After months of uncertainty and several missed diagnoses, the Walker family finally found the clarity and compassion they needed when their son, Ray, was admitted to University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital.
Before arriving in Iowa City, Ray was experiencing nearly 20 seizures a day caused by focal epilepsy, a neurological condition that affects only part of the brain. His mother, Cassi, remembers how healthy he seemed when he was born—slightly early but nearly seven pounds and meeting all milestones. “Up until he was about four months old, he was just your typical baby,” she recalls.
At Ray’s four-month checkup, a local pediatrician ordered testing for Down syndrome. The results were negative, but his parents now view that moment as the first sign that something deeper was going on. “Looking back, that doctor knew something wasn’t right,” Cassi says. “She just didn’t know what.”…