rest.

“(Practicing poor sleeping habits) is called poor sleep hygiene,” Reedy says. “It creates an environment that’s not conducive for sleeping.”

Parasomnias, insomnia, apnea

Some causes of sleep disruption may require treatment.

Parasomnias, or disrupted sleep-related disorders, are characterized by experiences such as nightmares and sleepwalking. Nightmare disorder, also called dream anxiety attack, is associated with increased heart rate and increased breathing. Individuals who sleepwalk may wander aimlessly from room to room, carry objects, walk outdoors and even perform more complex activities, such as driving.

Insomnia — a short-term or chronic inability to get high-quality sleep — takes on three forms.

Reedy said sleep onset insomnia keeps an individual from falling asleep. The second, sleep maintenance insomnia, makes it difficult for individuals to return to sleep once they have awakened. Early awakening insomnia causes an individual to wake up before the desired time without returning to sleep.

“It’s a big cost burden to society as far as loss of production at work,” he says.

Treatments for insomnia primarily involve treating the underlying problem(s), such as stress. Self-help techniques, including improved sleep hygiene, relaxation and cognitive behavioral therapy, can alleviate insomnia.

Patients with sleep apnea may experience shallow breathing. Pauses between each breath typically last 10 to 20 seconds, and pauses can occur 20 to 30 times or more per hour. Symptoms may include gasping or choking, loud snoring or excessive daytime fatigue.

“Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the airway collapses due to large tonsils or excessive tissue in the uvula or soft palette,” Kaye says.

A CPAP machine, a device worn while sleeping, can be used to treat apnea.

“The machine pushes air into the airway to keep it open,” says Kaye.

Consulting a physician

If a sleeping problem “is a source of anxiety or stress, or if it causes daytime problems, such as driving or poor motivation, consult a doctor,” Reedy says.

He lists common questions to ask a physician.

* How much sleep does a person my age require?

* Is it normal to have some awakenings at night?

* Is there any influence the medications I’m taking could have on my sleep?

* Are there any lifestyle changes I could make to improve sleeping?

Sleep tips

* Go to sleep and wake up the same time each day to keep a regular sleep rhythm.

* Create a comfortable, relaxing environment. Try using blackout blinds, a humidifier or fan, or air conditioning, if necessary.

* Minimize distractions by avoiding disrupting clocks or bright lights.

* If you don’t fall asleep within 15-30 minutes, get up and return to bed when you feel sleepy.

E. Coli and seizures are a little boy's nightmare!

As a report from the public inquiry into Wales' largest E.coli outbreak is published, those who were affected by it have spoken of the long-term impact it has had on their lives.

When Sharon Mills talks about the "horrific" effects E.coli had on her son, she looks haunted.

As she lists the catalogue of pain and suffering Mason endured before he died, it is hard to comprehend that the five-year-old picked up the food poisoning bug from contaminated meat served at his school.

But Sharon, from Deri, in Bargoed, Caerphilly county, is all too aware of the causes of the illness that led to her son's death in 2005.

And as a report is published from the public inquiry into the outbreak, which affected 157 people, she faces a future knowing that, while it may help others, it is too late for her family.

"E.coli is a very nasty thing. It just seeps through the body," she told BBC Wales' Week in Week Out programme.

"In Mason's case part of his kidneys had died, his intestines were eaten away. If he had survived, he would have had to be drip fed, he wouldn't be the same child.

Because Mason suffered terribly, it was horrific to see what he had to go through. I think people really need to be aware of that now Sharon Mills

"Maybe he would have faced life in a wheelchair or another scenario was he might have been in hospital for the rest of his life.

"Mason suffered seizures, suffered blood poisoning, it shut down his veins, stopped his urine output.

"It can have very bad consequences concerning brain damage. It can affect the eye sight, it can lead them to go blind. It's got terrible, terrible outcomes."

She added: "Because Mason suffered terribly, it was horrific to see what he had to go through. I think people really need to be aware of that now."

She said life will never be the same for her again.

Seeing children Mason's age, seeing his old school friends and tucking her other two children into bed each night - and not their brother - is now "mental torture all the time".

"The normal things that so many families take for granted and I have lost it," she added.

"I have lost any normality that I had."

'Panic mode'

Garyn Price was luckier than Mason - although he still suffers from the effects of the E.coli bug he contracted.

The 13-year-old, who lives in Caerphilly, is no stranger to illness or pain, having suffered a stroke when he was six.

But what made his second illness so hard to bear was the fact that it could have been prevented, his mother Julie said.

"The pain of E.coli was much worse than what happened in 2002 with the stroke," she said.

"It's something that could have been avoided. That was the bitterest pill for all of us, including Garyn, to swallow.

"That all this was down to somebody cutting corners and not being hygienic. That was very, very hard to take."

I'm not really over it yet. I worry about if it's going to happen again to someone else Garyn Price

Garyn suffered renal failure and had to be airlifted to Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool for treatment.

It is something that still affects him.

"Psychologically, Garyn is still paranoid about where he gets takeaways from, what he eats" said Mrs Price.

"If he gets an upset stomach, just slightly upset stomach, he goes into complete panic mode, you know 'have I got E.coli?' which sometimes we try to brush over but at the end of the day he's 13-years-old, he shouldn't have to worry about things like that."

Garyn, who is now in secondary school, said he still has worries about the illness.

"I thought I was going to die. The needles weren't all that bad because I was used to them but it was really frightening," he said.

"I'm not really over it yet. I worry about if it's going to happen again to someone else, you know? And if it might happen around here again and my friends might have it."

Support is gold for people that live with seizures

Seizure disorders have plagued humans as far back as time knows. For those who have had a seizure, the dread of a recurrence can be very hard to live with.

Seizures can strike without warning and their onset, duration and termination are not under voluntary control.

Seizures have many known causes but also can occur when no cause can be found. To witness a full blown seizure can be quite a disturbing sight. Each seizure can cause new brain damage.

I have worked with people who have had to have brain surgery to remove part of the brain responsible for seizures and even have connections severed between the right and left halves of the brain in order to diminish the disease. These are severe cases.

On the other end of the spectrum are mild, brief seizures in which the individual will suddenly stop talking and just stare, with no awareness of what is happening around them. They rarely fall to the ground and don't convulse. Their eyes may roll back or their eyelids may flutter.

With children, these “petit mal” seizures are sometimes mistaken for daydreaming. With the more severe “grand mal” seizure, there may be drooling and loss of bladder or bowel control. After this, the patient will usually have a terrific headache and sleep for hours. It is when the seizure goes on for more than a few minutes that emergency measures must be taken to get the patient to a hospital.

In the November/December 2008 issue of Neurology Now, author Elizabeth Stump has given an excellent exposé of seizure disorders which have a biological cause and seizure disorders which have a psychological cause.

Studies are showing that seizures due to psychological distress are far more common than doctors or patients may be aware of, according to Neurology Now. Stress seizures are sometimes referred to as “pseudo seizures.” This is not a good term since it often conveys to patients and families that the seizure is not real. It suggests that the patient is faking. Experts believe that in stress seizures, disturbances are unconsciously converted into a neurological-like condition, i.e., a seizure. Exactly how psychological stressors are converted into physical symptoms such as seizures remains uncertain.
To differentiate biological versus psychological seizures, the video-E.E.G. (electroencephalogram which measures the electrical activity of the brain) is considered the gold standard. In evaluating for non-epileptic seizures, a continuous video-E.E.G. monitoring takes place over a few days. If the video shows obvious seizure behavior and the E.E.G. is normal, the diagnosis is non-epileptic stress seizure.

When there is seizure behavior on the video and abnormal E.E.G. recordings, an epileptic seizure is diagnosed. To complicate things further, there are some patients who have both types of seizures.

Treatments such as anti-epileptic drugs may be effective for biological based seizures but ineffective for patients who have stress seizures. Treatments, which are available for the latter, include psychotherapy to uncover unconscious conflicts, cognitive behavior therapy to address patient's attitude and response towards their seizures as well as stress reduction therapy. Sometimes, psychiatric medications are wise, which can treat the underlying or co-existing psychiatric conditions such as depression and anxiety.

It is quite difficult for the stress seizure patients to understand why their seizures happen and very hard to deal with the fear that they can happen again.

A hoped for attitude change is to try not to let the seizures control ones life. Thoughts like, “I have a seizure disorder, a seizure disorder does not have me” is most helpful. Further thought changing in the form of “I know that I am lucky to not have a fatal disease” is another form of attitude change that can be beneficial in psychotherapy.

Unfortunately, seizure patients, regardless of cause, are faced with serious limitations. For example, according to Michigan law, as in most states, seizure patients have to document six continuous months of being seizure free in order to regain driving privileges.

Those who have jobs requiring climbing on ladders and such will obviously have employment issues impacted. There is also the social stigma about seizures and the people who have them. Supportive psychotherapy can be helpful in working with the emotional and self-esteem side effects of seizure patients regardless of there cause. This is a kin to supportive therapy for any biological disorders which are difficult to diagnose, more difficult to treat, and often become lifelong.

(Resources: American Academy of Neurology Foundation Web site: www.neurofoundation.org , and The Brain Matters Patient Web site: www.thebrainmatters.org)

L.J. McCulloch is a Diplomate of the American Psychotherapy Association. He can be reached at Broe Rehabilitation Services, (248) 474-2763 ext. 22, a free standing facility which assists people with neurological and other disorders.

Mother wrongfully accused of killing son see justice's light!

Tammy Marquardt watched for years from prison as case after case involving a child's death and the testimony of a now a disgraced pathologist was reopened and wondered when it would be her turn.

On Thursday, 14 years after being convicted of killing her two-year-old son, Marquardt was granted bail.

Though the courts haven't yet decided if they'll hear her appeal, Marquardt was beaming after being released.

"Today I finally have my day," Marquardt said outside the Ontario Court of Appeal, struggling to catch her breath through her tears. "This is my day. I'm out. I made it."

She was the last known parent who remained behind bars based on the testimony of Dr. Charles Smith. Marquardt was convicted of second-degree murder in the death of her son Kenneth and was handed a life sentence in 1995.

She said she found the boy tangled in his bedsheets, but Smith said he was smothered or strangled.

Marquardt's lawyer James Lockyer said not only did she not kill her son, but no crime was ever committed. Kenneth had seven documented trips to hospital for seizures, Lockyer said.

Smith's findings have since been rejected by six forensic experts, including one who said the epileptic boy could have died from a seizure.

"Pathology can no longer determine the cause of Kenneth's death," Lockyer said outside court.

"There's every reason to believe that he died as a result of seizures that he'd suffered from all his life."

Last October, the Goudge inquiry into Ontario's pediatric pathology system criticized Smith for "irresponsible" testimony in a series of child death cases.

The Crown did not oppose the request for bail. When it was granted, Marquardt's supporters cheered and her nervous half-smile became a broad grin.

Marquardt's lawyers are awaiting a Supreme Court of Canada decision seeking leave to appeal. However, they are asking the case be heard in Ontario's Appeal Court.

There is fresh evidence, Lockyer said, not the least of which is the opinion of Newfoundland and Labrador's chief medical examiner, which "entirely discredits everything that Dr. Smith said back in 1995."

"We're starting to learn that pathologists used to go way beyond their expertise into the realms of pure speculation and were turning natural deaths into homicides," Lockyer said.

Marquardt said she wants to ask Smith "why," but adds the entire system must be accountable for the "living hell" she experienced.

"It's the worst kind of heartache a parent could ever feel," Marquardt said.

"I don't think there's any other pain that could possibly be worse."

Thoughts of her other sons, who are now 12 and 14, helped her through the long incarceration, she said.

"One day they're going to want to know what happened," said Marquardt.

"They're going to want to hear the truth and I'm the only one that can give that to them. So I have to be there for them. When they're ready, they'll find me. I've got faith in that."

Marquardt had briefly been on parole but it was revoked after she tested positive for cocaine.

The diminutive 37-year-old marked her birthday in jail Wednesday and said her freedom is a wonderful present and a chance at a new beginning.

She received support and advice Thursday from William Mullins-Johnson - one of the few people who have been through a similar ordeal.

Mullins-Johnson spent 12 years in prison after being convicted of raping and suffocating his four-year-old niece based, in part, on the testimony of Smith.

He was ultimately after experts concluded the young girl had died of natural causes and no crime had occurred.

Even though the day was a success, Marquardt will still be going through a tough time, he said.

"Self-doubt sets in really quickly," said Mullins-Johnson, who is studying criminology at the University of Toronto.

"You don't know who to trust, who you can count on, who's going to be there for you, because I was thrown to the wolves just like Tammy was."

Marquardt's boyfriend and his mother, who calls herself Marquardt's mother-in-law, were also in court to support her.

"She might be small, but she's a strong little girl," said Doreen Alamaras.

Nothing big was planned for Marquardt's release, Alamaras said, preferring to wait to celebrate the exoneration they believe will come.

For now, "I just want to hold her, that's all," Alamaras said.