EEG & MRI

On February 25th, Dave & I took Abi down to Primary Children's Medical Center to visit with her Neurologist, Dr. L.  She's started having an increase in seizures.  We also were seeing a change in her behavior.

Not so sure about the head wrap.

Abi had an EEG done & then a quick visit with Dr. L.  Her results show that she no longer is having Infantile Spasms.  The hypsarrhythmia that normally shows up on her EEG's is no longer there.  Dr. L said this was the best EEG he has seen of Abi's.  He diagnosed her of having Complex Partial Seizures.  He increased her Rx & is hopeful this will control the seizures.  He couldn't tell us why she had those "drop seizure" episodes.

When Abi has her "normal" seizure, there is a pattern.  She usually will come find Dave or I and grab a hold of our leg when she feels it coming on.  Or we can see that one is coming just by the look on her face.  Her seizures start out really light.  We notice her lip will quiver and the left side of her body will stiffen.  This gradually gets harder and more intense.  She hits a climax where her seizure is really intense & exhausting for both her & I.  She folds at the waist while her entire left side stiffens.  Her left eye winks & she lets out heavy sighs.  They come in clusters, so she has about a 10 to 15 second break in between.  Slowly the seizure weakens & tapers off to nothing.  She then is back to herself & goes on with her day. She is usually tired after, & sometimes will fall asleep.  But, Miss Abi is a busy body & does not stop going.  These seizures can last anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour. 

A few days before we saw Dr. L, Abi had had her "normal" seizure.  When she is finished having it, she usually gets back to doing what she was doing before they even start.  This she did.  But, not too long after, I noticed Abi fall head first to the floor.  So I ran over to her & held her to see if she was going into another seizure.  Nothing happened, so I let her get up & start going.  As I was walking back to the kitchen, I noticed Abi following me.  I caught her just in time before her head hit the tile-  Another "drop seizure" happened.  About 15 minutes later, I got her into the tub.  I was just about to take her out when Abi stood up, which she never stands up in the tub & dropped again.  There is no pattern to drop seizures. As I was getting Abi dressed after her bath.  She seemed fine.  She started playing, & then dropped.  So I held her to make sure nothing was coming on.  NOTHING.  So, back to playing & she dropped again.  This was so frustrating for Dave & I . She got to a point that she wouldn't even walk, cause every time she would get up, she'd drop.  We had Jared, my brother come over & help give Abi a blessing.  She slept like a log that night.  The next day, it happened again, but this time she only dropped twice.  So, we were hoping that the Dr. could tell us why she was having the "dropping" episodes, but there is no answer. Since then, there have been no other "drop seizures" occur.  It still concerns me.  Especially when she is at school.  I hate not being there when she has a seizure.  

Feeling a little "drunk"....

A week after Abi had her EEG, she had an MRI done.  We were concerned with Abi throwing these tantrums where she would scream & hit her head for about an hour.  Her MRI came back with no new surprises on them.  It was our first time to actually speak to the Radiologist though.  That was nice.  He explained to us exactly what was going on with Abi's brain.  We already knew what was going on, but it was nice to actually have someone speak in our language & to hear it again & understand completely.


So, an update on Abi as of today.  Her seizures are still daily.  The increase in her Keppra has not helped.  She is more agitated & aggressive.  She hits more & screams more.  She does have her good days though.  She says new words daily.  Sometimes we only hear her say them once or twice, but other times they stick.  I do think we need to try a new medicine or new route as to why she still is having the one seizure sneak in everyday.  She did have a few days where she had 4+ seizures a day.  That could be because of the weather & the barometric pressure and also she had the flu.  But usually she has a seizure a day. 

 I am proud to be her mom! I love her so much & she really has blessed my life!