Jamie Lynn Sigler detailed her 10-year-old son’s “nightmarish” intensive care visit that led to his diagnosis of the autoimmune disease.
The TV star said her son was diagnosed with Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM).
“What I thought was just a normal virus 4 weeks ago has turned into a nightmare for my son,” Sigler shared on Instagram on Tuesday. “Beau has what we believe to be ADEM. To say this has been hard is an understatement and I have never felt more devastated…”
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ADEM is an extremely rare neuroimmune response that children sometimes develop after contracting a simple virus. “They liken it to being struck by lightning,” Sigler explained on an episode of “MeSsy with Christina Applegate & Jamie-Lynn Sigler,” emphasizing how rare the condition is.
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Jamie Lynn Sigler’s son was hospitalized with an autoimmune disease. (Jamie Lynn Sigler/Getty Images)
Their 10-year-old son had been feeling unwell for several days before his diagnosis. At one point, Beau ran a 105-degree fever and cried out for a headache, so Sigler’s husband rushed him to the hospital. Sigler’s son went to the emergency room three times over the next few days, but was sent home after being evaluated.
After seeing an infectious disease specialist, Sigler recalled taking her son to the emergency room for the fourth time.
Jamie-Lynn Sigler was photographed with her son Beau in 2015. (Getty Images)
“While driving [to the infectious disease doctor] “My son was screaming in pain. No mother should ever have to see her child scream,” she recalled, adding that she decided at that moment to go to the emergency room.
Doctors told her to take her son to be evaluated for an infectious disease first, and after Sigler and Bo were examined by a doctor, they were quickly taken back to the emergency room, where their 10-year-old son was admitted to intensive care.
“Thank you all. You all know who you are. I can never repay you for all the support you’ve given us and the encouragement you’ve given us.”
While in the intensive care unit, Beau lost the ability to speak and, at one point, move his legs as well.
“It was the darkest, hardest, most awful thing that I’ve ever been through,” she explained. “Every time I heard a bit of good news, it was like I got slapped in the face with something else.”
Jamie-Lynn Sigler’s son was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. (Paul Archuleta/Getty Images)
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According to “The Sopranos” star, Beau remains hospitalized and will likely remain there for another month.
Although Beau is no longer in the ICU, Sigler acknowledged that he still suffers from mental illness.
“Who is my child? Is he coming back? What’s going to happen to our lives? I don’t know,” she explained.
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Jamie-Lynn Sigler’s son, Beau, will remain in the hospital while he recovers. (Paul Archuleta/Getty Images)
In an Instagram post, Sigler thanked everyone who helped, writing, “Doctors, nurses, therapists. [sic] We’ve had an incredible experience here, and I truly hope that my son makes a full recovery. But I also realize that no matter what life brings, we’ll be OK because we have an incredible military around us.”
“Thank you all. You all know who you are. I can never repay you all for all the support and encouragement you’ve given us. And to my husband, Cutter, your patience and strength during this has been unmatched. My other son, Jack, you’re only 6 but the way you just ‘get it’ and learn to care for your little brother after every hospital visit reminds me of the beauty in this world.”
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