Folic Acid Saves Baby's Life
Deficiency in Common Food Supplement Could Have Killed an Infant
Jan. 23, 3008

Cute and healthy, Rosendo Rivera was everything his mother dreamed
of.

"He slept, he ate, he gained a lot of weight; he was fine, everything
was perfect," says his mother, Mayra Rivera.

But when he was 4 months old, Rosendo's mom got an inkling that
something was wrong. First his eyes started to cross -- that was just
the beginning.

"He went from laughing, rolling to completely being a baby who
couldn't hold his head up. He stopped laughing, rolling, babbling. I
said this is like a bad dream. I can't believe this is happening,"
said Mayra.

Doctors were stumped. Rosendo continued to deteriorate and had up to
60 seizures a day. He was diagnosed with everything from mental
retardation to cerebral palsy, and then, something worse:
mitochondrial disease, a condition in which the body can't produce
energy.

His prognosis: He wouldn't live past his teens.

"I was devastated. I was watching my son deteriorate before my eyes,
and there was nothing I could do for him. This cannot be my life, this
cannot be my son's life. I was waiting for God to give us a miracle,"
says Mayra.

By chance, she met Dr. Mary Kay Koenig, who believed Rosendo may have
been misdiagnosed, and Mayra got the miracle she had been dreaming
of.

"I realized that although he had been tested for a majority of
conditions that can cause his symptoms, he had not been tested for
cerebral folate deficiency," says Koenig.

In folate deficiency, the body is unable to transport the vitamin
folic acid to the brain, resulting in seizures, mobility problems and
blindness. Fortunately though, this disease is 100 percent treatable
in toddlers with a simple supplement.

In August, Mayra got the news: Rosendo had folate deficiency.

"I was so happy I was crying. I was like, thank you God, my prayers
are answered. I knew it was a miracle," says Mayra.

Not only was he not going to die, but he could actually recover.
Rosendo has been taking the supplements for four months now, and he
has made remarkable strides.

"He's sleeping better, he's babbling, he's making new sounds, he's
sitting down for longer periods of time. It's really exciting. It may
be little for some people but really exciting for us. It's big,"says
Mayra.

Bright Future
Dr. Pamela Blake joined "Good Morning America" today to share the
latest details of Rosendo's recovery.

"He's gaining ground very quickly from all of the delays that he had.
He is doing very well. He's had a great return of his visual function.
His motor function is better, he is starting to talk, he can say
"Momma," which he could not do before," says Blake.

Nowadays Mayra even has reason to hope that Rosendo might be able to
live a normal life.

"Fortunately, because he was diagnosed properly and treated before the
age of 3, the expectation is that he will do very well and hopefully
should have a full recovery," says Blake.

Age 3 is turning point, because before that brain development is very
precious and any deprivation of sensation can cause life-long damage.

"Folic acid is transported by a different receptor, a different
protein taken into the brain and he has no problems with that
receptor, so it's very simple," says Blake.

What makes it even better is that it's about as easy as it gets to
administer. Rosendo takes just one tablet a day now. He'll have to for
the rest of his life, but doctors say now that his life should be a
long and healthy one.

For more information on folic acid deficiency, you can call Dr. Mary
Kay Koenig at 832-325-7151.

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