Published June 20, 2009, 12:00 AM
Mother, son confront rare illness
For Mitch Ball, breakfast is a dizzying array of medication and cans of high-protein liquid formula, poured or pumped into his stomach through a tube. Afterward comes a 20-minute breathing treatment, then the grooming and the cleaning of the tubes and other circuits that keep the 24-year-old Citrus Heights, Calif., resident alive. In what seems like an exhausting three-hour ordeal each morning, Heidi Miller, Ball’s mother, crushes pills, operates medical equipment, feeds Ball and bathes him in bed.By: Chelsea Phua, McClatchy Newspapers
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