Yes, You Can Catch Insanity

Yes, You Can Catch Insanity

Andrew Curry

But as Isak’s illness dragged into its fourth year, they reconsidered the possibility. The year before the epic meltdowns began, his older brother had four strep infections; perhaps it was more than coincidence. In September 2013, three and a half years after his first tics appeared, a pediatric infectious-disease specialist in Boston put Isak on azithromycin, a common antibiotic used to treat food poisoning, severe ear infections, and particularly persistent cases of strep throat.

The results were dramatic. Isak’s crippling fear vanished within days. Then he stopped grunting. Less than a week after starting his son on the antibiotic, Adam McCune saw Isak smile for the first time in nearly four years. After a few weeks, the tantrums that had held the family hostage for years faded away.

Today, Adam McCune, a writer, likens the experience to welcoming his son back from captivity. “It’s like he was a POW for four years, and returned out of the blue one day,” he says. “To have my son back within a week was incredible.”