The death of Dee Spears: Could Botox injections hurt your child?

This morning, I called the doctor who gives Max Botox injections and left a voicemail about scheduling an appointment; his occupational therapist at school says she thinks his thumbs are getting much tighter. The Botox injections Max has gotten over the years have really helped loosen up his tightness and made it easier for him to pick up and grasp things.

This afternoon I found out about little Dee Spears, whose mother is suing the makers of Botox for causing her death. Dee, a 7-year-old with cerebral palsy from Potters County, Texas, had been getting injections in her legs to alleviate muscle spasms. Evidently, she started having issues with breathing and swallowing afterward. She died in 2007 from respiratory failure and pneumonia. Her mother is saying an overdose of Botox caused her death; Allergan, the company that makes Botox, is blaming a bacterial issue unrelated to Botox. The case is being tried in court now.

My heart aches for this mother, whose grief must surely be laced with so much anger, perhaps even guilt. Botox was supposed to improve her child's life; instead, it might have killed her.

If you're a mom of a kid with special needs you know just what it's like to want to do something, anything, to help your child, enable him function, allow him to live a life less challenged.

Have you tried, or considered, Botox for your child?

Overworried (once again)

Here's Max, resting peacefully after he got the pre-Botox anesthesia, probably dreaming about Cars and chocolate pudding. Everything went fine. Max cried at the hospital, they knocked him out, the injections took all of five minutes, he woke up groggy but perked up almost immediately when he saw that Mickey Mouse Clubhouse was on the TV, and then he was home again.

As usual, I worried and worried and where did it get me? Nowhere. I've gotten a lot less anxious about Max over the years, but still, I wish I was better able to keep the worry monster away.

Is there anything that helps relax you when you've got a major worry on your mind? I'd really love to know.

Botox injections for children (and adult hospitalphobia)

Max is going to a local hospital Monday morning to get Botox injections in his hands. His thumbs are tight, and this will help loosen them up so they can be more functional. I've been joking with friends about my big idea: a mommy-child Botox clinic. You get a little Botox around the eyes to get rid of wrinkles, your child gets Botox to get rid of stiffness.

But really, I am scared.

Not because I think this doctor might mess up the injections; I trust him completely, he's experienced and he did this once before for Max. I'm scared because they have to put Max under for the procedure. I have irrational fears about Max being unconscious, every single one of them tied to those first weeks of his life when he was in the hospital.

Wish us luck.