Vertigo

That's what they've diagnosed Mary-Gail with. Weird. Poor little girl can't stand up, let alone walk, without falling over.

I was coming home Sunday afternoon from an overnighter with my sis's when Tony called saying he was going to take Mary-Gail to the doctor. He said Rebecca & Mary-Gail were playing and bonked heads. Mary-Gail was stunned and was loopy. Tony said she couldn't stand up after that, and when he tried to help her walk she couldn't get her feet to work right.

I met him at the on-call doctor's office in Orem. Dr. Bailey checked out Mary-Gail - all her neuro functions were normal and responsive, she hadn't thrown-up, she wasn't running a fever or crying or irritated or upset. Quite the opposite, she was looking out the 3rd story window pointing out cars, and trees, babies (all people are babies to Mary-Gail), clapping and laughing. So the doc thought everything was OK. But when he observed her trying to stand, and saw how she fell backwards (without trying to catch herself), and when Mary-Gail tried to walk a few steps to me and wobbled to her side instead of straight forward, he was curious and confused. He contacted the Neurological Pediatrician at Primary Children's Hospital and explained Mary-Gail's exam to him. At the end of the call, and after Tony & I heard "MRI" and "CAT scan" used several times in the conversation, Dr. Bailey and the Neuro Ped decided we should observe Mary-Gail at home for a few days and see how she was doing. If symptoms persisted then we'd have her examined again and possibly schedule an MRI.

So, Mary-Gail has a cross between Vertigo and Benign Paroxysmal Positional Nystagmus. The latter has to deal with the inner ear, but she didn't have an ear infection or any fluid in her ears. Very perplexing.