Saturday, January 21, 2012

Iris Update

We just got back from two days at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital up in Ohio. Iris had another EEG and MRI. It's awful to write it but they're looking for brain damage and signs of stroke and seizures. I've resisted writing much about it because I've gotten a lot of "She'll be fine! There's nothing wrong!" which is crazy because if she was fine she wouldn't be having the tests in the first place.

She did great with the MRI and sedation, not so much with the EEG. Because of safety reasons she ended up not getting general anesthesia and instead got some syrup that made her sleepy but not totally sedated. Nobody wanted to say it but because of Toby's death and her seizure activity general anesthesia wasn't a really positive option. Anything else was preferable. The sedation worked fine and they didn't end up having to use an IV.

They wouldn't let us watch but called us as soon as she was finished. We hoped to get back in Recovery before she woke up but when we got in there she was wide awake. She was also being held by a nurse and wide awake and laughing. A crowd surrounded her as she laughed, cooed, and gave them a show. They didn't want to give her back to us and kept calling her "Angel."

She slept for most of the day after that. I wish we had known that the sedation was going to work because we wouldn't have had to starve her.

The EEG was crazy. I went up with the kiddos by myself for that and Iris screamed and cried. I rocked her while Sam and I told her "Jack and the Beanstalk." She eventually fell asleep, but not after first calling the tech everything in the book.

Sam was surprised that we were able to bring her home. He said, "I hope nothing happens to Iris. I love that baby!" Unfortunately, he was also under the impression that since we got to bring her home we also got to bring Toby home today as well.

I know it can't be just me, but doesn't it seem like the area around the Children's Hospital is a little...seedy? I mean, some of the buildings that are falling down and in disrepair are gorgeous and interesting but even I would feel uncomfortable getting out and taking pictures. And I've been to a lot of...interesting...places.

We should get the MRI results back in 48 hours and the EEG results back in 10 days. I have another appointment there next week so I should hear something then. She's sure glad to be back home.

Update on Pete:
Another department on campus randomly wrote Pete and offered him a class to teach so he's doing that now. It's a partial semester class, but good to see that other departments are taking interest. 

2 comments:

Katie (LukeGrantsMom) said...

Thanks for the update, I hope answers come back (and not other questions). How do you feel about the word "angel"? It seems so innocent, but since we have "angels", it is a term I don't like to use. When Luke was alive I use to say "angel baby", so it makes me squirm a little bit to hear. So innocent, but has a different meaning.
That is great Pete got another class!

Unknown said...

Oh, you know I have something to say about that. I think I'll dedicate a blog entry to it.I've actually put a lot of thought into the angel thing.