What happened to Emily Simpson's son? Health struggles explored as RHOC star's 10-year-old child to undergo brain procedure

The Real Housewives of Orange County star Emily Simpson recently shared that her 10-year-old son, Luke, is set to undergo a "laser treatment on his brain" after being diagnosed with PANDAS.

Simpson shared the news during the Real Housewives of Orange County season 19 reunion, saying it's "very complicated."

She explained that her son's behaviour drastically changed, as he went from a "happy fourth grader" to "talking like a baby, and acting out," which left her confused. However, when RHOC's first episode aired, many moms reached out to her through DM's, suggesting she look into PANDAS, short for pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders, which is associated with streptococcal infections.

According to the Cleaveland Clinic, PANDAS is "thought to affect select children who've strep infections" and refers to a group of symptoms that include "development of tics, obsessive-compulsive behaviour and other mental and neurological symptoms."

Emily shared that her son's PANDAS may have been triggered by a bad case of strep throat he had in January.

"In PANDAS, the bacteria remains and then it affects the brain. And the brain swells. So all of these symptoms are associated with strep throat. And there’s higher risk in kids that are on the spectrum. And also he has ARFID. I mean, all roads kind of lead back to being on the spectrum."

She further shared that Louis will have to undergo a laser treatment on his brain to reduce the swelling.

"Yeah, so he is going to have a laser treatment on his brain. To reduce the swelling in his brain. He asked if the laser would hurt, and I said, 'No, it won't hurt.' So he has to go five days in a row for like three hours, and it’s supposed to reduce the swelling."

"We're still dealing with the episodes": Emily Simpson shares update on Luke's health following PANDAS diagnosis

Emily Simpson further shared that they have enrolled Luke in a different school, where he receives one-on-one instructions from his teacher, which has helped reduce "schol-anxiety."

"So the school anxiety is gone. I mean, I used to deal with, I would wake up in the morning and he would hide. But we’re still dealing with the episodes, the acting out, the aggression, the babbling, the talking like a baby," she said.

She further emphasised that while Luke needs therapy and support for his health, she's trying to balance between how much of it he gets.

"You know, I have to be so careful about putting him in too much therapy. Because I need him to feel like a normal child. I need him to not think, ‘Why am I going to all these things every day?’"

Emily also expressed her gratitude to other moms who reached out after watching her story.

"I would’ve never known to have my child tested for PANDAS if it wasn’t for these moms that watch and reached out to me and told me. So it’s been an amazing community of sharing information and learning, and that means a lot to me," she said.

However, the 49-year-old also received negative comments from the viewers.

"And then of course, there’s horrible people that post awful things that are like, 'How did she not know her son couldn’t read?' Well, it’s not that I didn’t know he couldn’t read, he’s a totally different child … I’m not a terrible mom, I’m dealing with symptoms that are completely different," Emily said.

Emily Simpson shares daughter Annabelle and twin sons Luke and Keller with husband Shane Simpson.