Next week Thursday, Gage will be having quite a few tests done at Memorial Hermann Children's Hospital.
First up will be the MEG scan. A MEG scan is a functional neuroimaging technique for mapping brain activity by recording magnetic fields produced by electrical currents occurring naturally in the brain, using very sensitive magnetometers. This is used, in Gage's case, to hopefully localize regions affected by pathology before possible surgical removal. He will not be going under for this, however he will have to be sleep deprived.Next up will be the MRI. He will have to be sedated for this procedure, which kills me. He's had two done before under sedation but it still makes me nervous. Many of you are familiar with the MRI, which is basically just a picture of the brain. In his previous MRI's no abnormalities, lesions or cortical dysplasia (if you want to get technical) was found, but a lot of times they go unnoticed until the child is over two years of age. Our brains change and grow so much in those first years of life that it's often not detected until children are older, which is why repeat MRI's are often done. Why both tests? They are used in conjunction to identify the location or source, if there is a source, of the focal epileptic activity that Gage is having. It helps for me to visualize it like this... you lay the MRI picture down which shows the framing of the "house" and then you lay the MEG scan which shows a colorful picture of electrical activity over the "house" to see where the occupant, or abnormality, is coming from. Kinda like heat ray vision to see where people are in a house from across the street. It's not technically like that but it's the way my simple minded brain can process it. Finally, the LP (lumbar puncture). He will have this procedure while he is still under general anestheisa. This is to test for any metabolic disorders which could be causing the seizures. I don't anticipate them gaining much from these tests, but they're the smart people so I'd rather have it all done at once then come back years later to find out a metabolic abnormality was the cause. All that may seem easy enough but it's going to make for a VERY long day which will start VERY early. Zach will be doing this solo with Gage as I start back at work next week. It'll be the first time that I won't be there with him during tests like this. While I know daddy's got him and will spoil him rotten it kills me that I won't be there. I'm scared and already having nightmares about it. I know I could take off but I also know there will be plenty of other times where I will need to be off of work for some other random test or doctor appointment that Zach won't be able to, but that's not going to help me get through the day any easier.I guess the only last question is why are we doing this, having all these tests performed? That's a hard pill to swallow for me. We are trying to see if Gage is a possible candidate for surgery. While his epilepsy is pretty much under control with medications, the seizures types are changing and will most likely continue to change as he gets older. Apart from the spasms that he had early on I've only seen him have one 20 second focal seizure (which you never forget) and a couple of head drops which have reduced to pretty much nothing since we started his second medication 3 weeks ago, but like I said there will always be a possibility that another type will present itself in the future. Sure we could add another medication, but then that would be 3 total. Then what if he needs another or we have to increase the others? While the thought of cutting into my child's brain leaves me breathless and causes my heart to squeeze painfully how can I deny him the chance of living seizure free with no medications coursing through his body. Medication is a necessary evil. While it controls the seizures it also slows down development. His cognitive function is slower. His sleep schedule is all over the place. He tires easily and sometimes can get hyper active which doesn't allow him to fall asleep easily when he wants to. It's a roller-coaster ride that I'd take any day over him having a seizure but it still all sucks royally. This path is a long one and the journey will never really be over but we will push and push and push until we as parent's know that we have tried absolutely everything to make his quality of life the best that it can be. God willing we will receive a ton of information and answers from all of these tests next week. I'll update then. Until then please, please pray like you have been.Thank you all so much for the support.God bless,Amy
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