When Bennett Richardson was first diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, his family did not know what exactly to do next.
“Lord, what are you doing?” His mother, Laura Leigh Richardson, wondered after Bennett’s doctor said he would need a colonoscopy and an endoscopy. “Why him? Why is Bennett here?”
After a round of tests, the doctor said the autoimmune disease, which affects the intestines, had not made it past Stage 1. However, there was still a hard road ahead for Bennett and his family.
“Every day, our patients overcome health care obstacles and face challenges that most of us could never imagine,” Children’s of Atlanta said. “We wear a cape in honor of them.”
Cape Day, a fall tradition created by Children’s, celebrates its strong patients who face illnesses and injuries every day, and encourages people across the city to don a cape in honor of these unseen superheroes.
Bennett’s first visit to Children’s, for an infusion, started off scary, with his mother calling parts of the experience “traumatic.”
“Bennett was just shaking in his boots,” she said. “He had a lot to take in.”
That all turned around when an unexpected visitor entered the room.
Flo, one of Children’s facility dogs, came to Bennett’s side and, with a child life specialist to help, walked Bennett through what he could expect with his diagnosis.
“This immediate sense of relief washed over Bennett, and you could tell that there was just this peace,” his mother said about Flo’s influence on her son.
Bennett also said he felt a huge shift with Flo’s presence. " I thought it was the best day of my life when I saw her.”
His mother added, “It takes what could be a very scary thing for a lot of kids, and these (facility) dogs come in and completely change the mood.”
Despite having Crohn’s — and now arthritis brought on by the disease — Bennett is an impressive athlete. Last winter, he played on three basketball teams while also participating on a baseball team.
“He is fierce out there,” Richardson said, calling her son “Beast Mode Bennett.”
“No one really knows that he has an autoimmune disease,” she said.
It can be scary for parents to learn about autoimmune diseases like Crohn’s. Dr. Chathruckan Rajendra, a gastroenterologist at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Bennett’s doctor, gave some tips for how parents can best monitor their kid’s health in these situations.
According to Rajendra, common things to look for with Crohn’s are abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. More serious symptoms are blood in stools, weight loss, poor growth, joint pain and unusual rashes.
“It is important to note, if there is a family history of Crohn’s or another autoimmune disease, children are at a higher risk of developing Crohn’s disease,” Rajendra told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Rajendra tells parents worried their child may have Crohn’s disease to see their pediatricians for blood and stool testing. Then, he recommends they get referred to see a pediatric gastroenterologist for further evaluation.
While Bennett has found a lot to smile a lot during this time, there are still many hard days when he said he feels “puny.” Over seven visits to Children’s for 14 procedures, Bennett’s Crohn’s is still not in remission.
“We really try to empower and encourage him to not get down in the dumps, because this is the life that God has given you,” his mother said. “You get to shine a light to others that you may have Crohn’s, but you don’t let it stop you.”
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