Hello, Health is a story of a mother’s perseverance addressing her son’s rare and difficult-to-diagnose autoimmune disorder. Hello, Health details a grueling journey, but it has a happy ending. This mother, Pamela Wirth, was able to find solutions to that gave her young son his life back.
When Pamela Wirth’s six-year-old son, Ryan, began to developmentally regress, she did what any parent would do: she took him to the doctor. Unfortunately, several doctors could not adequately explain or treat his tics, anxiety, lethargy, or unusual vocalizations. Refusing to accept that her son was forever altered, Pamela went on a search for answers.
After years of doctors’ appointments, differing diagnoses, research, expert consultations, and watching her son suffer and experience difficulties at school, sports and home, Pamela Wirth was able to find a sustainable solution to what they would learn to be a rare autoimmune disorder, autoimmune encephalitis. Ryan’s condition had been triggered by a virus and a form of the bacteria later found following a tonsillectomy that causes strep throat though he never tested positive for strep throat (or high strep titers) outside of blood work.