ALEX M

“He is very social and loves interacting with people, in fact he is an outrageous flirt with the ladies! Everyone who meets him just adores him and he has the most infectious laugh which takes over his whole body when something amuses him.”

We met with Alex and his family to talk about their experience of living with Alex’s rare condition.

“He doesn’t like being on his own (unless he can watch TV) and although he cannot talk, he is very expressive when he wants something! He absolutely loves books, especially noisy books and his current favourite is the Gruffalo and The Tiger who Came to Tea. I love that he is interested in the same TV programmes and books as other children of the same age but it breaks my heart to see other children grow and develop all their physical skills (feeding themselves, potty training, dressing etc) as I know that Alex is unlikely to ever be able to do those things”.

Alex has Glutaric Aciduria Type 1. It is an inherited metabolic disorder (a genetic disease) which, if left untreated, can lead to brain damage. Screening for GA1 is now included in the national screening programme but unfortunately Alex was born before this was introduced in the UK

“At 6 months old, he fell ill with a sickness bug and he then suffered an encephalitic crisis (i.e. brain damage) which has left him with little control over his body and an associated movement disorder called dystonia which forces his body into unnatural postures which can be very painful. It was heartbreaking in the beginning to know that the brain damage could easily have been avoided had we known about the disease, especially as many countries across the world have been testing for the disease at birth for a long time before Alex was born. It’s too painful to think about ‘what could have been’ had we known about Alex’s disease before he had the crisis so we have to accept what has happened and try to give Alex the best life he can possibly have. Alex has a rambunctious 5 year old brother who is a constant reminder of what he might have achieved and unfortunately every milestone his brother meets is bittersweet as we know that Alex will never do the same things (like riding a bike or scoring a goal)”.

“We used to feel so embarrassed when people would look at Alex but in order to stay sane we have to just ignore people’s glances and get on with our day. We have all had to develop a thicker skin since Alex’s crisis which is liberating in a way because we just cannot allow ourselves to be affected by what others think. I think people usually feel sorry for him and for us which I appreciate but I also find the pitying glances hard to deal with it as it’s a reminder of how pathetic the situation is and that is very hard to deal with”.

“We wanted to take part in the Rare Project because raising awareness and understanding of rare diseases is so important for us - like every family in the land, all we want is the best for our children. We want our son to be happy, to have friends and to have opportunities to fulfil his potential as much as he possibly can. This will only happen once more people are better informed about rare diseases and can be more understanding about those who are different from the ‘norm’”.

“Alex needs our support with every activity - washing, feeding, dressing, playing etc. The movement disorder also causes his body to be very stiff at times which is painful for him so we give him medication to keep his body in a relaxed and comfortable state. His diet is an extremely strict low protein diet so all of his food is monitored and weighed and he has a very busy schedule; he sees therapists on an almost daily basis and is constantly at appointments for various treatments and therapies. He doesn’t sleep very well so my husband and I take it in turns to attend to him in the night because it’s impossible to function when your sleep is interrupted night after night”.