When Nic Volker was 2, his mother discovered an abscess on his rectum, and soon after, whenever he’d eat, his body would punish him by forming holes in his intestine. The once-healthy little boy’s condition led to a colectomy and mystified scientists for years until 2009, when he underwent DNA sequencing, which was then an emerging technology. Although the feat was a triumph for medicine, the trials that preceded the test— more than 800 days in the hospital, 172 surgeries, over 10 bouts of sepsis, countless medications and meetings with dozens of specialists— took a toll on Nic, who has recovered, but copes with seizures, developmental delays, anxiety and trauma.
Due to DNA sequencing’s still-high price tag and its relative novelty, many families in the United States are continuing to suffer a similar fate but may not be as lucky as Nic was to survive.
“It’s a success story with sequencing, but what about if other kids in other families could get this done sooner? Then, you wouldn’t have to go through what Nic had to go through or what our family had to go through,” Amylynne Santiago Volker, Nic’s mother, told FoxNews.com. Read more here…
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