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Home and Garden Strictly Come Dancing Big Brother Great British Bake Off Privacy Policy Saturday, Nov 8th 2025 5-Day Forecast Advertisement Real Housewives star's son, 10, to undergo brain procedure after being diagnosed with rare condition Have YOU got a story? Email tips@dailymail.com By SAMEER SURI, US SENIOR SHOWBUSINESS REPORTER Published:06:32 GMT, 8 November 2025 |Updated:08:58 GMT, 8 November 2025 The Real Housewives of Orange County star Emily Simpson emotionally revealed her son Luke, 10, will undergo laser treatment on his brain for a rare condition. During this season, Emily and her husband Shane were seen grappling with their son's sudden behavioral changes, including OCD, ADHD and the eating disorder AFRID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder). As their difficulties played out on television, fans started contacting Emily and advising her to get Luke tested for an illness called PANDAS. The acronym stands for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections, a phrase that describes 'a group of symptoms, such as tics and obsessive-compulsive behavior, thought to affect certain children who’ve had strep infections,' according to the Cleveland Clinic. Armed with the advice of her viewers, Emily and Shane had Luke tested and discovered that he is indeed suffering from PANDAS after a punishing bout of strep throat at the beginning of this year. Now, on her reality show's reunion special, Emily has announced that Luke 'is going to have a laser treatment on his brain to reduce the swelling.' The Real Housewives of Orange County star Emily Simpson emotionally revealed her son Luke, 10, will undergo laser treatment on his brain for a rare condition Emily explained that Luke is aware of the procedure he will have to undergo, and she added: 'He asked if the laser would hurt, and I said: "No, it won’t hurt."' She then laid out the details of the treatment, sharing: 'So he has to go five days in a row for like three hours, and it’s supposed to reduce the swelling.' BREAKING NEWS Denise Richards' ex Aaron Phypers responds after actress wins five-year restraining order against him Emily and Shane have been married since Valentine's Day 2009, and in addition to Luke they share his twin brother Keller and a daughter called Annabelle, 12. Over the course of the latest season of The Real Housewives of Orange County, Emily and Shane were seen attempting to make sense of the changes in Luke's behavior. The crisis also caused them to experience marital strain, with a distraught Emily feeling that Shane was being insufficiently sensitive to the situation. 'He went from a happy fourth grader that no teacher had ever said, like, there’s issues. He was gifted,' Emily shared on the reunion. 'And all of a sudden, my child just completely changed. He just regressed. He started talking like a baby, acting out, and I was so confused.' Emily shared her gratitude for the audience members who contacted her when the season aired and advised her that Luke might have PANDAS. Emily and Shane have been married since Valentine's Day 2009, and in addition to Luke they share his twin brother Keller and a daughter called Annabelle, 12 On one episode of this season, Emily agonized over her mothering, asking herself: 'Like, are these things I should have noticed before? Were there all these red flags?' Emily explained that Luke is aware of the procedure he will have to undergo, and she added: 'He asked if the laser would hurt, and I said: "No, it won’t hurt"'; Luke pictured with Shane '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,' she recalled. 'So it’s been an amazing community of sharing information and learning, and that means a lot to me,' added Emily, who joined the Real Housewives in 2018. She noted that she has also dealt with '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.' On one episode of this season, Emily agonized over her mothering, asking herself: 'Like, are these things I should have noticed before? Were there all these red flags?' She observed: 'He’s highly intelligent in certain areas, but he’s in the fourth grade, and I didn’t know he couldn’t read? I mean, how sad is that?' Now, on her reality show's reunion special, Emily has announced that Luke 'is going to have a laser treatment on his brain to reduce the swelling' Shortly after the episode aired, she fired up her Instagram to issue a clarification, writing: 'Luke can read, he’s just not reading at his grade level and he’s struggling with word comprehension etc. He was also recently diagnosed as dyslexic. I was not aware that he was struggling and behind.' During this week's first part of the reunion special, Emily discussed Luke's bout of strep throat in January, which in her view led to his current health issues. 'The bacteria remains and then it affects the brain. And the brain swells. So all of these symptoms are associated with strep throat,' she said. '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.' Real Housewives of Orange County Share or comment on this article: Real Housewives star's son, 10, to undergo brain procedure after being diagnosed with rare condition Add comment Share what you think No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. Add your comment Enter your comment By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Submit Comment Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. 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