Gregory’s Journey
When our son was born we had no idea the fight he had ahead of him; his complicated journey nor the determination that this little person possessed to fight and beat the odds each and every time.

Fighter at the Start
He was born at 38weeks in what I call a Grey’s Anatomy scene.  He was born with a mass larger than his head growing from his neck weighing 1pound, 8 ounces. It was a Cervical Teratoma.  Within days of life, our little boy was whisked away into a 7 hour surgery in hopes of removing this mass impeding on his airways and esophagus. We were told to expect the worst; that he would never eat on his own, requiring a g-tube to feed nor would he breath on his own, thus requiring a respirator. That was IF he were to survive the surgery at all.  At 1 year of age he was given a clean bill of health; he was developing and reaching all his milestones.  He did it, he beat the odds, and he was our miracle boy!!

Gregory continued to thrive as the years passed.  Life was wonderful and Greg continued to prove that his almost near death experience was behind us: straight A student, competitive athlete, great social life, helpful, kind, compassionate and loving with his baby sister. We have always been very careful in terms of health, giving proper nutrients, probiotics, and good multivitamins.  We thought this kid was untouchable.

Overnight Changes
Until, Gregory’s world was yet again turned upside down. I picked him up from school one day last year and noticed he was repeatedly turning his head, “Greg, what are you looking at”, “nothing mom, why?”  He had no idea what he was doing. When we arrived home I continued to monitor his motor movements, it continued and as the minutes passed, they continued to increase in severity.  My heart was sinking, what was happening?  All of a sudden, his eyes were rolling continuously and his whole body began to flinch. I rushed him to the hospital, they ran an MRI, blood work, everything was checking out fine. “So, what was happening to my child?”  Numerous appointments, tests, etc.   Still, no answers.  I began my research, while still racing to any specialist who would see us. Finally, after 6 weeks a pediatrician gave him a diagnosis of Tourette’s, OCD and ADD.

”WAIT, WHAT?”
For those who know Gregory know that he is a pretty quiet soul.  Respectful, hardworking, athletic and very focused in every task he chose to take on. This made no sense.  How does one change so drastically in just a few months? He kept spiralling more and more out of control. The tics increased, he would throw his head back, his entire body would go crazy at times, and it looked as though he was getting struck by lightning.  I refused to accept this was happening and he would live his life like this.  Something was going on inside of his body.  I was convinced now more than ever.