Leah's Story - Part 1

Leah was born on June 10, 2004.  She was very healthy, with the only concern being a slightly "loose" left hip.  We were assured this would firm up on its own.  She was and has always been a very healthy, cheerful, loving, friendly, happy-go-lucky, energetic little girl.  She has four brothers and two sisters, none of whom display any of the issues she is experiencing.

From the time she began walking, Leah would fall.  And I don't mean she would stumble, or trip over a toy, or lazily drag her toes, she would just collapse.....like a limp noodle.  She wouldn't throw out her arms to break her fall, or anything, she would just collapse.  It would happen so quickly and so randomly it was hard to actually *see* what was happening.  She would immediately leap back up and shout out a quick "I'm OK" and go back to what ever it was she was doing.  It happened so frequently it became a bit of a family joke.  "There goes Leah, tripping over dust again."  or  "Leah has inherited the K gene...K for klutz."

We began to take it a little bit more seriously when her teacher called to discuss the amount of falling she was doing during the school day.  We took her to see the pediatrician, he checked her out, ordered xrays for her hips (to see if the old hip issue was the problem) and blood work.  Other than the bloodwork, everything came back fine.  Her CK levels were elevated - this indicates that she has elevated muscle enzymes in her blood.  LiveStrong.com explains it very well here http://www.livestrong.com/

Over the next two years, we would return to the doctor to have her bloodwork rechecked.  Her CK level would fluctuate but remained high, as well, occasionally her thyroid levels were high.  The doctor continued to explain it away as a virus that lodged in her muscles that was taking a long time to clear up.  We had her assessed at the Niagara Peninsula Children's Centre by a Physiotherapist, Occupation Therapist, a student Doctor and a Speech Therapist.  The only findings was that she is hypermobile in the knees and ankles.  The conclusion, while the hypermobility maybe contributing to her falling, it was not the main issue and the team felt there were underlying issues causing it.

Finally, June 16, 2011, after yet another set of abnormal blood work, her doctor agreed to send her to a muscle specialist McMaster Children's Hospital.  He promised to complete the referral and send it off as soon as possible.

I had no sooner walked through the front door and called my husband to update him, than the school called.  Leah had collapsed outside on the soccer field.

I grabbed my cellphone and called the Doctor's office on my way out the door.  They agreed to see her right away.  I raced to the school, my heart racing.

I was met at the front door by the secretary and brought to the staff room, Leah was lying on the couch in the fetal position, with ice packs on her neck and ankles.  There were three teachers with her and everyone was very concerned.  Her eyes were flat looking, and she would only respond non-verbally, she couldn't hold herself up in a sitting position and I had to carry her to the car.

From what I can piece together from the students, her brother and the teachers, no one saw her go down, they don't know if she felt sick before hand, don't know if she shook (had a seizure), don't know if she hit her head on the grass or for sure how long she was out for.  All we know is that there was enough time for a student to get her brother's attention and for him to reach her and try to pick her up.  She was limp in his arms and not responsive to his voice.  Teachers were alerted and came at a run.  Leah remembers waking up and seeing her brother Connor looking down at her.  Connor states her eyes were fluttering and even though it was hot outside she wasn't sweating.  He also said she did talk a little bit but wasn't making sense.

We went directly to the Doctor's office, on the car ride over, she was still having trouble holding her head up, she was able to sip some Gatorade but still was not talking.  It took her over an hour to begin speaking again and over two hours to begin walking again.

She was admitted to the hospital for three days.  While she was there she received an EKG, a CT Scan and a variety of bloodwork.  Everything came back as fine except for the bloodwork which as usual had elevated CK levels - but lower than they had been the week  before.  Occasionally, her blood pressure registered as very high, but when it was taken again, it would be normal.  As well, even though I found the room to be quite warm and stuffy, she was continually cold.

She was discharged on June 18th, with no real answers but with a appointment for an EEG on July 21st.