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Community Corner

Grandmother masks pain of grandson's ordeal

Local employee's grandson is one of three children in the world with a yet unnamed medical condition.

Pain, and the masking of it with anesthesia, may be a daily occurrence at a dental office, but Polly Weber has struggled with masking a personal, emotional pain the last nine months.

Weber, the front office manager at Eureka Family Dental Care, and her family have had to deal with the trials and challenges of her infant grandson, Hunter Isaacson, since he was born.

Hunter is one of only three children known in the world to have a condition -- as yet officially unnamed -- that causes seizures and infantile spasms. The seizures, due to a brain malformation, have the effect of wiping out capabilities Hunter had already developed, such as being able to roll over.

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"Holding his head up is a big deal," Weber said of Hunter in an interview Thursday at the dental office, 302 Bald Hill Road. "But he is such a good baby. He never fusses. He takes everything like a trooper."

Because the condition is so rare, said Weber, Hunter's prognosis is uncertain. The child has so far suffered through numerous MRIs (magnetic resonance imaging) and spinal taps, she said.

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To help with Hunter's medical bills, a benefit will be held tomorrow, starting at 5 p.m. at the Cedar Hill VFW, 1 Lynn Lane. Hunter's parents, Nick and Samantha Isaacson, live in Dittmer, about 18 miles southwest of Eureka, as does Weber.

St. Louis Rams' cheerleaders will be at the benefit, Weber said. The St. Louis Cardinals' mascot, Fredbird, also is expected to show.

Dinner, music and dancing will be included. The music will be provided by The Tumbleweed Band, starting at 8 p.m.

Cardinals' and St. Louis Blues' hockey broadcaster Dan McLaughlin said he'd also try to make it, Weber said. She even asked Missouri's new U.S. senator-elect, Roy Blunt, to attend, she said.

Hunter, who has been aspirating while eating and will undergo an operation Monday to insert a feeding tube, is always on her mind at work, said Weber, but her co-workers have been supportive. Her employer, dentist Rocky Lupardus, has been "wonderful," she said.

"He always has been. God knew what he was doing when he placed me here (at this office)."

Eureka Family Dental patients who know of Hunter's condition inquire about him when they visit, Weber said.

"I'm a normal grandma," she added. "I still brag about my baby."

Support came in several, interesting ways.  A case in point is 13-year-old Matthew Pearl and his mother, Diane, of Eureka. Though they've done no more than anyone else, said Weber, their help stood out due to what Matthew and his older sister, Alex, 15, have been through.

Both Matthew and Alex had to undergo bone marrow transplants because of a rare and potentially fatal blood disorder known as Fanconi Anemia. Matthew underwent his transplant in July 2006; Alex had her's little more than five years earlier.

Weber said Matthew provided Hunter with a blanket, and some articles from a fundraiser held by retired, former Cardinal's catcher Mike Matheny.

The seizures and spasms aren't all that plague Hunter. He suffers as well from Telangiectasia, which causes small red dots on his skin.

Concern for Hunter is coming as far away as Wisconsin, where an order of Catholic nuns are praying for him. The nuns pray 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Though her family isn't Catholic, Weber said, any prayer is good.

"They put him on a permanent rollover until January," she said. "I'm supposed to keep them updated."

Oddly enough, Weber said her family was told the only two other known cases of this condition in the world are -- relatively speaking -- right next door in Illinois. She said the other two children with the condition, though older than Hunter, are siblings.

Additional information and updates on Hunter's condition are available through the family's blog or from a health-related website

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