Pain that was only relieved for hours by an anti-inflammatory, oral discomfort, difficulty falling asleep, migraines, growth problems and other ailments that a four-year-old American boy faced during the Covid-19 pandemic. A case in which artificial intelligence was decisive.

They went to dentists, neurologists, ENT doctors, pediatricians and also other specialists, such as physiotherapists, who reached a total of 17… yes, 17 doctors evaluated the child to determine the cause of his health problems.

Little Alex’s story was told by his mother Courtney, who, quoted in Telemundo, points out who was the one who really hit the nail on the head with what happened to her son.

The answer surprised her and gives those learning about the child’s case pause.

The mother revealed that it was artificial intelligence that ‘diagnosed’ Alex.

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Health and ChatGPT

Courtney – who was concerned when the babysitter told her about the times she gave the child Motrin, took the child to the dentist because he ‘chewed’ almost everything and thought it was from cavities, and to the pediatrician because ‘he wasn’t’ ‘it grows’ – she said. symptoms on the computer.

The parent also noticed that Alex had a lot of tantrums.

I’ve been sitting at the computer all night… going over all this stuff.

Courtney, Alex’s mother

Telemundo explains that the woman “created an account and shared with the artificial intelligence platform everything he knew about his son’s symptoms and all the information he could gather from his MRIs.”

ChatGPT’s response “showed that the child could be suffering from the tethered cord syndrome”.

According to the woman, that was ‘very logical’.

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Courtney is a woman connected to technology. “He joined a Facebook group started by families of children suffering from tethered cord syndrome.”

After visiting 17 doctors in three years, the news network noted, and without any concrete results, the woman went for a consultation with a “new neurosurgeon and told her she suspected Alex had the syndrome.” “The doctor described the MRI images in detail.”

He told me bluntly: this is where the spina bifida is and this is where the spinal cord is anchored.

Courtney, mother of child Alex, quoted on Telemundo

What is this syndrome that artificial intelligence was talking about?

According to the Mayo Clinic, “a tethered spinal cord occurs when spinal nerves attach to the scar where the defect was surgically closed.”

The spinal cord, the institute describes, ‘has less capacity to grow as the child gets older. This progressive adhesion can cause loss of muscle function in the legs, intestines or bladder. “Surgery can limit the degree of disability.”

“In tethered cord syndrome, the spinal cord is attached to something. It could be a tumor in the spinal canal. “It could be a protrusion on a bone spine (…),” Holly Gilmer, a pediatric neurosurgeon at the Michigan Head & Spine Institute, who saw and treated Alex, responded on Telemundo.

Something else happened to Alex: “Many children with spina bifida have a visible opening in the child’s back. But the type Alex had closes that opening, so it can be difficult to diagnose (…).”

Relief and joy

The diagnosis of artificial intelligence and verified by the specialist gave the child’s mother a little “relief.”

The next step was to take Alex for surgery to correct tethered cord syndrome. “Essentially, we separated the marrow from where it was attached to the underside of the tailbone,” Gilmer explained. “That eases the tension,” he told Telemundo.

Alex has recovered, says his mother, who celebrates how he plays with other children. When you get injured, you look for ways to adapt. The most important thing for Courtney “is to see his face full of joy.” (JO)