Parents.. with different treatment

Tragic

It had been a whirlwind couple of weeks for the Brock family. Between juggling work, school routines, and caring for Xavier and Victoria, Valerie and Colby were stretched thin. Xander, always a bit more reserved, had been quietly retreating into his own world. At six, his energy levels usually fluctuated, a combination of his ADHD and mild autism, but lately, he seemed more tired, more withdrawn. No one gave it much thought at first. Life was busy, and with two other young children, some things naturally went unnoticed.

But Xander had been fighting something his family couldn't see.

It started with a subtle cough, nothing alarming, just a tickle in his throat that he tried to suppress. He didn't want to worry anyone. He knew his family was always concerned about him, about his seizures and his health, and he didn't want to add to their worries. At first, the cough was infrequent, but over the next few days, it grew persistent, the rattling in his chest becoming more pronounced.

One evening, as the family gathered in the living room, Xander felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. He sat down on the couch, trying to catch his breath, but before he could say anything, his body seized up. His small frame tensed, and he collapsed forward, trembling as his muscles spasmed uncontrollably. Colby and Valerie rushed to his side, calming him down as they had done many times before. They were accustomed to managing his seizures, but this one felt different—longer, more intense.

Afterward, Xander was exhausted. His chest hurt, his throat burned, and his nose began to bleed. He wiped the blood away with the back of his hand, not wanting to make a scene. Valerie noticed the nosebleed but thought it was just from the strain of the seizure. She helped him clean up and gave him some water, thinking rest would help.

But over the next few days, Xander's symptoms worsened. He had another seizure the very next morning, this time in the middle of breakfast. One moment, he was eating cereal with Xavier, the next, he was shaking violently, his spoon clattering to the floor. Valerie was quick to react, holding him gently as his body convulsed. By the time it was over, he was pale, shaky, and had another nosebleed.

"We need to call the doctor," Valerie said, her voice strained with worry.

Colby agreed, but when they called the pediatrician, they were told that seizures like Xander's could sometimes cluster and that they should continue to monitor him. Xander, as usual, bounced back after a few hours, playing quietly with his siblings. The reassurance from the doctor, combined with Xander's resilient attitude, made them feel like things were under control—for the moment.

But they weren't. Xander's condition was spiraling, and no one realized how dire it was becoming.

He had two more seizures that week. Each time, his body would stiffen, his eyes rolling back, and he would shake uncontrollably. After every episode, his nose bled, sometimes lightly, sometimes in thick streams, but he tried to downplay it, not wanting to cause a fuss. He would quietly wipe the blood away, not telling anyone when it became more frequent. The nosebleeds became almost daily, but with everything going on, Valerie and Colby didn't notice just how frequent they were. Xander didn't want to burden them.

The cough, though, was getting harder to hide. It wasn't just a tickle anymore. It was deep, rattling in his chest, a dry, hacking cough that would leave him breathless. He would excuse himself to the bathroom when it got bad, shutting the door to cough into his hands. Sometimes there would be small flecks of blood, but one night, after his fifth seizure, Xander coughed so hard he nearly collapsed. When he looked down, his palms were stained red, blood pooling between his fingers.

His heart raced. He knew this wasn't normal. He knew he needed help. But when he went to tell his parents, he found them in the middle of putting Victoria to bed, laughing softly as they sang her a lullaby. He stood in the doorway, watching them for a moment, unsure of what to say, and then turned back, deciding to deal with it on his own for just a little longer.

The next morning, as Xander sat at the breakfast table, trying to eat a few bites of toast, the cough returned, worse than ever. He excused himself again, this time heading to the bathroom. He barely made it before the cough wracked his body, and when he bent over the sink, blood came out in thick spurts, splattering against the white porcelain. His chest felt like it was on fire, and his nose began to bleed again, the red dripping steadily from his nostrils.

This time, he couldn't hide it.

Valerie, walking past the bathroom, heard the violent coughing and pushed the door open. Her heart stopped when she saw Xander hunched over the sink, blood everywhere. "Xander!" she cried, rushing to his side. Colby, hearing her shout, sprinted in as well, his face paling at the sight.

"We need to go to the hospital. Now," Valerie said, her voice shaking, but firm.

Colby didn't hesitate. He scooped Xander up in his arms, carrying him to the car as Valerie gathered their things. On the drive to the hospital, Xander's breathing was labored, his small body weak from the blood loss and the strain of the seizures. Valerie sat in the back with him, holding his hand, her eyes filled with tears. "I'm so sorry, baby. We didn't see it. We didn't know..."

At the hospital, the doctors quickly took Xander in for tests. It turned out he had a severe lung infection that had gone untreated for far too long, causing internal bleeding and triggering the cluster of seizures. His body had been fighting the infection for days, but without proper attention, it had escalated to a critical point. The doctors worked to stabilize him, placing him on oxygen and starting antibiotics to control the infection.

Colby and Valerie sat in the waiting room, their hearts heavy with guilt. They had missed so many signs—his quietness, his fatigue, the nosebleeds. They had been too caught up in the chaos of everyday life to see that their son had been suffering in silence.

When they were finally allowed to see him, Xander was resting, his chest rising and falling steadily with the help of the oxygen mask. He looked small and fragile in the hospital bed, but his eyes opened when he heard his parents enter. Colby sat beside him, gently taking his hand. "We're so sorry, buddy," he whispered. "We should have noticed sooner."

Xander gave a faint smile, his voice barely audible beneath the mask. "It's okay, Dad," he murmured. "I didn't want to worry you."

Valerie's tears fell freely now, but she smiled through them, brushing Xander's hair from his forehead. "You're never a worry, sweetheart. We love you so much, and we're going to take care of you from now on. We'll always be paying attention."

As Xander drifted back to sleep, Colby and Valerie made a silent promise to never let anything like this slip by again. Their son needed them, and from now on, they would make sure they were always there to catch the signs, no matter how small.