When you have a child, it’s said you develop a sixth sense that you didn’t have before: mom gut. Though it’s not an actual organ, scientists can back up that parental intuition actually holds a connection between the brain and the gastrointestinal tract, hence its name. Mom gut can intuit when something is off socially, emotionally, academically or physically with a child.
Much remains to be discovered about mom gut. But what we do know is that oftentimes it can be one of the biggest blessings a mom can offer to her child’s well-being. Two Kansas City moms take time here to share how their mom gut helped them, their child and, ultimately, others as well.
Emily Hunt
Emily Hunt had a front row seat to assess her first grade daughter Raelee’s academic progress since lockdowns had required online learning from home. It was during end-of-year testing that Hunt noticed that something was off.
“Raelee’s reading was incredibly slow and belabored,” Hunt says. “She finished testing absolutely exhausted.”
Hunt’s concerns were validated by Raelee’s teacher who had equal concerns. A meeting was set up with the school’s resource teacher to try to unpack what the challenge might be. Unfortunately, the resource teacher didn’t have an answer for why Raelee was struggling the way she was. Her challenges didn’t fit the mold of a diagnosis available. Bewildered, Hunt spoke with the school principal to get an IEP for second grade.
Summertime came and, with it, opportunity to process options. It was then that Hunt decided to try something altogether different: homeschooling. She also had Raelee’s eyes assessed at two different eye centers. Both specialists agreed she needed glasses, asserting that Raelee’s eyes were not teaming. When Hunt pressed about whether vision therapy would be worth pursuing, she was told glasses alone would eventually fix the problem. But as time went on, glasses didn’t provide the promised results.
“As a mom, you know when something isn’t right. You hit a point where you start getting angry at your child. But what I quickly learned was that I needed to equip Raelee with tools she didn’t have in her toolbox,” Hunt says.
During this time, Hunt bumped into an old friend whose children had recently undergone vision therapy. As the director of education for a local Sylvan Learning Center, Hunt had worked with students who were undergoing vision therapy, but she personally didn’t know what was involved in the process. So it was through this positive encounter that Hunt felt compelled to pursue an evaluation.
Her mom gut proved to be spot-on. Raelee was assessed, and the results were overwhelmingly clear: She had been compensating for her limitations in ways that hid how serious her challenges were. She immediately began therapy, meeting with a specialist once a week and continuing on this homework five times a week for 15-20 minutes a day.
“It was a gut punch to see how badly Raelee needed vision therapy when I was told she didn’t,” Hunt notes.
Now, Raelee is a precocious fourth grader who enjoys riding horses, playing with friends and electing to read for pleasure. On the other side of vision therapy, Raelee is academically thriving. But Hunt’s work is only beginning.
As she quickly discovered, one in four children are misdiagnosed when they are struggling with unidentified vision issues. These issues compound when left unresolved, resulting in behavioral issues and even dropping out of school.
“It’s my desire to let other people know what I now know,” Hunt asserts. She hopes to help local schools and resource teachers become more informed about vision therapy so that others can receive the same care as Raelee did.
“Be an advocate for your child,” Hunt encourages other moms. “You know them better than anyone else.”
Sarah Michalak
For Gardner mom of five Sarah Michalak, reading a Google article about King Tut proved to be life-altering.
“My kids were studying ancient history, so the piece seemed timely,” Michalak said. “But when I read that King Tut had a condition known as Marfan Syndrome, I quickly became curious.”
A cursory internet search for symptoms revealed that her twin 4-year-olds, William and Asher, had an overwhelming number of the signs. The boys were very skinny as babies and had gut issues and flat feet. They also couldn’t maintain stamina. While playing basketball at 6, they would tire out before the game was half done.
“I didn’t realize they were all connected issues until discovering that Marfan explained them all,” Michalak said.
Although their pediatrician was not well-informed about Marfan (the condition only affects one in 5,000 people), he concurred with Michalak’s concerns, referring their family to Children’s Mercy for an official diagnosis. That visit brought with it a flood of emotions, as Michalak felt relief wash over her—but also a wave of heavy grief.
Marfan Syndrome runs on a spectrum. In the 1940s, the average lifespan of an individual with Marfan was 37. Nowadays, the average lifespan is about 70. The primary challenges include enlarged hearts (and accompanying heart attacks), severe scoliosis and issues with connective tissue. For the Michalak boys, ongoing monitoring through their lifetime will be a given, and multiple surgeries are possible.
“Marfan individuals can lead happy, healthy lives,” Michalak notes. “We could be grieved by all the things William and Asher can’t do, but a diagnosis has helped us to hone in to all the positive things they are capable of.”
Since strenuous sports pose a risk, the boys have instead taken golf lessons and learned to play pickleball. Their family purchased Silver Dollar City annual passes, so the boys could experience roller coasters while they were still able. And they are pursuing music lessons to develop skills they can maintain with age.
Michalak’s mom gut not only served the twins, it’s also served her extended family. “We’ve been able to inform our families to have genetic testing done. My husband’s family has individuals that have similar symptoms without a diagnosis,” she says. By bringing Marfan to light, it’s her hope to save extended family from serious consequences.
Lauren Greenlee is an Olathe boy mom. She’s thankful for her mom gut, which has been helpful in identifying a gamut of issues, from food allergies to learning disabilities.