My 16 Month Old Baby, Who Is a Walker/ Runner Woke up and Couldn't Walk

It's a virus. It will go away by itself. I have seen this a few times over the years. The kids just wake up and can't walk.......it will go away.

I'm really with Mimi on this one... go see a chiro in the meantime, while you are waiting on test results. Call around to see if one will see a child - most do, but just incase you go to the one that does not.

Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital in Orlando - it's an awsome place! My daughter was born there, is 5 now, and we still make the trech when something comes up - have been 5 or 6 times now - it can't be beat, they have the best team of experts in everything! All top of their class graduates, not bottom feeder D students that are still able call themselves "Dr.".
Good luck! Keep us posted. Sorry that this is happening to you!

did she just get the MMR shot. its said that the MMR shot is linked to autism. i know that a million people will aruge that fact with me.. BUT.. do the research yourself! toddlers are supposed to get the MMR shot at 15 months old, but the effects dont start until 10+ days. my son had a terrible reaction. just a fyi. maybe you should check that out, or think at least ponder that. I hope i didnt freak you out, but after reading your post, this is the frist thing i thought of.

Hi G.,

Do you have a chiropractor? It could simply be a pinched nerve from a position she was sleeping in. this might not make her unable to walk but she may be uncomfortable and just doesn't want to. It's also easier to get into a chiropractors office. Make sure it is a principled, upper cervical specialist. (If you don't know one go to www.upspine.com and find one.) If they can't do anything, they will tell you and you can pursue another.

The easiest way to get into see a doctor is call the office and ask to speak to the nurse. After you tell the story to the nurse, they usually will insist you get into see the doctor and they will help you get the appointment.

Don't freak out just yet. Just be persistent!

God bless,

M.

My 5 year old had something similar happen.. he was in a lot of pain if he even TRIED to stand. It was sudden, after a cold or something if I remember right (it's been 5 or 6 years ago now). We took him to the ER and they drew blood, etc. Ran all the tests... nada.

While waiting for some further results on additional bloodwork (which eventually came back without any new leads) we gave him a powerade to drink to wash down some crackers. Within a few minutes of drinking half the powerade, he was FINE. They never would say that his electrolytes or anything else were off... but that was all we could figure. It has never happened again. He had crampy pain in his legs and at first we thought "growing pains"... my husband had them when he had some growth spurts when he was young.

I have NO IDEA of there is any relation to what your situation is.. but that is what happened with us. I hope you find some answers. It is especially scary when they are so young that they can't tell you what they are feeling.

Prayers going out.

Call the All Children's Hospital &/or go to another ER... How scary!

Did she have any vaccines just before this happened?
Please check out www.thinktwice.com if so...
Good luck!

get to a neurologist and also have the doctors check for any diseases/conditions that deal with regression/degeneration

I would go to Arnold Palmer ER with her asap! If your pediatrician acted like that - I would find another asap!

A friend had the same thing happened and her baby turned out to have arthritis (I can't remember if it's RA or just regular arthritis). It's something to have them look into. Don't fret, her little girl is now 4 and runs around and acts like a normal 4 yr old. Good luck.

I would question twice that toxic synovitis diagnosis...it should only cause limping, not not walking Take your child to pediatric hospital, not a regular one. I think there is one in Hollwood. Google it.

Call your pediatrician again-- let them know he is STILL not walking and ask if you should take him first to an orthopedic doc or a neurologist. Do not get off the phone until you have an answer of who to go see next!!

go to another emergency room!

I don't know what might be in Palm Beach County - but I would go to either the ER at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital www.kdch.com or at Miami Children's Hospital www.mch.com.

Best wishes.

I would contact a neurologist - Dr. Millan is great!

Has your baby recently been vaccinated?

Get second, third, fourth, 100th opinions until you get an answer. Pediatricians and doctors do the best they can, but they often miss things. Keep taking your child to different doctors until you get an answer.

I am sorry for what you are going through. I personally have not experienced this yet, but I had an acquaintance's daughter who had something similar with her arms. She could not move her arms for a few days. She went to the hospital and it turned out to be a virus.

I don't know if what I wrote is helpful, but please know what usually comes quickly, goes quickly and your baby will be OK.

go to as many doctors and get as many opinions as you can!

Has anything happened in the past couple days that could be linked? I once had my young son fall out of a high chair. He acted fine after (once he quit crying), but we noticed the next day he wasn't walking. It took a good 2-3 days before he started walking again, and then he walked kind of funny and crooked. We had taken him to the doctor the first day, who took Xrays and said he was fine. We finally took him to a chiropracter and he was walking normal again after that. If nothing has happened that you could possibly link to this, a pinched nerve, like someone said, could be the reason. However, trust your instinct and go to whomever you need to, because that is definitely not normal behavior.

Hope she is better now.

oh my G., I am sorry to hear that. I would check with a bone doctor/orthopedic surgeon to see if any bones are broken or just got crossed or stopped developing or something. Is the baby even standing up? If standing up, it might not be physical. Is she weak, lethargic, attentive, eating ok? Then if she is, you know it's not her brain or digestive. Try to find a chiropractor that specializes in babies. I wish you some luck and try not to worry too much. My prayers are with you.

Go to another ER! pls let us know whats going on.
M.

You absolutely need to go somewhere else FAST. Not sure of all of the circumstances here, but a similar thing happened with my niece...walker/runner and then one day just couldn't walk at all.

They went through doctor after doctor and then on to a neurologist where they diagnosed her with some form of Guillain-Barré Syndrome or Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM)-- they actually never were able to pin-point it exactly. She was in the hospital for a couple of weeks while they ran all sorts of tests and had various experts take a look at her. NEver did get a definitive diagnosis, but she ended up coming out of everything ok...after having a round of physical therapy and various medications.

I'm not trying to scare you -- but just trying to make a point that you should never just sit back and take what one or two people tell you, with getting no answers or resolution. Time can be a very precious thing when it comes to certain ailments, etc...you could be doing more damage to your child while you're watching the time tick away. I'd be beating down every door I could to get someone to help me.

I think you need a second opinion. Did they do any tests? xrays? Blood work? Is she moving her legs? There is no way to know what is going on without knowing more, but if you didn't get the answers you were looking for from you doc or the ER, it may be time to go somewhere else.

Get a second opinion from another pediatrician. Has anyone suggested an MRI?

Did she just get vaccinated? Some kids can't take the toxicity in vaccines. You may want to find the best acupuncturist or chiropractor or homeopath in your area, whatever the cause.