My 7-year-old son, Cayden, started seeing a gastroenterologist (gastrointestinal, or GI, specialist) when he was just a baby. Cayden was diagnosed with infantile-onset Pompe disease when he was 1 month old, becoming the first baby in Pennsylvania to be diagnosed with the condition via newborn screening. After the…

Parents never want to see their children experience anything hard or painful. Yet I can recall many times when I’ve had to put my 6-year-old son, Cayden, through something difficult for his own good. One of my memories from his early years is when he had to get a…

Because of his infantile-onset Pompe disease, my 5-year-old son, Cayden, has always relied on a feeding tube for nutrition. For the first six months of his life, he used a nasogastric, or NG, tube. After that, he needed something more permanent, so he underwent surgery to have a…

From the time he was born four years ago until now, my son, Cayden, has struggled with eating orally. Because of his infantile-onset Pompe disease, Cayden has weak muscles all over his body, including his mouth and the muscles involved in swallowing. He can’t swallow properly and often would…

I’m no stranger to our local urgent care clinics and hospitals. Usually, my 4-year-old son, Cayden, is the patient. Last week, however, it was my turn to need medical help. I had an unexpected fall off a friend’s porch steps and immediately felt the pain. This is my first time…

Last week, we again had to take my son, Cayden, on the dreaded 2.5-hour drive to Philadelphia. We usually make this trip to see all of Cayden’s specialists, but this time we went to the dentist. Plenty of pediatric dental offices are in our area, but none are very…

Thanksgiving and Christmas are often associated with two things: food and family. But what about those who can’t eat? My 3-year-old son, Cayden, is picking up on the fact that he cannot eat orally. With the holiday season just around the corner, I’m worried about how this will affect him.

Getting a toddler to understand things is a hard enough task by itself. However, trying to get my 3-year-old son, Cayden, to understand the things he has to go through due to his Pompe disease is even more challenging. Because of Pompe disease, he has been through more hardships than…

Some doctors specialize in one field of medicine, which requires them to go through even more education and training. My son, Cayden, sees many different specialists, including a metabolism specialist, pulmonologist, cardiologist, gastroenterologist, nutritionist, otolaryngologist (ENT), and orthopedist.  Each of these specialists serves a…