Emily Simpson recently revealed that her 10-year-old son Luke will undergo brain surgery after being diagnosed with PANDAS.
For those unaware, PANDAS is a “pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder associated with streptococcal infections. It describes a group of conditions thought to affect select children who have strep infections, such as strep throat or scarlet fever. There have been some reports of the development of tics, obsessive-compulsive behavior, although a clear link post-PANDAS and other post-PANDAS symptoms has been established,” according to the Cleveland Clinic.
The 49-year-old appeared on the season 19 reunion of The Real Housewives of Orange Countywhere she revealed that her 10-year-old son Luke had recently been diagnosed with PANDAS.
Following the shocking revelation, Cohen asked her to provide an update on her son Luke’s current condition, to which Simpson said his condition is “very complicated.”
The devastated mother fumed: “He went from a happy fourth grader that no teacher had ever said like there’s a problem. He was gifted. And all of a sudden my kid just changed completely. He just went back. He started talking like a baby. Acting out. And I was so confused.”
“And when the first episode aired, I had so many moms in my DMs saying, ‘Have you checked in on PANDAS?’ It is very complicated. I’m not a doctor, but it’s associated with strep throat,” she recalled.
Cohen went on to ask, “Is this something that can be treated?”
“Yeah, so he’s going to have a laser treatment on his brain. To reduce the swelling in his brain. He asked if the laser would hurt, and I said, ‘No, it won’t hurt.’ So he’s going to walk five days in a row for three hours, and that’s supposed to reduce the swelling,” explained Emily Simpson.
