These past several posts have been flashbacks... can you tell I'm really behind? It's a reflection on my real life; I'm pretty much behind on everything.
I had planned for June 25 to be a super fun day. My sister Christy, my darling nieces Anna and Norah and my Nan were coming for a 3 day visit! We were going to have so much fun playing, eating and catching up on each others lives. It's a rare occasion for us to all be together for 3 days straight at our house.
The day started out with an early morning play date in our living room. Of course all the kids woke at their usual early hour and were itching to dig into the toys. My sister and I were sleepily sitting amongst them watching when we heard all the kids calling out, "Nan, Nan... Nan's awake!" I looked up just in time to see my sweet Nan standing at the top of our stairs waving. In extremely slow motion I then proceeded to watch her loose her hand grip on the railing, skid down a few steps then fall to the floor. Everyone screamed and cried as we rushed to help Nan. It was like a nightmare playing out in real time. You can probably guess what happened in the next several hours. We called 911, they arrived and took Nan to the ER. Christy and I waited with Nan to find out what the damages were and also to get some strong pain meds! After her discharge I drove Nan as gingerly as I could manage to meet my aunt in Chattanooga, so she could recover at home.
Driving back home I was completely drained. I felt sick that Nan was hurting and that we wouldn't be able to enjoy her company. But I was encouraged to think of all those smiling faces running up to me at home. I knew my precious sis was in need of help after keeping all 4 kids alone! (Thanks Chris)
As soon as I walked in the door my poor sister was holding Abby with a very concerned look on her face. I knew something was wrong. Abby was throwing up and I could tell she had spiked a fever as I carried her into our bedroom. While cleaning up her vomit I realized she was also starting to seize. Her temp was 102.5. I watched her for a few minutes, got out the Diastat and called our pediatrician. She continued to seize even after the Diastat had been in her system for several minutes. Called the doc back again. By this time Patrick was home and we were off to the ER.They gave her several more drugs in the ER to stop the seizure. At this point it had been over an hour since she started seizing. Our poor baby looked so pitiful with her glazed eyes, O2 in her nose and IV hanging from her little arm... a scene that has become too familiar.
After much debate about wanting to take her home, the ER doc convinced us to stay the night after Abby dropped her sats several times to the low 80's as we were talking. She rested ok during the night, but poor daddy had to sleep on that hard cot/couch thing they had in the room.
At our follow up visit with her neurologist we discussed her seizure log and the recent event. He suggested considering something called Vagus Nerve Stimulation Therapy. It would involve implanting a small device in her chest with electrodes wrapped around her vagus nerve in the neck. The device would deliver 30 sec of electrical impulses every few minutes (as programmed by the doctor) so as to interrupt any seizure inducing electrical storms in the brain. We have received some materials on this treatment, and have spoken with a family who has recently implanted their child. He has now been seizure "free" for 26 days since implantation. The therapy also provides a magnet that can be used to wave across the device in the chest to deliver an extra impulse when we see a seizure coming. It is supposed to stop it. We might also be able to wean her off the some of her anti-epileptic drugs... a major plus!!
One more thing to consider for our darling Abby.
"Lord give us wisdom to make the best choice for our girl."
