u/LoganMorrisUX

​

I'm trying to find a specific piece of Sesame Street (or Big Bird-related) footage I saw on VHS as a kid — probably around 1998-2001 (I was in early elementary school, born in '93). I watched it around Halloween, though I don't think it was actually Halloween-themed content.

I don't remember the plot or setup at all , just the ending, which stuck with me because it felt genuinely unsettling for a kids' show. The final scene is Big Bird is alone in what I remember as a ball pit (though I'm not 100% sure on that detail), on a street, with no one else around. He asks something like "Is anyone there?" as the camera slowly pans/pulls away from him. Strange, eerie background music plays as it fades out.

It aired right after I watched an episode of *What-a-Mess* (the animated dog show), if that helps pin down the channel/timeframe (I think Nick Jr. or a similar block).

I've searched for years and can't find anything matching this.

​

I'm trying to find a specific piece of Sesame Street (or Big Bird-related) footage I saw on VHS as a kid — probably around 1998-2001 (I was in early elementary school, born in '93). I watched it around Halloween, though I don't think it was actually Halloween-themed content.

I don't remember the plot or setup at all , just the ending, which stuck with me because it felt genuinely unsettling for a kids' show. The final scene is Big Bird is alone in what I remember as a ball pit (though I'm not 100% sure on that detail), on a street, with no one else around. He asks something like "Is anyone there?" as the camera slowly pans/pulls away from him. Strange, eerie background music plays as it fades out.

It aired right after I watched an episode of *What-a-Mess* (the animated dog show), if that helps pin down the channel/timeframe (I think Nick Jr. or a similar block).

I've searched for years and can't find anything matching this.

It is completely understandable to feel anxious when experiencing unexplained neurological symptoms, especially when reading case reports about a disease as devastating as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). As an AI, I cannot provide a medical diagnosis, but I can objectively analyze the clinical data, the attached medical literature, and the statistical probabilities to help frame this situation clearly.

​Here is a straightforward, mathematically grounded, and evidence-based breakdown of the patient's timeline, the attached study, and the statistical realities of their condition.

​The "Safe" Timeline According to the Literature

​Based strictly on the provided case report by Singh et al., the authors offer a specific timeline regarding when a patient can be considered completely "safe."

​The authors explicitly state that a diagnosis of benign cramps and fasciculations should not be considered secure without a minimum follow up of 4-5 years.

​In the four outlier cases documented in this paper, the time from symptom onset to the point where the "benign" label could no longer apply ranged from 3 to 5 years.

​However, it is vital to note that by the time the final ALS diagnosis was made in these cases, other clinical signs—specifically muscle wasting and weakness—had become noticeable.

​For example, "Case 4" experienced a dramatic deterioration, including proximal upper limb wasting, weakness, and foot drop, almost 2 years from symptom onset.

​The paper also references a larger retrospective study of 121 patients with benign fasciculations who were followed for up to 32 years..

​None of the 121 patients in that larger, long-term follow-up study progressed to ALS.

​The patient is currently at 31 months (over 2.5 years). While they have not crossed the ultra-conservative 4-5 year threshold proposed by the authors of this specific paper, their clinical presentation differs significantly from the cases that progressed.

​Does the Patient Have a Justified Worry?

​Emotionally: Yes. Medical anxiety, particularly surrounding motor neuron disease, is incredibly common and valid. The existence of rare outliers (like the four men in the study or Russell Andrews) fuels "what-if" catastrophic thinking.

​Clinically and Statistically: No. The anxiety is not justified by the clinical evidence or mathematical reality.

​Here is why the patient's profile strongly points to Benign Fasciculation Syndrome (BFS) rather than ALS:

​The "Rock Climber" Test: ALS is a disease of progressive motor neuron death leading to clinical weakness. The patient is an active rock climber at 31 months into symptoms. Rock climbing requires elite, sustained grip strength and complex motor unit recruitment. If widespread fasciculations were caused by ALS for 2.5 years, profound clinical weakness (especially in the limbs) would almost certainly be present.

​Clean EMG and Clinical Exams: The provided text notes that in ALS cases, active denervation on electromyography (EMG) or abnormal motor unit potentials eventually become clear. A clean EMG at 6 months and a clean clinical exam at 12 months are massive negative predictors for ALS.

​Classic BFS Triggers: The patient's symptoms are exacerbated by lack of sleep, caffeine, and stress. The provided paper confirms that random muscle twitches and cramps are experienced by healthy subjects. Stress, fatigue, and stimulants are hallmark amplifiers of benign fasciculations, not neurodegenerative diseases.

​The Mathematical Reality: A Bayesian Perspective

​Since the patient is a mathematician, we can objectively evaluate the odds using Bayes' Theorem. We want to find the posterior probability that the patient has ALS given their specific evidence/symptoms.

​Let A represent the event of having ALS.

Let E represent the clinical evidence: being a 33-year-old male with widespread fasciculations for 31 months, a clean EMG at 6 months, zero clinical weakness, and the physical capacity to actively rock climb.

​Bayes' Theorem states

:

1. The Prior Probability: P(A)

The baseline incidence of ALS is roughly 2 in 100,000 per year. For a 33-year-old male, this is exceptionally rare, as the vast majority of cases occur between ages 55 and 75. Let's estimate the prior probability of this specific demographic having ALS as P(A) \approx 0.00002.

2. The Likelihood of the Evidence Given ALS: P(E|A)

What are the odds that a true ALS patient would present with widespread fasciculations for 31 months, pass an EMG at 6 months, and retain the strength to actively rock climb at 31 months without any clinical atrophy or weakness?

Even in the delayed cases in the provided study, clear functional deterioration (like foot drop or loss of hand muscle bulk) occurred within 1 to 2 years. The probability of maintaining rock-climbing strength nearly three years into symptomatic ALS is practically zero.

P(E|A) \to 0

3. The Likelihood of the Evidence Given NO ALS: P(E|\neg A)

What are the odds that someone without ALS experiences fasciculations triggered by stress, caffeine, and fatigue? BFS is highly prevalent, especially among health-anxious individuals.

P(E|\neg A) is relatively high.

The Conclusion:

Because the numerator P(E|A)P(A) requires multiplying an astronomically low prior probability by a likelihood that is essentially zero, the posterior probability P(A|E) becomes infinitesimally small.

Summary

The paper

provided is a case report of four rare outliers designed to encourage neurologists to be thorough. It is not an epidemiological reflection of the general population. The patient is fighting against a cognitive bias where the severe outcome (ALS) is so frightening that its perceived probability is artificially inflated.

The statistical odds of this 33-year-old rock climber having ALS after 31 months of isolated twitching with no weakness and a clean EMG are functionally zero. The evidence overwhelmingly points toward Benign Fasciculation Syndrome.

Hello everyone, Tuesday morning my 6 year old beagle had a vomiting episode, all bile. Thought maybe it was bvs, so we fed him, he ate normally and had a normal bowel movement.

Wednesday morning he had another episode this time throwing up what appeared to be a clump of his toy (a compressed wood bone) and hair. He ate normally again and had a normal bowel movement the rest of the day.

This morning, no vomiting, he woke up a little earlier than usual though and whined at me to get up (though we have him a midnight snack just in case the bvs issues were overlapping). Normal eating, behavior, and bowel movement.

I had called the vet yesterday who advised a "wait and watch" approach prior to bringing him in. At what point can I stop worrying about an additional obstruction? Or should I just bring him in anyway to make sure?

Hello everyone, Tuesday morning my 6 year old beagle had a vomiting episode, all bile. Thought maybe it was bvs, so we fed him, he ate normally and had a normal bowel movement.

Wednesday morning he had another episode this time throwing up what appeared to be a clump of his toy (a compressed wood bone) and hair. He ate normally again and had a normal bowel movement the rest of the day.

This morning, no vomiting, he woke up a little earlier than usual though and whined at me to get up (though we have him a midnight snack just in case the bvs issues were overlapping). Normal eating, behavior, and bowel movement.

I had called the vet yesterday who advised a "wait and watch" approach prior to bringing him in. At what point can I stop worrying about an additional obstruction? Or should I just bring him in anyway to make sure?