Years of coping with Covid

The end of the coronavirus pandemic, which began five years ago, was not the end of the disease for many people, including Braydon Bulkeley, 10, of Sparta.

Braydon’s mother, Amanda, said she and her husband, John, were quite sick with the virus in December 2021, but Braydon showed few symptoms when he tested positive on Christmas Day of that year.

“He was tired for about six hours,” his mother said, adding, “He took a nap and then he bounced back and was fine.”

Or so they thought.

About five weeks later, he developed a curious vocal tic that sounded like hooting. That made for some trouble at school, his mother said.

After about a week, the tic turned physical in the form of an involuntary grimace.

The boy had been diagnosed with anxiety and ADHD and his pediatrician said tics come and go.

Ignoring them didn’t work in Braydon’s case.

He was getting into a lot of trouble at school because he was making growling noises and spitting, Bulkeley said.

His handwriting regressed and he began to display symptoms of severe obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

“If we tried to get rid of anything, he believed something bad would happen,” she explained.

He would also hide things in his room, such as bottles set to be recycled.

Then he became very emotional. “He couldn’t control how he acted and would cry at the drop of a hat.”

In April, Bulkeley received a call from his school that Braydon threatened to kill himself, although school officials did a risk assessment and didn’t believe the threat was real.

They suggested counseling, which showed that his symptoms mimicked those of Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcus (PANDAS).

When blood work determined his strep numbers were elevated, the Bulkeleys started looking for a doctor with expertise. It took some time to find.

Meanwhile, things were going badly at school.

A Child Study Team evaluation determined that the boy was “twice exceptional.” He was eligible for gifted and talented programs but also possessed some disabilities.

New blood work showed that he was negative for all autoimmune disorders and for PANDAS.

He left public school and was placed in a special school with smaller classes and a full-time paraprofessional in Kinnelon.

Sparta gave Braydon plenty of support, finding him chiropractic care and a neurologist as well as an occupational therapist.

Bulkeley also credits the family’s church, Christ Faith Fellowship in Franklin, with supporting Braydon in the children’s program so his parents could attend services.

In 2023, a new doctor determined that Braydon had a post-COVID neurological inflammation, and he is receiving treatment.

The Bulkeleys have been homeschooling their son.

John Bulkeley works nights as a rail dispatcher and Amanda teaches kindergarten in Boonton.

They have been managing well, she said, but Braydon will be attending Sparta Middle School in September.

“He has a little fear,” she admitted, but he is looking forward to switching classes.

Explaining why she was willing to share her son’s medical history, Bulkeley said, “We decided from the beginning we were going to be an open book because this can be a lonely journey. We want other families to know they aren’t alone.”