美国小男孩患上罕见病症 普通恐惧即可致死

Reed Havlik is one of only 200 people worldwide with Vanishing White Matter (VWM) disease -- a rare neurological condition that leads to rapid nerve deterioration.

里德·哈夫利克是世界上仅有的200名白质消失症患者中的一位，这是一种罕见的神经系统疾病，可导致神经迅速恶化。

Basic fright could kill him.

基本的恐惧都可能让他致死。

The 5-year-old Iowa boy has to avoid creepy movies and Halloween trick-or-treaters because a serious scare could cause pressure on his brain that could put him in a coma.

这名5岁的爱荷华州男孩，必须避免看恐怖电影和参加万圣节“不给糖就捣蛋”的活动，因为严重的惊吓可能会对他的大脑造成压力，使他陷入昏迷。

"We have to be really careful what we expose him to because he could be frightened to death," his mom, Erika Havlik, told SWNS.

他的妈妈艾丽卡·哈夫利克向SWNS电视台透露：“我们必须非常小心他周围的环境，因为他可能会被吓死。”

VWM disease has no cure or treatment -- and the life expectancy of sufferers is around 10 years.

白质消失症没有治愈或治疗方法，患者的预期寿命约为10年。

Reed, who was diagnosed by specialists at the University of Iowa Children's Hospital, in Iowa City in 2015, started having mobility issues at the age of 2.

里德于2015年被爱荷华市的爱荷华大学儿童医院的专家诊断出患有该病症，他在2岁时就开始出现行动问题。

An MRI scan showed the extent of his rare, terminal disease. As the white matter in Reed's brain disintegrates, this will lead to organ failure.

核磁共振扫描显示出他的罕见绝症到了什么程度。随着里德大脑中的白质分解，器官将会衰竭。

His brain will be unable to communicate with his body and he will slowly be unable to talk, eat and eventually breathe.

他的大脑将无法与他的身体交流，他将慢慢地不能说话、吃饭，最后无法呼吸。

Speaking further to SWNS, Erika described the day she found out about his diagnosis. "It was gut-wrenching. Sickening," she said.

在与SWNS电视台的进一步交谈中，艾丽卡描述了她得知他的诊断结果的那一天。她说：“撕心裂肺的痛苦。令人厌恶。”

"We are trying to give him the best life we possibly can and enjoy him whilst we can," Erika said. "Our world has been altered completely."

艾丽卡表示：“我们试着给他最好的生活，尽可能地让他开心。我们的世界已经完全改变了。”