Kamden Walker, now 3 years old, was diagnosed with OMS at age 1, and his mother, Lindsey Walker, and family have followed strict COVID-19 protocols to to keep him safe. SUBMITTED PHOTO

When doctors at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh read to Lindsey Walker symptoms associated with Opsoclonus-Myoclonus-Ataxia Syndrome, it was as if they had been watching her then 1-year-old son, Kamden Walker, for the last several months of his life.

The symptoms included loss of dexterity and balance, fits of rage and excessive crying, and rapid multi-directional eye movements, which she said all applied to Kamden.

The only part Walker wasn’t familiar with was the name of the disorder. Opsoclonus-Myoclonus-Ataxia Syndrome is classified as a rare nervous system condition that affects an estimated one in five million children worldwide.

While the family had no history of any type of nervous system disease, Walker said OMAS seemed to be the only classification that fit. Even the fact that symptoms don’t normally show up for the first few months of an infant’s life reflected 18-month-old Kamden’s story.

“Everything lined up,” Walker said. “Opsoclonus is the eyes. Myoclonus is the involuntary muscle spasms and the tremors. The Ataxia is your loss of balance. They sometimes misdiagnose it as Parkinson’s. But they pinpointed Kamden with all those things.”

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