Children's Appointment...

Its been a busy day, a flurry of activities around here. I thought I would update you about yesterday's appointment. Nothing earth shattering to report, long story short, they will be doing a simple blood test on Kurt, myself and Karter to look to see if there are any chromosomal disorders that are the cause for Karter's Epilepsy.

Basically, we talked with the neurologist who specializes in genetics and genetic research in Epilepsy. She was very informative and I enjoyed the information that I learned. She talked with us about family genes and my pregnancy and other factors that could have caused Karter's seizure disorder. When it all boiled down, it appeared that there would be no reason that my perfectly normal pregnancy or our family genetics would have affected or caused Karter's condition. Most likey, it was "just one of those things".

When they do the test, they will color each of our blood a different color and match up of our chromosomes to Karter's. That will show if there are things added or missing in Karter's, those types of things would indicate a chromosomal disorder. In most cases, Epilepsy is a symptom of something else. This is not a new diagnosis or something else they are looking to treat, but rather a baseline for answers for the future and for why Karter's development and growth is so slow.

In 50% of all Epilepsy cases, there is no found cause. This is because our results are only as good as our technology for testing. We can view the brain through CAT scan or MRI, but that still does not show everything. There are areas that we are still unable to see with modern technology. There are over 800 cases in BC alone, where children have unexplained Epilepsy. I found those statistics astonishing, but very interesting.

We have been told that this test that they are doing is in the research stages. Karter will be 1 of 50 in the study. The test is 100x magnification rather than the 10x magnification that they use in the approved test that is currently used for genetic testing. So if anything, we can help them find a way to help others as well.

It always amazes me the opportunities that God puts in our path. The resources available to us, the medical care, the people in our lives, etc. I can only see it as the favor of the Lord. Little divine appointments all along the way.