Family Voices
Laurel Radius- Chip and David’s Mom
Laurel Radius is the mom of Chip (13 years old) and David (14 ½ years old), two brothers who have Hunter syndrome. She is a stay-at-home mom who dedicates her time to looking after Chip, David and their younger sister, Amy (5 years old). Laurel and her family have been dealing with Hunter syndrome for nearly 11 years, when Chip was first diagnosed.
When Chip was young, at one of their many doctor’s appointments, a pediatrician diagnosed Chip as mentally disabled based on his slow cognitive growth. Laurel, being a Mom, did not want to believe this as the correct diagnosis and was determined to find out the reason for Chip’s slow cognitive development. She brought him to a neurologist. The neurologist suspected almost immediately that Chip had Hunter syndrome. They ran several tests and did blood work on Chip, and eventually also on David, and both were diagnosed in a matter of months.
Laurel's day is spent being a very busy mother of three, an advocate to the insurance company and to the many doctor offices that the boys go to. She does not have a lot of free time but when she finds time for herself, she enjoys doing Creative Memories and reading. The Radius family also sponsors a walk every year in Grand Rapids to raise awareness and money for the National MPS Society. They have been supporting these walks for 7 years now and will be holding the walk this year on September 20 in Grand Rapids, MI. Laurel’s favorite part of the annual event is spending time with the other families.