FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) – A woman in the Pee Dee seeks treatment for her 8-month-old son who was recently diagnosed with TK2-related mitochondrial DNA defect.
“He was born in January and he was fine up until 5 months old,” said mother Aneesa Licorish.
Jeremiah was an active happy and healthy baby boy, but that changed a couple months later when Aneesa started noticing something wasn’t right.
“He can no longer pick his head up and he actually can’t lift his hands up like most babies would to reach for you. Jeremiah can no longer apply pressure on his leg to get in a bouncy or walker,” said Licorish.
Aneesa decided to take Jeremiah to his primary doctor, but was told it was normal for babies to develop differently and she didn’t agree.
“We did get to McLeod pediatric rehab and they didn’t have any openings, but when I explained to them that it was affecting his eating, they basically opened up a spot for him,” said Licorish.
That’s when one therapist at McLeod told Aneesa she needed to go back to her primary doctor for referrals. Aneesa went back and waited for almost two weeks and didn’t receive a response.
Jeremiah’s mother found a clinic in Florence hoping someone had answers for her.
“My phone rang and it was Greenwood genetics and they had a cancellation so they saw him the very next day. They did that and it typically takes 8 to 10 weeks but they actually rushed the process and that’s when it came back that he has TK2,” said Licorish.
“The first few days were devastating because every time you look up TK2, it always talks about it being a progressive disease meaning things get worse overtime and most of the cases end in respiratory failure because the heart is a muscle,” said Licorish.
If you would like to learn about Jeremiah’s story or donate, click here.
