The Doctors: Show Helps Mom Diagnose Daughter
Dr. Travis Stork explained that just about everyone knows that babies grow at predictable rates, passing predictable milestones along the way. But what if those milestones just don’t come? The Phelps family shared their story.
The family told the story of how their daughter Olivia was born on August 4, 2010. The mother explained that everything was good until the 34th week of pregnancy and they started having trouble with Olivia moving. They realized something wasn’t right when she was born and had a temperature of an unknown origin. She had severe vomiting and it stayed that way for the first few years.
One mom thanked The Doctors for helping her find a diagnosis of Dopa-Responsive Dystonia for her daughter. (MIKHAIL GRACHIKOV / Shutterstock.com)
The first diagnosis for Olivia was Cerebral Palsy, and the parents explained that they saw at least 15 doctors before they went to a neurologist. Olivia’s mom, Melissa, explained that it seemed like every day and sometimes every hour, Olivia seemed to be getting worse. She said she saw The Doctors episode where a woman was sharing the story of her twins who had similar symptoms to Olivia. She said she seemed to be watching her story unfold on TV. The woman’s children were diagnosed with Dopa-Responsive Dystonia, and said that it was treatable. Melissa said that as soon as she heard it was treatable, she called the doctor and showed him the video of the woman’s story from The Doctors.
The Drs: Dopa-Responsive Dystonia
The doctor agreed that Olivia had all the same symptoms, so they performed a spinal tap and started her on the same medication that the twins were on. Within a week, they started to see improvement in Olivia’s condition and watched their baby girl suddenly be able to pull herself up on her legs, when she couldn’t before.
Melissa and her husband joined The Doctors on the show and said they were so glad they were watching The Doctors that day. Dr. Ashton asked them what they would say to parents out there struggling with a health crisis with their children and not making any progress. Melissa said she would say keep fighting for answers, do research, and go with your mom instincts.
Dr. Stork said sometimes the best advice he can give to parents is to not forget to recharge their own batteries. He then surprised them with a trip to Marco Island.
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