If you are like most people when you read that our son has Mitochondrial disease you paused and thought to yourself, what is that, I have never heard of that. Don't worry your definitely not alone with not knowing what Mitochondrial Disease is.
http://www.umdf.org/what-is-mitochondrial-disease/
^^This is a great site to really explore mitochondrial disease and all the complex things that go with this disease. To keep it simple though, what it really means is that when Benjamin eats his body doesn't convert food into energy well at all. Picture a battery and that battery draining in power that is basically what is happening to Benjamin's body. Benjamin is nonverbal and cannot walk without help, he can walk while holding your hand and while using his walker. Even though he doesn't talk he lets us know his needs/wants in his own way and almost always understand what he wants and needs.
With mitochondrial disease Benjamin also experiences seizures, thankfully we have been seizure free for over a year thanks to Keppra! He also has other medical issues such as chronic constipation, cerebral palsy, reflux, decreased bone density and neutropenia. We are very thankful that the is doing really well and we have had minimal setbacks recently.
I hope this helps you understand Mitochondrial Disease a bit more.
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