Corewell doctors give 4-year-old refugee with genetic disorder a shot at a normal life
(FOX 2) - The Alkadri family came to Southeast Michigan from Syria in search of a better life, but they ran into a roadblock when 4-year-old Jad had a medical emergency.
"That's a seizure. You have to take him to the hospital right away because he’s not responding," Juman Alkadri said.
That advice from a medical professional led the family to the emergency room at Corewell Health. Jad’s mother, who speaks in her native tongue, allows her daughters to tell the family’s story.
"Since we’ve seen this case happen twice before with my two other brothers she was hoping to see an answer," Jana Alkardri said.
The family had experienced this medical crisis before, and it’s believed the family lost two babies to the same disorder when they were still living in Syria. Doctors at Corewell Health were determined that the toddler would survive.
"They tried many different medications. He had more seizures until she talked to Dr. Nolan. That’s when she tried many medicines, and they were able to find the one that would stop the seizures," Jana said.
It took some experimenting to find the right medications.
"After Jad did not respond to her first medications and then when I found out about the family history, immediately I reached out to the hospital in order to pursue this rapid genetic diagnostic testing, which is a new diagnostic tool," said Dr. Danielle Nolan, a pediatric epileptologist.
The results allowed Nolan to alter Jad’s medication.
"We were able to give Jad specific vitamins. His seizures stopped. He dramatically improved he woke up, started eating again. It was amazing," Nolan said.
The family is grateful that Corewell pursued all options for their loved one, and they gathered Friday to give Nolan and the team at the hospital a heartfelt thank-you.
"After he took that medicine, my mom realized that he got his life back," Jana said.
The family hopes by sharing their story will help raise awareness to save someone else.
"It’s kind of our job to spread awareness and see if we can help other people," Jana said.