He was diagnosed in December 2002 - by the luck of fate! Strangely, I took him to see an allergist thinking he could have some severe food allergies that were responsible for his severe colic and delayed development. When the doctor came in, she said he has some mild allergies but none of which are responsible for any of his issues. She then said that Kannan reminded her of her daughter who has something called "Williams Syndrome". At this time I'm thinking "yeah whatever". She said Kannan had the same puffy eyes and lips of a child with Williams and also said his colic, fussiness, tummy discomfort, delayed development, and very small size were just like that of her daughter (and WS characteristics). She explained that she could be totally "off the mark", but that it can't hurt to have him tested. She then explained the FISH test and gave me the name of a geneticist. I took my time making the appointment thinking that she was in fact probably "off the mark".
A few weeks later, after a blood test and having read a lot about WS on the internet, I get the call with positive results and all of the things I had read about were now my reality and I am in shock. But after getting over the initial shock of his diagnosis, we are now taking things one day at a time. He has PT, OT, and Speech therapy and seems to be progressing slowly but surely. We feel so lucky that Kannan hasn't had any serious medical issues so far. One thing about Kannan that is very true regarding people with WS is that people and faces are Kannan's absolute, most favorite thing in the world. My favorite thing about him is if you dare look away from him he'll take his tiny little hands and grab your face and pull it back towards his. He does not like it when you turn away from him and he just loves to look at, study and touch your face. His grandmother calls him "Kannan the Champ", and he most definitely is. I couldn't imagine if he were any different and I actually feel blessed that he is who he is.
Claire & Ratha Ramasamy, Mom & Dad to Kannan, would love to hear from other WS parents.
