Helping Patients Like Me - PANDAS Network

From the desk of “The Real STEM Sadie”:

P.A.N.D.A.S. stands for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Strep - a phrase I've had memorized since I was 7 years old. One night, 5 year-old Sadie went to bed completely normal and woke up in the morning a totally different child - anxiety riddled, critically ill, on-the-spectrum, and immunocompromised. Diagnosed years later, my family learned that I had contracted strep - totally normal for a child, right? - but in this rare case, the strep traveled to my brain and launched an attacked causing permanent damage. This resulted in many mental health issues including ADHD, OCD, Tourette's/tics, depression, anxiety, number dyslexia, issues reading social cues, insomnia, suicidal thoughts, and being put on the autism spectrum. Some of these neurodivergent qualities plague me to this day, but I've worked hard to thrive in this life with them and to eliminate others. Now an adult, I'm considered very high functioning and am a very vocal advocate for PANDAS awareness. As one of the very first cohorts, I participated in clinical trials and struggled with the lack of medical knowledge and acceptance by the medical community. Over the past two decades, amazing medical strides have been made in identifying and treating children with PANDAS - but what about the PANDAS that grew up into adults? There's VERY little research being conducted on PANDAS adults so the future struggles with this disease are unknown - well, that's terrifying…

I'm raising money to benefit PANDASnetwork.org, and any donation will help make an impact. Thanks in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to me.

More information about PANDASnetwork.org: PANDAS Network is dedicated to improving the diagnosis and treatment of children with PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections) & PANS (Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome). Armed with an impressive network of doctors, researchers, and scientists, PANDAS Network strives to collaborate with subject matter experts, build public awareness, provide family support, and gather data and resources to better inform parents and the medical community