Upcoming blood drives honor local teenager
National Park Medical Center and Saline Memorial Hospital in Benton will host blood drives by Arkansas Blood Institute later this month in honor of a local teenager as part of a joint effort to raise awareness for an infection-induced autoimmune disorder.
The blood drives will be held in the Fordyce Room of NPMC on Aug. 29 and at SMH in Benton on Aug. 31, according to news release from NPMC.
Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome and Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections, known as PANS/PANDAS, often go undiagnosed, according to the release.
Cameron Puckett, of Hot Springs, was diagnosed in September 2016 with PANS, which is caused by a viral infection that passes the blood/brain barrier into the brain, which causes the psychiatric symptoms, the release said.
Puckett dealt with bouts of depression before he was 15 years old, his
mother, Cathy Puckett, said in the release. “We had been back and forth to doctors doing different tests to see what was going on. Nothing ever got labeled because none of the symptoms ever really fit into the categories of a specific diagnosis.”
After discovering information about PANS/PANDAS, Cathy Puckett took it to the family’s primary care physician, who then ordered a Cunningham Panel, a diagnostic blood test.
“Cameron’s three out of the four markers were into the red zone,” she said. “That is what got us contacting hospitals and eventually, traveling to Illinois for Cameron’s first IVIG (intravenous immunoglobulin) treatment.”
When they returned home, the Pucketts contacted Dr. Janna Jennings, a pediatrician in Benton who took on their case and continued Cameron’s treatments.
“We were blessed to find Dr. Jennings here in Arkansas, and she was able to do the other three IVIGs at Saline Memorial Hospital,” Cathy Puckett said. He returns to SMH every Wednesday for vitamin replacement therapy.
Jason Puckett, his father, in coordination with Saline Health Foundation Director Matt Brumley, thought an event to raise awareness and provide much-needed supplies for patients needing blood and plasma would make a considerable impact, the release said.
“Matt Brumley had made mention of doing something to raise awareness for PANS/ PANDAS, and my husband came up with a blood drive — it takes 1,000 donors in order to get one bag of IVIG fluids of plasma,” Cathy Puckett said.
“Those that know Cameron and his family have been able to see firsthand how the donation of blood products is truly lifesaving,” Matt Brumley, Saline Health Foundation director, said in the release.
“When I see Cameron receive his IVIG treatment, the bag of fluid he receives represents 1,000 heroes. Our hope is many of these heroes will come donate on the 29th or 31st not only to help others like Cameron but to also raise awareness of a very real disorder.”
Cameron Puckett will attend the University of Central Arkansas this fall to pursue a degree in business.
“He is finally able to go off to school,” Cathy Puckett said of the 2015 Lakeside graduate. “That right there for us is a miracle.”
It’s estimated that one in 200 children in the United States alone are living with PANS/PANDAS, the release said.
The infection-induced autoimmune condition can present itself through sudden onset of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, anorexia or food restrictions, anxiety, irritability, hyperactivity, sleep disturbances, facial tics, behavioral regression, mood swings and urinary problems.