Monday, October 8, 2012

The Big Scare

On Saturday afternoon, Daniel was making some weird movements. He would draw his legs up, throw his head forward, stick his tongue out, and bulge his eyes. He would hold that position for a few seconds, release, and do it again. We were terrified that he was having seizures. He made the odd movements over 100 times, and it looked very uncomfortable for him. He also had slept a lot that day. We decided to call our pediatrician. She recommended we go to the ER for an EEG.
During the 1 hour EEG.
After the 1 hour EEG, we ruled out infantile spasms, the big bad of the early childhood seizure options. We were relieved but still nervous that he could be seizing. We decided to do the 24 hour video EEG.


Daniel did not like his EEG contraption on his head. He slept a fraction of the time he normally does and was extremely irritable.

You can see the video window on the bottom righthand corner. The lines are the electrical activity in different parts of his brain. I took this when he was sleeping.
We practice attachment parenting. The only time he is not in arms is when he is sleeping at night or if whoever is caring for him is eating or in the bathroom. I couldn't hold him during the video EEG unless he was nursing because he had to be in his hospital crib in view of the camera. This was very stressful for both of us.

When the 24 hour EEG was over, I cried in anticipation of getting to hold my sweet baby again as much as I wanted to.
I think I took this picture when we had less than one hour left on the 24 hour EEG...I was hovering over the crib, impatient to hold my baby!!
After all that, the verdict: no seizure activity. He most likely has uncontrolled severe silent reflux. We are so relieved (though the bad reflux isn't great, it is better than seizures!) Although we spent a lot of time in the hospital, I am so glad we did the EEG. Being uncertain about whether or not my baby was having seizures was not pleasant, and an EEG is the only way to know for sure.

We are extremely exhausted but glad to be home! Thanks to everyone who helped us out by watching Lily or visiting us in the hospital. We love you guys. :-)

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