Tyler Savage: he is fed through a tube in his stomach
Posted on 10/02/2007 3:51:14 AM PDT by 8mmMauser
Tyler Savage: he is fed through a tube in his stomach
A boy of 12 suffers from so many allergies that he is able to eat only five foods.
Tyler Savage is violently ill every time he is given dishes containing dairy products or wheat, gluten, eggs, lactose and soya.
The sole foods he is allowed are chicken, carrots, grapes, potatoes and apples.
To help him survive, minerals and vitamins are pumped directly into his stomach through a tube.
Tyler started to fall ill at the age of six when even a morsel of food would leave him writhing in agony from sickness and diarrhoea.
His mother, Lynne Savage, 43, said: "We asked for help but kept being told that he was suffering from a stomach infection. As a result his weight dropped drastically.
"He ran out of energy really quickly and couldn't do the things other children were doing. He just seemed to be getting worse and worse.
"It's been a real struggle. We didn't know what to do."
Tyler - from Earls Colne in Essex - was seen by a paediatrician at Chelmsford's St John's Hospital and had his appendix removed in December 2005.
Although the operation was a success it failed to solve the problem and he was referred to Colchester General Hospital for further tests and treatment.
That shed no light on the mystery illness and in April last year Tyler was sent to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London for checks on his stomach and bowels.
The tests led to a diagnosis of eosinophilic enteropathy, a rare and condition in which the intestines produce too many white blood cells.
These act as a miniature immune system and attack food passing through the gut to the stomach.
The condition saw Tyler's weight drop to barely three stone.
"He was becoming malnourished," said Mrs Savage, a married mother-of-three and housewife.
At first, Tyler was fitted with a nose tube to help get food direct to his stomach, bypassing the rogue blood cells in his gut.
Then, this May, he had a tube inserted into his stomach allowing him to be fed for up to ten hours through the night.
"Even though this will continue for the foreseeable future, it is a godsend," said Mrs Savage.
"Last year he was only at school for about ten days, but in the first two weeks of this new term he's only missed one day.
"We've got a long way to go but at least we're now getting some answers."
In the day, Tyler, whose father, David, 60, is an engineer, can eat the five foods he is not allergic to.
I learn something new every day!
I dint know apples could be rung...
I either have my tongue, lips, throat swell or, in the case of corn syrup solids, I have asthma attacks and end up with pneumonia.
Ping to check back later.
You are on a roll! LOL
My reaction to corn has been migraines.
But my mother gets tingling in her hands and swollen eyelids if she eats corn.
The swelling is not to be taken lightly, I’m sure you realize. Do you keep benadryl or something like that on hand to reduce reactions when you accidentally eat some?
Corn is in so many things these days, especially in the form of high fructose corn syrup.
Very quick.
What a sweet child. Feeding tubes have been given a bad rap here at FR by some posters.
One of the culprits is corn syrup in food products. It’s cheap to use and many people are probably allergic to corn syrup but haven’t gotten there yet in their search for answers.
Florida, The Starvation State.
(yeah, and hospice would rip all greeting cards out of her room including birthday cards. what evil people to take down greeting cards. Hospice Woodside, 6670 102nd Ave. N. Pinellas Park, Fl
(yeah, and hospice would rip all greeting cards out of her room including birthday cards. what evil people to take down greeting cards. Hospice Woodside, 6670 102nd Ave. N. Pinellas Park, Fl
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/sep/07092005.html
“(yeah, and hospice would rip all greeting cards out of her room including birthday cards. what evil people to take down greeting cards. Hospice Woodside, 6670 102nd Ave. N. Pinellas Park, Fl”
How sad.
Terri’s birthday cards ended up outside of hospice woodside on a card table along with drawings from children.
?? What does being in England and not Florida have to do with this. I can't imagine doctors in the US doing anything differently. Perhaps American doctors could find medical treatment to offset the allergies and he could lead a somewhat normal life with medication.
Your symptoms less migraines are similar to the ones I had, mostly an overall feeling of not being well. But add to that, a tendency to gain weight and feeling puffy, and a pain similar to angina, but ruled out by doctors. That all went away but comes back at a gallop if I violate my diet. Doc said I may be able to introduce some of the foods after my system readjusts and I now can have small amounts of regular bread without symptoms, a year later.
.............................................
In a panel on life issues, David Prentice, a scientist and senior fellow for Life Sciences at Family Research Council, who has been an expert witness in testifying before congress about embryonic stem cell research, was joined by Schindler and other pro-life leaders.
Prentice presented a detailed explanation of the theory of stem cell growth and the myths and facts surrounding the use of adult stem cells and embryonic stem cells.
The truth is that stem cells are "difficult to establish" in a dish outside the body, whether they are adult or embryonic, Prentice said, but embryonic stem cells are especially vulnerable to developing tumors when grown in a dish.
"The bottom line is, it is the adult stem cells that are the most promising," Prentice said. "Number one, you don't have to kill the donor, and number two, they work."
Answering a question after his presentation, Prentice said he questions the motivation for more and more resources to be spent on stem cell research despite its apparent lack of results.
"They want money to keep their labs going," Prentice said. "This is a critical moment in human history. We have got to stand up and defend life. We have to speak up for those who don't have a voice."
Photo by Joni B.Hannigan
David A. Prentice, senior fellow for Life Sciences at FRC (L) and Bobby Schindler speak on a panel about Life Issues Sept. 21 in Brandon.
Likewise, Schindler said the time has come to accept that euthanasia has become almost commonplace in America.
"One of the frustrations that we find, even among the pro-life community is that they don't see the seriousness of this situation," Schindler said. "Everything has been about abortion for the past 30 years and I don't think [people] understand how widespread this is occurring in our hospices and our hospitals and other places."
Schindler said he and his family, who make up the Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation, are seeking to spread awareness about this issue and help people to understand "it's not just about abortion anymore."
Even among Roman Catholics, long known for initiating leadership in the pro-life movement, Schindler said little has been communicated about a recent clarification from the Vatican in Rome explaining a teaching which calls for the administration of nutrition and hydration to people who are in a "so-called vegetative state."
The comment and note, released Sept. 14, said the practice of continuing to provide nutrition and hydration, even to those considered to be in a persistent vegetative state (PVS)—the condition that the court argued that Schindler's sister, Terri, had been in before her nutrition and hydration was removed—was with rare exception "morally obligatory."
Schiavo died at a hospice in Pinellas Park March 29, 2005, from dehydration, 13 days after her nutrition and hydration was removed by court order at her husband's request. Her family repeatedly asked to care for her after she suffered from a brain injury following a collapse resulting from unknown circumstances 15 years earlier.
During the 13 days it took her to die, a contentious battle raged in the courts between her parents and her husband. The world's media camped across the street from the hospice and pro-life proponents and right-to-die advocates squared off on the grassy walks.
Today, Schindler said, it is the consensus that as many as 50 percent of PVS patients are said to be "misdiagnosed." Even so, Schindler said, Terri and other disabled persons ought to be treated with dignity.
In a personal interview before his talk, Schindler told Florida Baptist Witness he believes many people still don't understand Terri was disabled and not hooked up to any life-support machines.
Prominent local, national pro-family leaders gather for Family Impact Summit
8mm
I have lactose intolerance. It does not seem to be as severe as it once way (got gall bladder out) and I would not wish it on my worse enemy.
I am not yet sure what this effort portends, but they do seem to have one point right. Maybe they can entitle one strip, "When judges order murder." I suspect they won't.
.................................
The Underwire: Why did the National Center for State Courts want to create a series graphic novels?
Mary McQueen: The Terri Schiavo case was one of the watershed events where there was a lack of understanding of how much latitude the judge has in making decisions. There is a need for the average person to have a better understanding of the role of courts as it deals with their personal lives and that courts are not only for criminals or big corporations.
New Graphic Novel: Say "No" to Internet Piracy
8mm
I had thought my own situation was bad, was humbled by hearing how others have suffered a great deal more. All I had was a hint and awareness of what they must go through.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.