TORRINGTON – It’s something every parent dreads – the death of a child.

Lataizia Bechtel understands. Her son, Salem, died in November 2017, just days after his third birthday, after succumbing to the effects of Glycogen Storage Disorder, an inherited disease which affects the way the body processes food into energy. 

It started on Oct. 30 last year. And the worst part is – nobody knew Salem was sick.

Bechtel had voluntarily surrendered custody of Salem and his younger sister, Adilynn, to the state of Wyoming. She’d lost her job as a home-healthcare provider and was depending on friends, sleeping on their sofas.

“I ended up homeless last year and the only people I could turn to was the state,” Bechtel said. “I had two outfits for myself and a bag of clothes for my kids, I was couch-hopping, my money had gotten stolen.

“I had nothing,” she said. “Literally.” 

Bechtel said the foster care provider who was looking after Salem told her there were no indications he was sick before the onset.

“He basically got up (in the morning),” Bechtel said. “He was a happy, healthy little boy in the morning.”

Shortly after he ate, though, Salem started “getting grumpy,” Bechtel was told. “He went to the bathroom because he said didn’t feel good.”

The foster care provider told her it appeared Salem’s legs just gave out. He was reportedly leaning on the toilet, trying to maintain his balance, when he passed out.

He was rushed to the emergency room at Torrington’s Community Hospital and, shortly afterward, flown to Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children in Denver. Doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him. Salem spent Halloween day, Oct. 31, 2017, at Rocky Mountain, then was transferred to Denver Children’s Hospital, where he was pronounced brain dead at 6:45 a.m., Nov. 1.

“I’d bought him a little pirate costume” for Halloween, Bechtel said. “He didn’t even get a chance to wear it.

“We went to a party on his birthday” on Oct. 26, just five days before he died, she said. “That was the last time I got to see him alive.”

In the aftermath, an autopsy revealed some things which led doctors to believe Salem died because of undiagnosed GSD. And now, Bechtel’s 16-month-old daughter, Adelynn, is undergoing rounds of genetic testing at Denver Children’s to determine if she inherited the same disease which killed her big brother.

There are several different forms of GSD. The most common – the type Salem had – only affects 1 in 100,000 individuals. And, with a few rare exceptions, the malady is treatable, allowing sufferers to live essentially normal, healthy lives.

Bechtel has Adelynn back home with her now and is working again, as a manager at the local McDonalds restaurant. They were back in Denver this week, visiting with genetic counselors and doctors, making sure Adelynn

It’s already been determined Adelynn has some health problems which could be early indicators of GSD, Bechtel said.

“We know she’s anemic and she has problems with her sugar,” Bechtel said. “That runs with GSD, because the body can’t break (sugar) down properly or store it properly.”

Adelynn’s future healthcare needs “depend on what disease it is,” she said. “There’s 11 or 12 different parts of this disease. We’re just waiting on testing and everything to figure it out.”

And they’re moving forward, hoping to make other parents aware of the disease and getting on with their lives. On Sunday, April 22, the Stacey Houk Family Enrichment Center – a counseling center in Torrington Bechtel has been working with – is hosting a Penny Carnival beginning at 2 p.m. at the Rendezvous Center on the Goshen County Fairgrounds campus in Torrington.

The carnival will feature a DJ, games, food and a silent auction. Proceeds from the carnival admission and food sales will be deposited into a fund to help local families. More important to Bechtel, though, is raising awareness of GSD and other childhood diseases.

“A lot of people don’t know about the resources they have available,” she said. “This is to help raise awareness for GSD, of course, but also to raise awareness for those resources.

“Being in the position I was, being homeless and having to give my kids to the state was not fun,” Bechtel said. “Not being able to bring my child home because of something that may or may not have been preventable was even worse.”