Jamie Lynn Sigler opened up about the challenges she faced after her son, Beau Kyle Dykstra, was diagnosed with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM).
For those who may not know, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis is a rare neurological condition that occurs after a bacterial or viral infection and affects the brain and spinal cord. Mostly children are affected by this condition, which includes symptoms like numbness, headache, weakness, and confusion.
PEOPLE magazine received a clip of the Tuesday, May 12 episode of the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast, hosted by Amanda Hirsch, where Sigler reflected on how she dealt with life after receiving a life-altering diagnosis for her son almost two years ago.
The 44-year-old American actress and singer said Beau “got a random virus at camp and instead of his body.”
“Instead of making antibodies to fight the virus, his body made dumb antibodies and attacked itself,” The Sopranos star unveiled.
After Beau started showing symptoms like loss of appetite and high-grade fever, doctors took almost seven days to figure out the exact problem her son was suffering from, but her “mother’s intuition” had already told her something was serious with him even before he was diagnosed with ADEM.
Sigler recalled, “I remember when we were leaving the ER the day before we finally got admitted, they’re sending us home again and my feet literally didn’t want to move. I was like, I know in my soul that there is something seriously wrong that they are missing.”
“But what finally got us admitted was when he lost the ability to urinate, and that’s when they were able to really understand what was going on. And that was the most painful and traumatic time of my life, but also a moment where I felt more love than I’ve ever felt and support… I kind of learned who I am and what I’ve become in that moment,” the Mob Town actress explained.
It is pertinent to mention that Jamie Lynn Sigler shares two children, Beau, 12, and Jack Adam Dykstra, 8, with her husband, Cutter Dykstra,
