Medical mystery surrounds local toddler

RICHMOND, Va. (WAVY) - When you're sick, you go to the doctor, get a diagnosis and then treat what ever is wrong. But in a rare occasion, the doctors might not be able to figure out what is wrong with you.

Three-year-old Christian Susko has been in a coma for 40 days, but doctors have been trying to untangle his medical mystery for two years.

"We started noticing about eight months old he wasn't sitting up," said his father Chris Susko.

Christian still cannot walk, talk or swallow whole food. Susko said one night last month he began twitching uncontrollably.

"When I saw that I knew that wasn't normal."

"This is a true life threatening situation," said Dr. Lawrence Morton, a child neurologist at VCU Medical Center in Richmond, which is a national referral center for seizures. Christian has been lying in a drug-induced coma there for weeks.

"People want to know, parents want to know, 'Will my child be OK?' And we're in a situation where we still can't say," said Morton. Everytime they lower the dose, he says the seizures come back. Experts are stumped.

"He's our first child, and we would like to have more, but it's hard when they tell you it may be something genetic," said his mother Tammy Susko. "We love him but I don't want to go through this again."

It's draining the family both emotionally and financially.

"We can't even hold him," said Chris Susko.

Chris and Tammy are going through their savings to stay by his side and counting on the kindness of co-workers to cover shifts. Tammy says their insurer also refuses to pay for some genetic tests.

"I don't really care about the answer, I just want my son back," she said.

If he does come back, he may never be the same.

The family tells us doctors have ruled out genetic diseases including Rett syndrome, Angelman syndrome and hundreds others. They are hoping someone will see this and be able to help diagnose their child.

For information on how to donate to the Susko family to help, click here .

To track Christian's condition, visit this Facebook page , or CaringBridge .