主要研究 今天

27岁的泰特·潘顿只有在奔跑的时候才会停止喧嚣.

That’s the lone way the 主要研究 freshman – who has spent most of his life feeling “trapped in” his own body while battling a complicated immune system disorder that causes antibodies to attack the brain at any sign of infection – has found to consistently achieve a completely clear mind.

他就要经历26岁了.2 miles of clear mind alongside hundreds of the world’s most competitive distance runners.

Panton will be running the Boston Marathon on April 15 to raise money and awareness for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcus (PANDAS) or PANS, 从他五岁起就折磨着他的病他会筹集资金 为 JBC PANS和PANDAS基金会). It significantly disrupted his home and school life and left him and his family searching for answers through a maze of confusing medical appointments and misdiagnoses.

他的病情现在得到了很好的处理, 跑步在这个过程中扮演了重要的角色. 早在潘东高中时代，它就成了他的发泄渠道, and he has continued to lean on the meditative benefits of the activity as a critical means of regulating his body and mind.

“它改变了一切，”潘顿说.

So, when the opportunity to run the Boston Marathon for a cause so close to him presented itself, 他不需要多想. 

“这是我唯一真正觉得自己能够清晰思考的时候. 当我奔跑的时候, I can think about positive things and I’m able to step away from the reality that I have to deal with,潘顿说. “对于很多像我这样的人来说，是和pan和PANDAS一起长大的, 那时没有今天这么多的支持. 我一直想参加波士顿马拉松, 现在我可以告诉其他有pan和panda的孩子，希望是存在的.”

在潘东年轻的时候，有那么一段时间，希望是很难实现的. 突然在五岁的时候, 之前没有任何症状或警告迹象, 潘顿开始有不安的想法, having tantrums and screaming fits and developed 抽搐 so severe that he couldn’t ride a bike or play with his peers. 他会在学校大发雷霆，结果几乎每天都被送回家.

He said he would experience emotions or contemplate things that were highly unusual for a kid his age, like when he was in the first or second grade and asked his mother why he was alive and what his purpose was.他无法控制自己的思想和行为，也不知道为什么.

He was tested for all sorts of potential causes, including autism, bipolar disorder and 抑郁症. 在与这个看似无穷无尽的循环抗争了两年之后, 医生们开始建议把潘东送进精神病院.

It was three years from the onset of symptoms before he finally received the proper diagnosis of PANS, 是由链球菌和莱姆病引发的吗.

潘顿说:“我记得自己是一个正常的孩子，和家人一起做事. “然后突然之间，事情发生了变化.”

根据JBC PANS和PANDAS基金会的一份新闻稿, “PANDAS/PANS are autoimmune disorders that occur when an infectious trigger creates a misdirected immune response resulting in inflammation of the brain (Post-Infectious Autoimmune Encephalitis). 触发因素包括但不限于链球菌、单核细胞增多症、肺炎、COVID、流感 & 莱姆病. 受影响的人表现出改变生活的神经精神症状，如强迫症, 抽搐, 焦虑, 愤怒, 抑郁症, 失眠和学习成绩下降.”

The release further notes that “symptoms often come on suddenly and always leave families in crisis.”

Finally armed with a diagnosis, Panton’s family – at their own great expense – 太k action. 潘顿在华盛顿特区接受了11次IVIg治疗.C.在过去的六年里，他一直在纽约和波士顿工作. 他的母亲金·潘顿(Kim Panton)最终帮助找到了 新英格兰潘熊猫协会 一个宣传和研究的官方渠道.

“据估计，每200名儿童中就有1名受到PANS/PANDAS的影响. 可悲的是，许多人仍未被诊断或被误诊为其他精神健康障碍. 然而，通过适当的诊断和治疗，这些儿童是可以痊愈的. 泰特就是这种治愈的活生生的见证,Jennifer Vitelli说, JBC PANS和PANDAS基金会的执行董事.

“I’m doing this to be able to show kids with PANS and PANDAS that they have the ability to do something like this or even greater – they could do ultramarathons, 他们可能是一级联赛的足球运动员, 他们可以做任何“正常人”会做的事."

Panton’s treatment routine is now fairly minimal – he only needs to take antibio抽搐 to fend off any potential bacterial infections – but he still has to remain vigilant about potential causes of infection or inflammation. He wound up in the emergency room once since arriving at 主要研究 following a flare up as a result of an illness, 但现在这种情况比他年轻时少了, 而且他有更好的装备来对抗他们.

不过，当潘顿在锻炼时，这些担忧往往会完全消失. He is an avid runner and biker and has found that the consistency of planning and executing a workout regimen feeds his appreciation for routine and data.

“这让我一整天都能集中精力. 而不是只关注一堆有压力的事情，比如工作或学校, 我可以想想明天锻炼要做什么, 我一整天都要吃什么来准备, 诸如此类的东西,“潘顿, 谁在联合国大学学习环境科学和营养学, 说.

他在高中的第一年是一个重要的转折点, 当COVID爆发时, 潘东花了很多时间在他的自行车教练和做作业上进行冬季训练, 他“从中找到了很多平静”.”

他说，他以这个开始为基础，度过了他记忆中最快乐的大二. 除了锻炼对精神的好处, 持续的锻炼有助于控制他的身体状况, 太, as his body is in better shape and he 说 things like his liver and digestive system are able to function better.

Panton hasn’t yet run an “official” marathon, 虽然 he did run marathon distance twice last summer. He’s also biked 128 miles over 10 consecutive hours and has been ramping up his intensity training ahead of the marathon, embarking on lengthy bike rides while increasing his speed at specified intervals throughout. 因为所有这些原因, 潘顿说他并不紧张, 因为他有信心能够完成比赛.

It's still both daunting and exciting to picture running the race he’s dreamed of running since he 太k up the sport, 虽然, especially in front of the large crowd of friends and family that will be heading to Boston to cheer him on.

But it’s not the people he’ll be with so much as the people he’s running for that will be the strongest motivational force on the day of the race. 像5岁的泰特·潘顿那样的人, 谁能想象不出再过正常孩子的生活, let alone taking on a true test of endurance and mental clarity like the Boston Marathon.

“I’m doing this to be able to show kids with PANS and PANDAS that they have the ability to do something like this or even greater – they could do ultramarathons, 他们可能是一级联赛的足球运动员, 他们可以做任何“正常人”会做的事,潘顿说. “That’s the main reason I am doing this, to show them that they can be just like anyone else.”