The start to 2013!

I am way behind on this blog. My camera battery has died and I can't seem to find our battery charger anywhere. So that is half the reason I am so behind. SO I decided I just better start with a few posts and try and go back and catch up with Thanksgiving and Christmas later. :) That way I don't get too far behind. Sorry for the lack of pics. I may have to buy a new charger.

So our year started off with a bang. On the 1st of January we had our own kind of explosion. (Not fireworks, but diarrhea.) Brooky got it bad and got it all over the carpet. So right off I thought we are really off to a good start to the year! At first I just thought it was a big diaper since she had bad gas the whole day and then finally got it all out. Well the next day she had a few more explosions and then at that point I realized it was diarrhea and it wasn't clearing up. So I started her on pedialite to try and clear things up. Then on the morning of Jan 3rd she woke up really cranky. I thought it must be because she wasn't feeling well. After changing her and feeding her breakfast (which she didn't eat a whole lot of) she was still really cranky and acting tired. She seemed a little cold so we were just taking things easy and snuggling in the warm blankets on the couch while watching a movie. Then all of a sudden she started seizing in my arms. Her eyes go all crazy and she drools a lot and her body shakes. Instantly when this started happening I knew something was terribly wrong and I instantly had a flash back to about a month before on (Nov 28th) when something similar had happened, but at the time I didn't realize what it was. Anyway it all came together for me in that instant and I knew that she was having a seizure and I knew it was now the second time, so something serious must be wrong. Each of the seizure only lasted about 30 seconds to a minute. And afterwards she gets really cranky and falls asleep. This has been the pattern for every one. So after calling Casey, I called the doctor, who told me I needed to call 911 and have them come in case she were to have another seizure on the way to the hospital.

So the ambulance and firetruck show up at our apartment, and right after that Casey got home. After checking her blood sugar levels they found it was really low. So we gave her some apple juice with a few spoonfuls of sugar in it and headed to the emergency room. I rode with Brooky in the ambulance and Zaya came with dad. While waiting at the ER she started getting cranky again and I thought maybe it was because she didn't want to be held anymore. So I set her down on the hospital bed. Just a moment later she tipped over/passed out and began to have another seizure. We immediately called the doctors and nurses to come in. So even though I am not glad she had another seizure it was good that she had this one so that they could see firsthand what I had been trying to describe to them. Anyway since she had now had more than one seizure they decided they better transfer us to Rady's Children Hospital in San Diego. So one of my good friends took Isaiah for us and I rode down with Brooky in the ambulance that transported her there.

Casey later met up with us there after gathering some of our things. He brought us dinner and we were starving from not having a whole lot to eat the whole day. Well the food didn't settle to well in either of our tummies and I started to feel a little sick. It didn't help that I had a headache as well. So Casey went to find me some Tylenol or something. While he was gone Brooky had another diarrhea explosion all over my lap this time! At this point I had about had it. I felt queasy and the smell  wasn't helping at all. I called the nurse over to help me get Brooky and all her wires and poopy mess taken care of. Then Casey shows up and then I ran to the bathroom and started throwing up! Great! Now I have the stomach flu!

So our room smelled terrible. I felt so bad for the other people that were sharing a room with us. Well I knew I wouldn't be any help if I was sick and I couldn't stay there! So Casey had to take me home and while they did they switched us to a private room (thank goodness). On the way home I called my friend and told her that we would be picking up Isaiah for the night since I was sick now and was coming home. That way he could sleep in his own bed. Before we reached their home to pick him up she texted me saying that, "Zaya just threw up too!" Great so we were all coming down with the stomach bug on top off all the rest of this.

So Brooky was taken care of really well by the awesome nurses at the hospital there while she waited for her daddy to return. But that night was a long one for Casey because he had to keep Brooky awake most of the night to ensure she would be sleepy for her EEG then next morning (which only work if they are sleeping.) So she was only allowed to sleep from midnight until 4:00am and then she has to stay awake the rest of the time until she got her EEG done. So they watched a lot of movies and took strolls in the car wagon through the hospital halls to keep each other awake. Well the EEG came back negative and from all the other tests they did they were not able to determine what was causing her seizures. So they released her to come home from the hospital.

After they got home Casey came down with the stomach flu. Luckily it was only about a 24 hour bug so Zaya and I were already starting to feel better. What a start to our new year! Since then January has flown by. In the beginning I was really worried about her and overly cautious and I couldn't sleep well at night until we got a video monitor so we can keep an eye on her when she sleeps now. That helps so much with my peace of mind. January has flown by and she hasn't had any more seizures that we know of. We are still praying for her and watching her closely.

So from here on out the only thing we have left to do is an MRI. So we will be having that done then end of February. Other than that we watch to see if she has more seizures or not. Hopefully she won't. If she does then she will be put on medication to help control them. Her neurologist said that because she is otherwise healthy there is a good chance that she will outgrow the seizures. So that gives us comfort that if she does continue to have them hopefully they won't last the rest of her life. The hard part is not knowing. Not knowing what is causing them? If there will be more? How long will all this last?

But despite all of this we are so grateful to have our sweet Brooky in our lives. She brings us so much joy. She just turned 18 months old, which I will have to do a separate post on that. She is so sweet and growing up so fast. We enjoy every day with this sweet girl and are so very very thankful for all the wonderful family and friends who have been praying for us and our family. It has really made a difference.

Here's to a better rest of the year and hopefully no more seizures.