Sunday, September 7, 2008

What's going on with Abi?

As some of you have asked...how is Abigayle doing? I thought it was time to post a little update on her. Things with Abi have definitely been exciting & frustrating. To start out, Dr. L had increased Abi's dose some more about a month ago, because she was still having 1 seizure a day. The increased dose seemed to help & Abi was seizure free for 5 DAYS!!! She then had gone back to having 1 a day, and we increased her dose again. Again, it helped & she went 3 days without having a seizure. The seizures came back 2 Sundays ago, and have increased in number from 1 to about 2-3 a day. I am a bit frustrated to see her have more than 1 seizure a day. It seemed like things were going good when we were down to 1. With her seizures coming back & increasing by number so are different types of seizures. The type of seizure Abi has is called {Partial Complex Seizures}. So on top of those I feel like she is having Absent seizures, which the only way I can tell is her breathing gets heavy & she has a blank look about her. She also is having a seizure that her left eye will slowly close and sometimes she does not respond but other times, she responds. I feel like these are her old Infantile Spasms that have come back.... YUCK!!! It makes me sick to think about. Most of the time she doesn't act bothered, but there are the few times she is. After she has a seizure, she is of coarse exhausted & falls asleep for about an hour or so. She also has had a few where her eyes will bounce... I call them her "crazy eyes". She's only had 2 or 3 of those. I get so bummed out when I see her have a seizure, but when I see a new one on top of the regular seizure she has, then I find myself depressed and scared for the unknown. This past week Abi has been sick with a horrible cold. I did not know your nose could produce that much snot. Poor Abi has such a raw nose now & is still trying to get rid of the cold. On Wednesday, Abi's worst day, she ran a low grade fever & had 2 REALLY strong seizures. This seizure was the kind where her whole body shook & her eyes rolled in the back of her head. We have never seen her have this type & so, to see it, Dave & I were a bit shaken up. She seized for about 1-2 minutes & then took about 30 seconds for her to come to, when she came to, she acted like nothing happened. But then 30 seconds later, she went back into another seizure. I immediately called her Neurologist, & was told that being sick & running a fever can definitely bring on seizures. We are hoping that those seizures will NEVER come back. Abi is still sick, & I am afraid she might have strep throat. Lyvie is just getting over strep, so it wouldn't surprise me if she caught it. So, I will call the Dr. tomorrow & hopefully get her on an antibiotic.
On a happier note. Abi can sit on her own. Dave & I no longer hover her when she is sitting. We can leave the room, & come back to find her in the same position! And, this past Tuesday, I was in my bathroom doing my hair, while Abi was laying on the bedroom floor, I heard her grunt. So I looked down, & she had rolled to her belly! Great Job Abi!!! She has rolled a few times now & each time I see her do it, I can't help but smile! She is slowly rolling, but with each day, she'll get better & faster at it. Her Physical Therapist came this past week and complimented on how much stronger she is. Her legs are so strong, & she seems to enjoy being on her feet. She also is rolling to her side & reaching for toys. And, bringing BOTH hands together. These things may be little for some, but to us, they are huge milestones. We don't take them for granted. They are great accomplishments & we are so pleased!!!
This coming Friday, we are taking Abi down to Primary Children's to have a 24 Hours EEG Test done. The reason why Abi is having this done is due to all the types of seizures she is having. Dr. L & I felt like it was the right thing to do, before we made another increase in her medication. Hopefully they will find what they are looking for and be able to fix or treat the seizures. Thank you everyone for your thoughtfulness & for your prayers. We couldn't thank you enough!

No comments:

Post a Comment