Before Lucas Cote had ever had a full neurological exam, his mother sensed something was wrong—despite a pediatrician who dismissed concerns.
For Dr. Jenni Bush, a quick prognosis was a necessity to fast-track her son’s recovery from whatever was at the root of his involuntary movements, inability to breastfeed, head lag, and lack of eye movement. A doctor of chiropractic medicine, Bush located a colleague in Boston who specializes in complex cases. But on the hot Arizona day of their flight, Lucas began having seizures, and their journey detoured to the local emergency department.
“Three days later our world was turned upside down,” Bush recalled about the day of her son’s diagnosis. “I don’t think the hospital’s ever seen (anything like) it. We did a CT scan and the neurologist came in and said bluntly, ‘We think a part of his brain is missing.’”…