Just a good read.

[Guest guest]

Does Your Child Suffer from GLS?

What if Treatment for Other Medical Conditions Was Like Treatment for

Autism?

a fictional story from a parallel universe. (To which Kim adds,

parallel universe...or CHOP.)

By Twyla Ramos

Once upon a time a mom was walking down the street with her son,

holding his hand, enjoying a beautiful sunny day, when all of a sudden

a car swerved up onto the sidewalk, hit the boy, and then sped away.

Fortunately, the boy's only injury was a broken leg. Unfortunately,

there were no witnesses. The mom immediately called for help on her

cell phone, and an ambulance picked them up and took them to the

nearest hospital.

As the doctor examined her son, the mom told him what had happened.

" We were just walking along, and this car appeared out of nowhere and

hit him and drove away! " she exclaimed.

" My dear " , said the doctor with kindly condescension, " Studies have

shown that the vast majority of pedestrians walk safely down that

highway, therefore it is highly unlikely that your son was hit by a

car. In fact, statistically speaking, it is well nigh impossible. "

" Oh, but it did happen, Doctor! I saw it myself! " insisted the mom.

" Clearly you are very emotional, " said the doctor. " Studies have

shown that emotional witnesses often see what they expect to see. I

know that you feel very sure, but please understand that science and

medicine are not based on anecdote, but on higher forms of knowledge.

Everything that you think you perceive of reality is in your own

head, and has not been scientifically validated nor subjected to peer

review. A famous philosopher once questioned an individual's ability

to perceive anything with certainty, and concluded that the only thing

he was sure of was, 'cogito ergo sum' meaning 'I think therefore I am'.

" As long as we're speaking Latin, I must also mention the fallacy of

'post hoc ergo propter hoc'. This must be very difficult for you as a

parent to grasp, since you do not have any advanced scientific

degrees, but even if your son was hit by a car this would not prove

that the car accident caused this problem with his leg. Don't confuse

coincidence with causation! Are you saying that car accidents cause

broken legs? What about all the people who break their legs in their

own homes? Do you think that they have cars inside their homes?

That's absurd! "

" Doctor, as you can see, my son is in a lot of pain! Can we please

stop arguing about causation, and could you provide the treatment that

my son desperately needs. "

" Madam, after a thorough examination, I have concluded that your son

has Genetic Leg Syndrome, also known as GLS. "

" Genetic Leg Syndrome? Why, I've never heard of that! But, if it is

genetic, how could it have appeared so suddenly? "

" Oh, I am quite sure that there were signs before this that he

suffered from GLS, but you did not notice them. Studies have shown

that parents tend to be in denial. "

" But he is on the soccer team - he has always run and walked without

any problem! And look at how his shin is crooked - it was never that

way before! "

" My dear, I have years of experience and education in this field, and

I am telling you that he has Genetic Leg Syndrome. Sometimes GLS is

progressive and worsens over time. "

" O.K., doctor, I'm not going to keep arguing with you, but what can

you do for him? As you can see and hear, he is crying out in pain. "

" Yes, GLS has a psychological component, and often children with GLS

will cry out to get their parents' attention. It's a type of narcissism. "

" Again I am asking you doctor, what kind of treatment can you provide

to help my son? "

" A good behavioral program will help your son to manage the emotions

and behaviors which often go hand-in-hand with GLS. Of course,

science is not yet at the point of being able to change the genes

which cause GLS. In fact we have not yet identified exactly which

genetic aberration is the cause. We have spent millions on research,

and we are probably on the verge of a real breakthrough. In the

meantime, I advise you to contact your local agency and ask for

educational and therapeutic services to make this syndrome more

manageable. Good luck! "

With that the distressed mother and sobbing son were ushered out of

the office. The mother called her best friend and poured out the

whole story to her friend's sympathetic ears. " You know what? " said

her friend. " The same thing happened to my nephew. My sister brought

him to see an alternative practitioner named Dr. who is part of

the TBLN! group, which stands for 'Treat Broken Legs Now!' Dr.

took some x-rays and put his leg in a cast, and my nephew eventually

got all better. "

The mom was at a loss - what should she do? Could she rely on her

friend's advice? She decided to call her pediatrician. Remarkably,

she was able to reach him, and she told him what had happened to her

son and what the doctor and her friend had told her.

" X-rays and casts are highly experimental, " said the pediatrician.

" Studies have shown that x-rays do not help any medical conditions. A

large-scale study was done where 1,000 children with mobility issues

were given x-rays, and after three months of x-rays there was no

improvement in their conditions. Casts have been shown to have a

negative impact on children's self-esteem, and to cause deterioration

of the leg muscles due to the complete immobilization of the leg, with

no movement or weight bearing for weeks on end. A recent book by a

leading expert Dr. Polly Moppet showed that these treatments are

cruel, unsafe, and ineffective. "

" Then, what should we do?? " asked the mother.

" You should follow that doctor's advice, " said the pediatrician

firmly. " He is an excellent doctor. "

The mom hung up, more confused than ever. Her son was now screaming

in pain. Desperate for help, she called Dr. 's office and was

encouraged to come in. When she got there, they took some x-rays.

After the x-rays, she asked her son if he felt any better, and he said

no. She wondered whether the traditional doctors were right and this

alternative medicine was bogus. The doctor came in and showed her the

x-ray. " You see, his leg is broken here and here. It's no wonder he

is in so much pain. We will put the leg in a cast so that it can heal

in the correct position, and for now we will give him some pain meds

as well. "

The mother feared that the cast was an unproven experimental

treatment, but the doctor seemed sensible and she agreed to try it.

Once the leg was set and they were home, her son seemed more

comfortable. The next day, she had to explain to his teacher and the

school nurse why he was wearing this strange thing on his leg and

using crutches. The school nurse insisted that she obtain a note from

Dr. stating that the cast and crutches were necessary.

Weeks later when the mom and her son returned to Dr. to get the

cast removed, it turned out that the leg had healed very well. The

bones were straight and strong. But he had lost some muscle in the

leg due to the prolonged inactivity, so that leg looked thinner than

the other, and he walked with some awkwardness, even a slight limp.

Dr. assured them that with time his leg would develop strong

muscles again.

The following week, the boy saw his pediatrician for his regular

annual checkup. The mom showed the pediatrician how well her son was

doing, and told him about the treatment he had received. The

pediatrician said, " There is no effective medical treatment for

Genetic Leg Syndrome. If he seems better, it is just a coincidence.

Anyway, to me he seems worse. That leg is now a lot thinner than the

other, and at last year's check-up he was walking without any limp. "

As more time passed, the boy went back to running and playing soccer,

and his leg developed strong muscles again, and soon you could not

even tell that he had ever had a broken leg. At his next annual

check-up, the mom proudly showed the pediatrician that her son was now

fully recovered. " Well then, " said the pediatrician, " clearly he

never had GLS. It was a misdiagnosis. "

The mom breathed a sigh of relief. Her pediatrician finally seemed to

get it! " Yeah, " she said, " That genetic diagnosis was sooo crazy! By

the way, I was thinking about how that doctor said there had never

been any other accidents on that street. If someone is keeping track

of accidents, I should have reported my son's accident. Is it too

late now? Who should I report it to? "

" Oh, if there had been an accident, " said the pediatrician, " the

hospital would have reported it. But I think you know in your heart

that there was no accident. Your son never had any serious problem

with his leg. He was just suffering from the normal growing pains so

common at his age. Or he had sore muscles from playing soccer like so

many of my little athlete-patients. "

" But, doctor! " said the boy, " I did get hit by a car! I know I did! "

The pediatrician chuckled fondly. " Kids these days have such lively

imaginations! "

Twyla Ramos and her husband have three children. Their middle child,

age 16, has both autism and Syndrome. Fortunately, their

children's pediatrician is not at all like the pediatrician described

above.

Caveat: Of course treating autism is much more complicated than

treating a broken leg, and not everyone with autism responds so well

to biomedical treatments.

Moral of the story: Mainstream " experts " should remove their blinders

and pay more attention to the treatments which are helping so many

people, and the causes which so many parents have witnessed.