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- The Mysterious Case of Baby McDonald
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The Rare Case of Baby McDonald
On October 26, 1976, the Calvin and Jacqueline McDonald gave birth to fine baby boy Ronald McDonald in Washington D. C.. He appeared to be a healthy eight – pound twelve – ounce child, except he had infrequent stools. His mother noticed his skin was salty when she kissed him. They came to the conclusion that he was sweating because of the humidity and that the taste was a byproduct of the sweating and never made mention of it to the doctor.
Over the next couple of years the doctors and parents notice that the child is growing on average slower than projected by charts. The child is having trouble with bowel movements and when he does have a bowel movement it is foul smelling. He was taken to the doctor and the doctor told the parents to change the child’s diet and do not give him any fast foods. This appeared to help because the bowel movements became a little more frequent but the smell only subsided a little.
A couple of years later, the child was put into soccer, but had to be taken out because he developed breathing problems. The parents took him to a respiratory specialist and they diagnosis him with pneumonia and sinusitis. They give the child the prescribed medication and put him on bed rest until it is over. When he is back to normal he is up running around again. The only sign that persist is coughing and wheezing with thick sputum (musous) that the child never had before.
It has now become increasingly apparent that the child has delayed growth patterns and has been battling continuous bouts of pneumonia. The internist orders the previous records of the child and wants to do an extensive work up to see what the problem is. He finds that there is family history of the symptoms both sides of the family.
Over the next couple of years the doctors and parents notice that the child is growing on average slower than projected by charts. The child is having trouble with bowel movements and when he does have a bowel movement it is foul smelling. He was taken to the doctor and the doctor told the parents to change the child’s diet and do not give him any fast foods. This appeared to help because the bowel movements became a little more frequent but the smell only subsided a little.
A couple of years later, the child was put into soccer, but had to be taken out because he developed breathing problems. The parents took him to a respiratory specialist and they diagnosis him with pneumonia and sinusitis. They give the child the prescribed medication and put him on bed rest until it is over. When he is back to normal he is up running around again. The only sign that persist is coughing and wheezing with thick sputum (musous) that the child never had before.
It has now become increasingly apparent that the child has delayed growth patterns and has been battling continuous bouts of pneumonia. The internist orders the previous records of the child and wants to do an extensive work up to see what the problem is. He finds that there is family history of the symptoms both sides of the family.