Emily Simpson‘s 10-year-old son Luke will soon be having a brain procedure.
During the Real Housewives of Orange County reunion on Thursday (November 5), the 49-year-old reality star revealed that her son is going to have a procedure after being diagnosed with PANDAS.
Keep reading to find out more…PANDAS is short for “’pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections.’ It describes a group of conditions thought to affect select children who’ve strep infections, such as strep throat or scarlet fever,” according to the Cleveland Clinic. “There have been some reports of the development of tics, obsessive-compulsive behavior and other mental and neurological symptoms after PANDAS, although a clear link hasn’t yet been established.”
“Yeah, so he is going to have a laser treatment on his brain to reduce the swelling,” Emily shared when host Andy Cohen asked how her son would be treated for the condition.
“He asked if the laser would hurt, and I said, ‘No, it won’t hurt,’” she continued. “So he has to go five days in a row for like three hours, and it’s supposed to reduce the swelling.”
Also during the episode, Emily shared how she and husband Shane first figured out that Luke had PANDAS.
“He went from a happy fourth grader that no teacher had ever said, like, there’s issues. He was gifted. And all of a sudden, my child just completely changed,” she explained. “He just regressed. He started talking like a baby. Acting out. And I was so confused.”
Emily went on to say that once RHOC started showing Luke‘s behavioral issues, many fans reached out to her on social media and advised her to get her son tested for the condition.
“I would’ve never known to have my child tested for PANDAS if it wasn’t for these moms that watch and reached out to me and told me,” she shared. “So it’s been an amazing community of sharing information and learning, and that means a lot to me.”
However, Emily also said that she has gotten a lot of hate from viewers questioning her as a mother.
“And then of course, there’s horrible people that post awful things that are like, ‘How did she not know her son couldn’t read?’ Well, it’s not that I didn’t know he couldn’t read, he’s a totally different child,” Emily said. “I’m not a terrible mom, I’m dealing with symptoms that are completely different.”
She also noted that Luke had a very bad case of strep throat earlier this year, which could have caused PANDAS.
“The bacteria remains and then it affects the brain. And the brain swells,” she explained. “So all of these symptoms are associated with strep throat. And there’s higher risk in kids that are on the spectrum. And also he has ARFID. I mean, all roads kind of lead back to being on the spectrum.”
Back in July, Emily revealed Luke‘s ARFID diagnosis, which stands for Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder and limits food intake. “It isn’t caused by a negative self-image or a desire to change your body weight. Fear and anxiety about food or the consequences of eating, like choking, can lead to ARFID. The main treatment is cognitive behavioral therapy,” according to the Cleveland Clinic.
“He only eats a few different foods and he’s very overwhelmed by texture, color, smells. He will only eat white rice,” Emily told People. “And he has to inspect each piece of rice before he eats it. So it’s beyond picky eating. A lot of control issues. It’s very overwhelming.”
As for treatment, Emily said that Luke is seeing a therapist and nutritionist, and wears nose inserts with essentials on them to mask the smells of overwhelming foods.
If you didn’t see, Emily will be appearing on a new Bravo show.
Source: justjared.com
