2 year-old unable to cry

Story found here.

Quote :

LITTLE Tianna Lewis McHugh is the girl who cannot cry because it could kill her.

The two-year-old has a rare condition which means tears could trigger a fatal fit.

Her parents, Ceri Lewis and Andy McHugh, face a daily battle to make sure she doesn't cry.

Tianna looks as though she's died when she has a terrifying Reflex Anoxic Seizure (RAS).

Her skin goes white, her body stiffens, her heart stops beating and she stops breathing.

Other children with the condition react to pain, fear or fright, but Tianna has a form so extreme that simply crying can trigger a fit.

She was diagnosed with the condition aged 18 months and has since survived 10 seizures.

The most serious lasted two hours.

Poor kid, and poor parents. It must be terrifying to have a child with such a condition, especially one in the terrible twos. I had no idea such a condition existed either, nature really likes to screw things up pretty badly.

She'll grow up spoiled. One little lip wobble, one sniffle: she gets what she wants. Her 2-year-old mind will draw the obvious conclusion.

...I was thinking that too and I'm somewhat hoping they never bring her into a supermarket.

Is it wrong that the first thing I thought was "I want that kid sitting behind me on a plane"?

Kids cry all the time. It'll be hard for her just to survive her youth.

The kid's not going to have a happy adulthood. I mean, she won't be able to cope with so many things, and the parents have got to let her go at some point to make her way in the world.

Jesus, I'm glad I don't have kids.

I just read the full article, and as it happens, this used to happen to me as a kid. I grew out of it, and I don't think I fucked myself up too badly. Apparently most kids do grow out of it.

Anyway, the article is poorly reported. What do they mean by "the seizure went on for two hours"? If it did, I'm pretty sure there's no coming back from that. [insert ZoZo rant about reporting of health issues in the media]

So, basically, let's hope these parents don't spoilt her. But of course they will. And the world will be a great big shock to her.

ZoZo wrote:

[insert ZoZo rant about reporting of health issues in the media]

YAY OFF-TOPIC TIME! :D

I'm a journalism major, ex-animal bioscience major (thanks to a series of complications regarding my status as a semi-cripple that had to pick up a desk job as opposed to playing with elephants in a zoo, but that's another story altogether), and I have to say that how the media reports on health issues is not the least bit surprising to me because most of them don't have to take anything remotely resembling a basic biology course while in college. My peers are the most ignorant and headdesk-inducing group of people when it comes to anything scientific in nature, and I want to bludgeon them constantly. Most of them don't even have a basic understanding of how immunizations work. And until schools start requiring their communications students to take more science credits than ecology 001, this kind of idiotic reporting is going to continue.

/steps off soapbox

ON TOPIC: I hope to god the kid does grow out of this because that's incredibly distressing, not being able emotionally vent like that.

It could be that she becomes incredibly mature rather than spoilt. If the parents actually EXPLAINED to her that it is incredibly dangerous for her to cry or throw a tantrum rather than buying her a Barbie every time she wells up then she might not grow into a little madam. Of course whatever way you try and deal with this it isn't exactly going to end with her being a perfectly normal child, sadly.

Little Egypt wrote:

The kid's not going to have a happy adulthood. I mean, she won't be able to cope with so many things, and the parents have got to let her go at some point to make her way in the world.

Yeah, no. Assuming she doesn't grow out of it, as is apparently entirely possible, she will take the obvious route and learn not to cry because it could kill her. In the absence of that response to bad situations, she'll develop other methods of expressing sadness which will likely, as she matures, be just as valid for her as crying is to anyone else. Humans are terribly adaptable.

KelinciHutan wrote:

In the absence of that response to bad situations, she'll develop other methods of expressing sadness which will likely, as she matures, be just as valid for her as crying is to anyone else. Humans are terribly adaptable.

This. Everyone expresses emotions different ways... this kid just has to do so for health reasons.

Besides, it's entirely possible that she could be naturally even-tempered and not prone to too much crying... it's just that when it does happen, it could kill her.

Still, I am wondering how she survived infancy, poor kid.

I reckon that this girl growing up spoilt is a very small price to pay for her, you know, growing up alive.

ZoZo wrote:

Is it wrong that the first thing I thought was "I want that kid sitting behind me on a plane"?

:roflmao:

I see a lot of mind drugs in her future. I know I cry like a bitch when I PMS unless I am on my meds.

God, I know she is a human being and she had parents who love her and all that jazz, but shit. This is one of those cases where biology is saying 'this child should die'. Her survival is going to make evolution cry.

Poor thing. It sucks when nature wants you dead.

Reepicheep-chan wrote:

Poor thing. It sucks when nature wants you dead.

That sounds like a Final Destination sequel. If you thought it was bad when Death was actively trying to knock you off...

KelinciHutan wrote:

Little Egypt wrote:

The kid's not going to have a happy adulthood. I mean, she won't be able to cope with so many things, and the parents have got to let her go at some point to make her way in the world.

Yeah, no. Assuming she doesn't grow out of it, as is apparently entirely possible, she will take the obvious route and learn not to cry because it could kill her. In the absence of that response to bad situations, she'll develop other methods of expressing sadness which will likely, as she matures, be just as valid for her as crying is to anyone else. Humans are terribly adaptable.

Will it work like that? I mean, I've got no idea how this kind of syndrom behaves - biology credits, what're those? - but is the actual act of tearing up that causes the seizure, or is the underlying emotion of stress/sadness/frustration that's the real threat?

Jay/Cris wrote:

KelinciHutan wrote:

Little Egypt wrote:

The kid's not going to have a happy adulthood. I mean, she won't be able to cope with so many things, and the parents have got to let her go at some point to make her way in the world.

Yeah, no. Assuming she doesn't grow out of it, as is apparently entirely possible, she will take the obvious route and learn not to cry because it could kill her. In the absence of that response to bad situations, she'll develop other methods of expressing sadness which will likely, as she matures, be just as valid for her as crying is to anyone else. Humans are terribly adaptable.

Will it work like that? I mean, I've got no idea how this kind of syndrom behaves - biology credits, what're those? - but is the actual act of tearing up that causes the seizure, or is the underlying emotion of stress/sadness/frustration that's the real threat?

Darn. I was thinking more from a psychological point of view, at how people deal with sadness, but...

*scans article* *Googles*

Hm. It looks like it could go either way. Apparently RAS can be triggered by pain or fright (both of which could be emotional) or sometimes by very hot or cold baths (which could be emotional responses to the sudden stimuli or the sudden stimuli themselves). If the problem isn't the emotional response, I stand by what I said. If it is then I concede to Little Egypt. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

unskilled78 wrote:

She'll grow up spoiled. One little lip wobble, one sniffle: she gets what she wants. Her 2-year-old mind will draw the obvious conclusion.

Raine wrote:

...I was thinking that too and I'm somewhat hoping they never bring her into a supermarket.

ZoZo wrote:

Is it wrong that the first thing I thought was "I want that kid sitting behind me on a plane"?

Reepicheep-chan wrote:

I see a lot of mind drugs in her future. I know I cry like a bitch when I PMS unless I am on my meds.

God, I know she is a human being and she had parents who love her and all that jazz, but shit. This is one of those cases where biology is saying 'this child should die'. Her survival is going to make evolution cry.

Poor thing. It sucks when nature wants you dead.

WGW - They like to make sure you're going to hell.

Zoey wrote:

So, basically, let's hope these parents don't spoilt her.

The British - BECAUSE FUCK TENSES, THAT'S WHY!

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

Zoey wrote:

So, basically, let's hope these parents don't spoilt her.

The British - BECAUSE FUCK TENSES, THAT'S WHY!

I... oh God. The day has come when Mikey has picked on my typo. :unskilled78:

ZoZo wrote:

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

Zoey wrote:

So, basically, let's hope these parents don't spoilt her.

The British - BECAUSE FUCK TENSES, THAT'S WHY!

I... oh God. The day has come when Mikey has picked on my typo. :unskilled78:

Been there, done that, just wait until skillet picks up on a typo you made, THEN you've hit rock bottom.

I don't know how you keep a child from crying. Even when you do absolutely everything in your power to make them happy, sometimes you get horrible fits of prolonged shrieking and sobs. I had one of those the other night with my 3 1/2 year old. I foresee awful things for this child in the future.

myeerah wrote:

I don't know how you keep a child from crying. Even when you do absolutely everything in your power to make them happy, sometimes you get horrible fits of prolonged shrieking and sobs. I had one of those the other night with my 3 1/2 year old. I foresee awful things for this child in the future.

The good news is that they won't be prolonged with this girl.

Somath Cegem wrote:

ZoZo wrote:

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

Zoey wrote:

So, basically, let's hope these parents don't spoilt her.

The British - BECAUSE FUCK TENSES, THAT'S WHY!

I... oh God. The day has come when Mikey has picked on my typo. :unskilled78:

Been there, done that, just wait until skillet picks up on a typo you made, THEN you've hit rock bottom.

I was totally about to reply to this saying, "No, you know that you're dicked when Somath gets on your ass about a typo." Then I noticed you were the one who posted this. FUCKING LOL

Narwhal wrote:

Somath Cegem wrote:

ZoZo wrote:

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

Zoey wrote:

So, basically, let's hope these parents don't spoilt her.

The British - BECAUSE FUCK TENSES, THAT'S WHY!

I... oh God. The day has come when Mikey has picked on my typo. :unskilled78:

Been there, done that, just wait until skillet picks up on a typo you made, THEN you've hit rock bottom.

I was totally about to reply to this saying, "No, you know that you're dicked when Somath gets on your ass about a typo." Then I noticed you were the one who posted this. FUCKING LOL

You're stoned again, aren't you?

No, DAD, I'm actually on a month-long break.