A MUM and dad spotted their baby daughter's muscle wasting condition - when she stopped kicking her feet. Tony and Carrie Pearson's 16-month-old daughter Grayce was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy ( SMA ) type 2 earlier this year. SMA is a neurological condition which causes progressive muscle wasting and weakness, leading to issues with mobility - with type 2 typically appearing in children aged between six to 18 months.
Tony and Carrie, who live in Possilpark, Scotland, first became aware something was wrong when Grayce, 16 months, stopped moving her legs as much as she had. Grayce, who had been an active baby up until that point, began to tire more easily and became less interested in moving around. Tony, 35, said the family are now calling for more screening to spot the symptoms.
He said: "In the first six months she was kicking her legs and then we started to notice that she wasn't really moving her legs. "She was flopping over and she was tired a lot. "We asked the health visitor but they were unsure what was going on because it was so rare, so we went to our GP and they referred us to a specialist in SMA.
"They tested her and she was diagnosed with SMA type 2." Tony and Carrie says they were "gobsmacked" by the news. Carrie, 30, said: "It's hard because you're told your child's going to be different.
" Since she was diagnosed two months ago, Grayce has started taking daily medication, which has only been available for six years, which will help her start to walk .
