eponymous syndromes

*Billie died at 6 on Thursday evening. She'd been at it for weeks. Billie had Batten's disease, a tragic condition where the brain and nerves gradually stop working. She had uncontrollable seizures, fitting for hours on end despite a full complement of antiepileptic medication - carbamazepine, phenytoin, Keppra, and a midazolam infusion. I was called at least once a night during her last week by nurses who said "Billie's fitting again, can you come and see her." My heart would sink, because I knew there was nothing further I (or anyone) could do. She was on an amount of midazolam one might use for anaesthesia. Rectal diazepam and paraldehyde had been given, and paracetamol for her fever (presumably from a chest infection). She lay there, a pale, floppy 9-year old in nappies, already dead to the world, her gurgly breathing and the beeping of sats monitors her only communication with it. Her eyelids flickered and her right arm jerked continually. Her mother looked on - her eyes no longer imploring, only resigned to Billie's fate.
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There is a little boy named 'Jihad' on the ward at the moment. I shall not describe his condition, but suffice to say it is rare, inherited, complex and life-shortening. Perhaps his parents had in mind a personal struggle rather than a holy war on infidels.
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