When a two-year-old boy was rushed to the hospital suffering from brain seizures and breathing

problems, doctors could not find the cause of the illness.

But the boy's sister provided an important clue.

The possibility of a rare syndrome few had ever heard of.

In 1987, Ray and Tanya Reed, along with their two children, had just moved to Urban

Dale, Iowa.

It was Ray Reed's fourth job transfer in three years.

Every time we moved, it was an advancement for him.

And I was ready, you know, any time with him, he wanted to go.

Tanya Reed was a housewife who stayed at home to care for her children, six-year-old

carol and two-year-old Michael.

It was two days after moving to town, their youngest child, Michael, stopped breathing.

Fortunately, Tanya was a nurse and knew exactly what to do.

She performed CPR and immediately took into the emergency room of Iowa Methodist Medical

Center.

It was fever of viralidiology, dehydration, and vomiting.

That was a pretty standard diagnosis and situation.

After he was stabilized, Michael was given a complete physical examination.

He had a prior history of neurologic seizures, but doctors could not determine what was

causing him.

A few months later, the Reed's moved into a larger unit in the same complex.

Ray was working it streamly long hours and Tanya was lonely.

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