Mother Heartbroken After Finding Out Her Toddler Has Dementia

Aug 23, 2018 by apost team

It has been estimated that approximately every three seconds, a person in the world develops the challenging illness of dementia. This cognitive issue can have negative impacts on memory and thinking skills, but usually only affects people over the age of 65. Some people get diagnosed with the condition around the age of 30, known as early onset dementia, but it can usually be treated. Something that a lot of people aren’t aware of is that children can also develop dementia. Childhood dementia is also known as Sanfilippo syndrome. Approximately one in 70,000 children will be diagnosed with the condition.

Now, one mother is discussing how her 2-year-old son’s dementia diagnosis has impacted her life, and the story will leave you in tears. The mother, a 25-year-old named Rebecca Griffith, has a young son named Reggie who is impacted by childhood dementia.

She noticed a problem when Reggie was unable to develop at the same level as the rest of his peers. He also had a strange habit of rocking back and forth. After this, the mother took her child to the hospital in order to get some answers about what was going on with her young son.

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Pediatricians that treated Reggie believed that he had autism, but further testing resulted in an unthinkable diagnosis for the child. Once Reggie received his childhood dementia diagnosis, the mother realized that the condition had no cure.

Reggie became the youngest person in the entire UK to be diagnosed with childhood dementia. This syndrome can occur when your body has low levels of the enzyme that controls the buildup of sugars in the brain area that are toxic. Because this causes progressive damage to the brain, it is referred to as dementia.

The mother was heartbroken when doctors told her that her beloved son might not live past the age of 20. The mother deals with the disorder head-on, refusing to hide from or ignore her son’s diagnosis. Since she has two other children, she tries to be strong for them. Her goal is to have Reggie live the most normal life possible.

She wants to provide her son with amazing memories while his brain can still remember them, allowing him to live the best life he possibly can. Unfortunately, the doctors really that Reggie’s brain is extensively damaged by his condition, and his life span might be even shorter than their previous 20-year diagnosis.

Reggie is considered to be in the second stage of dementia, where he has developed hyperactive behavior that is non-verbal in nature. Once he enters stage three, there won’t be much time left.

The body will begin to shut itself down, as it will forget everything that it has previously learned. Griffith hopes that by sharing Reggie’s story, she will spread awareness about the unfortunate condition.

Did you know that children could develop dementia? Pass on this information to others and spread awareness.