“My brother Jimmy was only 7 years old when our family first suspected that something was wrong with him” – said Meggy, his sister. Meggy noted that he complained of leg pain for several days after school physical education classes. She also noticed that he was slightly dragging one leg when he was tired. Meggy thought it wasn’t normal for a small child.
Then their mother took Jimmy to her family doctor. The primary care physician said there was nothing to worry about. However, Jimmy soon began to have other, stranger complaints.
“He didn’t want to leave our mama, even though he liked to go to school. Moreover, he began to get hung up on something. For example, he had to pack his backpack with several pairs of underpants, and without this, we could not get out of the home.
Once, Jimmy opened the window in his room and began to yell at the birds to shut them up.”
All this was very strange, so my mum went again to the doctor to consult if we should address a psychiatrist, but they shocked me again.
A few months later, during a conversation with our mother, Jimmy suddenly fell on his back. He could not explain what happened to him.
His handwriting worsened, and our daddy also noticed that Jimmy had a slight tremor. He suggested that this could be a symptom of Parkinson, which once again caused laughter from our family doctor.
Jimy was referred for consultation with a local pediatrician, who decided that the young patient had epilepsy and prescribed treatment. However, prescribed medication did not help. Over the following months, he fell down to 28 times a day.
“He couldn’t sit because he had a lot of bruises. He could only lie on his stomach,” says Meggy.
Then Jimmy was sent for detailed examination at the hospital. The diagnosis was juvenile parkinsonism. A brain scan revealed a low level of the dopamine neurotransmitter, which confirmed the diagnosis.
According to Meggy, the feeling was as if they had fallen into the abyss, although my family found the strength to encourage the son and brother, promising him that they would cope with all the difficulties together.