The Wait....

Times get strange in life and when it involves your children we pump the breaks in a lot of things to ensure that our little ones are alright. 

Some weeks ago we spent a couple of days in the Epilepsy center in our local children’s hospital. Our little one has been clumsy for some time. At first, I thought it was because she was like me, a bit clumsy. But, when the daycare let me know that  she was falling off chairs and tripping over her feet when walking at a slower pace. We became concerned and we spoke to her pediatrician who referred us to an orthopedic surgeon. The day of that appointment she was examined and the surgeon said, “Mom, your daughter is perfect, but...” The moment right after that "but" seemed to stretch on forever but then he uttered the words "she has a mild case of cerebral palsy."

I took a deep breath and said "okay, what are next steps?" She’s healthy, smart, and amazing. He referred us to physical therapy (PT) and a neurologist. The visit to the neurologist came first and she didn’t see what the orthopedic surgeon saw. She recommended that we do an electroencephalography (EEG) to make sure the falls weren't being caused by micro-seizures. Micro-seizures? Another deep breath. A mom's job is to stay calm and when doing so we have a tendency to over think things and that was me. We scheduled an overnight stay at the hospital. 

We got there bright an early so that they can hook her up to the EEG machine.  The hospital requested that she wear a button down pajama set because we wouldn't be able to pull anything over her head once the machine was attached. They took her to another room to get all the wires attached to her head. When she came back her head was covered. She was smiling because they gave her a PJ Masks backpack to hold the recorder.

The first night was uncomfortable for her. She didn't like the wires but it she played and did regular activities. We went on walks on the hospital floor to get pudding and snacks. The next morning we saw the neurologist and was told that her EEG was clear, we should expect to head home the next day. That last day felt like it would never end, I was so excited that she was alright but also felt bad for the families there that were not so lucky.  

Our discharge day was here and we couldn't wait, it was time to take the wires off her head and that wasn't as bad as I would have thought. She hates it when you try and do anything to her hair, she loves it wild and free. She did so great and let the EEG tech take off all the wires off her head. After the wires were off they provide an oil to put on the hair so that the glue from the wires can come off. After that we were on our way home. Yay!!

Now that this test showed that she wasn't having micro seizures, it was time to head to PT to see what we can do about her falls. She's been much better in terms of tripping and falling but still at times will lose balance and take a tumble. We are working on her hand-eye coordination and with practice she will get it.