A Scary Story

And it's not the Halloween kind unfortunately

I usually try to write humorous posts about fun things to do, interesting products or must-have items. Today I felt the need to write about what happened to us this weekend.  I can't recommend it and it certainly wasn't funny.

I had been looking forward to Saturday for as long as I can remember. We were supposed to take Ava to Disneyland for her very first visit with her favorite characters, Mickey and Minnie. I couldn't wait to see her little face light up as she experienced the Magic Kingdom for the first time. I was so filled with anticipation I could barely sleep the night before.  Little did I know that there was a very different plan in store for us this Saturday and there was nothing magical about it. 

Saturday morning came and I heard Ava's little voice talking over the baby monitor.  I walked into her room and was cheerfully greeted by her smiling face and a big, "Hi Mommy!"  She sat there with her stuffed penguin as happy as could be.  She did not seem to want to get up or out of the crib, but I didn't think much of it so I performed a mini puppet show and told her all about the fun that was waiting for us on this special day. I scooped her up, changed her diaper then plopped her down on my lap for a morning story.  Everything seemed normal.

After we read a few books together, I asked her if she wanted to go wake up Daddy.  She usually can't wait to run into our room and wake him up with giggles and kisses, however today her reply was, "No." I then picked her up from my lap and placed her feet on the floor.  She would not stand up.  I tried a few more times thinking she was just being obstinate or perhaps she still needed to wake up a bit.  Then I realized she could not stand up – not even with my help. My heart sank as I realized there was a serious problem.

I ran into our bedroom and woke Doug up. He calmly climbed out of bed and onto the floor to play with her.  He tried several times to get her to stand and quickly realized I was not over reacting, but she was indeed unable to support her body. She could move her legs, but she could not stand on them and she could not walk.  Ava is 16 months old. She has been walking for several months now and is a fairly solid walker. But not today. I panicked as I felt my head and world spinning around me.  How can this be happening? What is wrong with my baby? The worst thoughts were running through my mind. Thankfully Doug remained calm.

Her mood was happy and her bubbly personality was in high gear. She did not seem ill, aggravated or in pain. We took her temperature. No fever.  What is going on??  We got ourselves together, made some calls and headed straight to the emergency room.  After three hours in the ER, we placed Ava on the floor to see if there were any improvements. We were very relieved to finally see her stand and hold herself up. She was very unstable, very wobbly and it was obvious to the doctors that there was something wrong. We were hopeful though because up until this point she couldn't stand at all. They checked her ears and they x-rayed her legs and hips (a very unpleasant experience) and thankfully did not find a problem. So what could this be??

I told the doctor that two and half weeks ago Ava received the MMR shot (a vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella).  The previous Saturday she broke out in a rash that I had been warned about as a possible side effect.  At that time I did some homework online to research the rash and learn about various side effects from the vaccine. I remembered reading that "temporary joint pain and stiffness" or arthralgia, was a possibility. I shared this theory, but it was quickly dismissed. Even though the ER doctor gave the same diagnosis of "joint inflammation and stiffness," he believed she injured herself in some way since toddlers are so famous for falling down. He told us to go home and follow up with our pediatrician on Monday.  I was not satisfied with that answer and could not imagine going through the rest of the weekend without more information. 

We went home and let our little trooper take a nap.  She seemed a bit stronger now, but was still no where near normal.  That afternoon we took her to a pediatric center and had her hospital x-rays looked at again.  The pediatrician also dismissed my MMR theory. He spent a lot of time with her and explained why he also thought it might be injury related.  He said he felt resistance on her right side and it was apparent her wobbly stance favored her left leg.  He told us that kids are resilient and it isn't uncommon for them to fall down or twist themselves one day and have it affect them another day.  I suppose so… but this was all so strange.  (By the way, she coincidentally received the vaccine in her right leg.) We left there feeling a little better, but mostly because Ava had started walking again. She still wasn't stable and she had a severe limp, but she was walking and we were just so happy to see our baby moving.

Sunday came and her walk was stronger and as the day wore on it went almost back to normal.  What the heck had happened? I guess we'll just have to take the doctor's theory on her having an injury, but it was so bizarre how it suddenly came on and then disappeared.  I'm still not completely satisfied with the answers we received, but as long as it isn't neurological and our baby is back to normal, I guess we'll have to just pray it never happens again.  I am taking her to another doctor tomorrow for a follow-up and needless-to-say I am watching her like a hawk. 

In our hind sight we realized her balance was off the night before and she was asking for our hand when she tried to get up from the ground.  We thought she was just tired since it was past her bed time and she was fine earlier in the day. Has anyone ever heard of something like this happening? Do you think it could be from the MMR shot or some other cause? Or are the doctors probably right that she had an injury even though I can't imagine what it was?   All I know is that I'm so thankful she is back to normal and I hope to never, ever have a day like Saturday again. 

I also want to thank Ava's beloved Godparents and our dearest friends, David and Bianca, who were supposed to accompany us on our first visit to Disneyland but instead stayed with us all day and supported us through this ordeal.

Comments

[Julie]

Sounds very scary. I'm so sorry you had to deal with this. I hope Ava is doing better today.

[Ro]

Thank you, Julie. Ava is back to her spunky self, running around and getting into everything as if nothing ever happened. I hope to never experience that nightmare again.

[Coach4moms]

I have never heard of this. Thank you for taking the time for sharing. I will keep this in mind if I hear a similar story.
If you find new information please let us know.

Christine Lewicki
Certified Business Coach for Success minded Mothers Entrepreneurs
http://www.ocoaching.com
http://www.mylifecompass.com/Christine

[Jazzy]

My goodness, I cannot believe that! In my opinion, the correlation to the MMR is almost undeniable...you always know you're own child best and can't always depend on the docs to make a safe judgement.