Doctors tell man his mom is hours from death. Then he tries something unconventional to save her: ‘Felt like a House moment’
‘The neurologist was high-fiving me.’
A man saved his dying mom by using artificial intelligence to identify a rare vitamin deficiency. The AI tool suggested an unconventional treatment that stopped her severe seizures within minutes. According to PEOPLE, Edward Patrick, an anesthetist from Oxfordshire, had to rush to Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham after receiving a terrifying phone call one day.
The dreaded call came at 4:00 a.m. in May. A medical registrar told Patrick that staff had tried all anti-seizure medications for his mother without success. Edward remembered the registrar saying, “Sorry, she’s dying.” When he asked if he had time to make it, the registrar replied, “Yes, but you’ve got to leave now.”
His mother, Ann Patrick, was totally unconscious. Edward said, “She was taken to hospital with non-stop fits and convulsions.” Her violent convulsions caused rhabdomyolysis, which happens when muscle tissue breaks down rapidly. This dangerous breakdown releases toxic muscle proteins into the bloodstream and leads to kidney damage.
Edward’s brother suggested it could be a vitamin issue
While driving to Nottingham, Edward received a text message from his brother suggesting a vitamin issue. Edward decided to feed his mother’s symptoms, medical scans, and test results into Google’s Gemini AI tool. He used the program to summarize recent medical journal articles related to her health issues. The AI tool quickly connected the symptoms to an extreme vitamin B6 deficiency.
According to the BBC, this specific deficiency was linked to her long-term Parkinson’s disease medication, carbidopa-levodopa. This combination drug is used to boost dopamine levels in Parkinson’s patients quite often. The AI findings gave Edward a sudden insight that mirrored what’s often seen on fictional medical dramas.
Edward likened the breakthrough to a House moment. The popular medical drama follows the antics of Dr. Gregory House, played by actor Hugh Laurie. House often relies on unique and even unconventional ideas to save patients’ lives. After comparing his mother’s recovery to the TV show, Edward added, “There’s no other way of describing it. Every time I tell the story, I feel like, ‘Am I making this up?’ To come from the jaws of death. She only had hours [left to live].”
Edward immediately presented the AI findings to the hospital’s neurology consultant, Dr. Bruno Gran. “I told him what I’d discovered, that the seizures were almost certainly a rare side effect of a vitamin B6 deficiency, possibly caused by her long-term carbidopa-levodopa dopamine use, which was being used to treat her Parkinson’s,” Edward said.
Dr. Gran agreed to administer an intravenous dose of vitamin B6 right away
The results were astounding. “What we did not anticipate was the speed and magnitude of the response. Within minutes of administering vitamin B6, Ann’s seizure activity stopped,” Dr. Gran stated. Dr. Gran also noted, “As an anaesthetist, Ed has a strong understanding of clinical pharmacology and his reasoning was sound.”
The rapid recovery stunned the entire hospital ward. Edward said, “She hasn’t had a seizure since.” He noted, “The next day the family and medics were all ecstatic. The neurologist was high-fiving me.”
Ann’s overall cognitive health improved dramatically after the vitamin treatment. “It’s like we’ve got mum back,” Edward said. “It feels like we found a silver bullet. She’s sharp as a tack.” He also stated, “Cognitively, it’s like she’s gone back in time five to 10 years.”
The case shows how consumer AI can assist real medical experts. Ann later recovered enough to hold her youngest granddaughter and read her a story from bed. “I just can’t get over that such a small thing can make such a large difference to whether you live or die,” Ann said. “I’m a proud mom, absolutely.”
Experts add a word of caution
While Ann’s case definitely is a reason to celebrate, medical experts emphasize that people shouldn’t make changes to your medication regimen without clinical guidance. About 166,000 people live with Parkinson’s in the U.K. Dr. Gran noted that only 14 similar cases have ever been reported worldwide. The US Food and Drug Administration issued a memo advising that certain Parkinson’s drugs carry warnings about B6 deficiency.
Caroline Rassell, chief executive of Parkinson’s UK, stated that they “support the move towards more research trials into vitamin B6 deficiency and Parkinson’s.” Rassell explained, “It’s needed to help us understand the connections. The findings and recommendations could transform care for people with Parkinson’s.” However, she cautioned patients against self-medicating. “Never make changes to medications or supplements before taking medical advice,” she stated.
Consultant neurologist Professor Tom Foltynie, who specialises in Parkinson’s at University College London Hospitals NHS Trust, warned that excessively high doses of vitamin B6 can cause severe health problems. He recommended getting a blood test before taking new supplements.
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