Update on my son

[bethvac65]

So I heard from my son and found out what happened. He said that the second night he was there, he had a couple episodes of sudden muscle spasms and legs starting to give out. Later that night, he got up to go to the bathroom - said he took his time getting up - then the muscle spasms again and blacked out, falling on his nose. Messed up his nose and front teeth. He then went into the bathroom to get cleaned up and blacked out again. This time he ended up with 10 staples in his head. Now, he is continuing to have what he called “mini blackouts” where his muscles twitch and everything goes black for a couple seconds. He has a neurology consult but it isn’t until September 3 but if he’s still having symptoms, he’ll most likely be separated. I imagine he probably has a concussion and it almost sounds like some type of seizure activity. This has never happened to him before. He’s so upset. At the beginning of the call, he said they’re trying to get him back into training. Then later he said he’ll most likely be separated if these blackouts keep happening. By the end of the call, he was crying that he just wants to come home. He says it is just so depressing where he's at - so much worse than the actual boot camp side (I know, he was only there a day or two before moving to ship 4).  My heart is breaking. He wanted this so badly and he sounded just so...defeated.

[Sarah's Human]

Hi Beth—

Glad you got some details. The unknown is dreadful.

If he’s never had this sort of thing occur until arriving at GL I wonder if he may be having a reaction to the “peanut butter shot.”

He might have a long road in RCU but if he’s adamant about being a sailor, his rating is understaffed, the blackouts stop and neurologist finds nothing, he can get through it and back into his desired track.

Fingers crossed for a clean bill of health from the neurologist! I know you’re going nuts not being able to talk to the doctors, look after your boy yourself, etc. so feel free to come here and vent when you need a space where people understand.

[lemonelephant]

Sarah's Human, no, his concerns have nothing to do with the gamma globulin shot (AKA Peanut Butter shot) since he had not been at RTC long enough to have gotten any immunizations when she received the first call. The first round of immunizations occurs on P-4 (See USS Red Rover.) and she received the first call from him on his second day at RTC (See Scripted call on P-day 1 or 2.). It is more likely that he was not well hydrated, which resulted in the muscle spasms and blacked outs. I am no doctor, but I am aware that early on in BC recruits may have been without sleep for many hours and also do not always stay hydrated. Hopefully, it is that simple and he will be released to train once his injuries heal. Whatever the cause, that is for the doctors to determine and not for us to speculate.

bethvac65, prayers for your son that they can find the cause of his issues and treat him appropriately and that he can keep his spirits up through this troubling ordeal. Prayers for you as you wait for answers and communication with him. (((((hugs)))))

[AK907Tammy]

Bethvac65 - I'm so sorry. It's really heartbreaking for us moms/dads knowing there is nothing we can do but be strong and let them know how proud we are of them. Please let him know if he is separated, he should be proud as he displayed more courage than a majority of the people he will ever meet. God has a bigger plan! Sending prayers to you and your SR!