US mother says late-night Google search helped save her 6-year-old son’s life
A Texas mother saved her son Witten's life through a late-night Google search after he developed a rare condition called cavernoma. Doctors initially misdiagnosed him with the flu, but a successful surgery by Dr. Morcos and Dr. Shah allowed Witten to recover and return to normal activities.
A mother in the United States has credited a late-night Google search for saving her young son’s life after he developed a rare and life-threatening condition.
Earlier this year, six-year-old Witten Daniel from Texas was rushed to the hospital with what doctors initially believed was the flu. But within hours, his condition worsened—he lost the ability to walk, talk, and even breathe without support, local outlet KCBD reported.
His mother, Casey Daniel, later learned that Witten was suffering from a cavernoma, a cluster of abnormal blood vessels in the brainstem that had started bleeding. Local doctors told her there was little they could do.
“There are no words to describe how horrifying it is to see your child in that kind of condition,” Casey said.
The Google search that changed everything
Refusing to give up, Casey turned to Google for answers. A late-night search on her phone led her to Dr Jacques Morcos, a neurosurgeon at UTHealth Houston who specialises in treating cavernomas.
“I looked at the images and I thought this can be done. I said Let’s transfer you here,” Dr. Morcos recalled.
A life-saving surgery
Within days, Witten was flown to Houston, where Dr Morcos and pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Manish Shah performed a complex four-hour surgery. Against the odds, the operation was a success.
“I want to say thank you to Dr. Morcos and Dr. Shah for letting me see my friends again,” Witten said.
Back to normal life
Now seven, Witten is back home in Lubbock, Texas. He recently celebrated his birthday, started second grade, and has even returned to playing baseball, something his family once feared might never happen again.
Earlier, an X user named Shreya recently shared a powerful account of how ChatGPT, OpenAI’s artificial intelligence chatbot, played a crucial role in identifying the likely cause behind her mother’s mysterious and long-standing illness, something multiple medical systems had failed to do.
In a tweet that has now garnered thousands of likes and shares, Shreya wrote: “My mom had a nonstop cough for 1.5 years. We saw top doctors, visited big hospitals in & out of the city, tried homoeopathy, ayurveda, allopathy, nothing helped. It got worse: internal bleeding started. Doctors said, ‘If this goes on for 6 more months, it could be fatal.’”