Seizures and an EEG

I just wanted to take a bit of time and give you a little update on the things that are happening right now.

Over the last few weeks, Karter has begun to have a new type of seizure. The nurse at Children's suspects that they are tonic seizures, which are much like the spasms he had when he was 5 months old. After 18 months, in most cases, the spasms change. This could be what we are seeing.

I notice the seizures most during feeding times. This could be because he is sitting up, which makes them more noticeable. When Karter has a seizure he will bend in the midsection for a second and then return to what he was doing the moment before. I can tell by his eyes and the force of the bending at the waist that it is a seizure. I have now seen enough of them to recognize even the slightest abnormal movements.

Although these seizures do not last a long time or take a lot out of Karter, the unfortunate thing about them is that he can hit his head on the tray or toy that is in front of him, this has happened a couple of times. I feel so bad for him; he has had a couple of good bumps on the head.

We have been pushing for an EEG so that we can see what area these seizures are coming from. As in the past, Karter’s seizures have been localized to the right frontal lobe. That was the area where his surgery was done when he was ten months old. At our last appointment, the neurologist did confirm that there was still a fairly extensive area in that right frontal lobe that appeared abnormal. In theory, it would make sense that the seizures would be still coming from that area. There is a chance however, that the seizures are a bit more global (all over the brain). This is a speculation due to the fact that his development is globally delayed.

Our neurologist is on holidays right now, however she did call in today and the neurology nurse did tell her about Karter’s seizures. The neurologist does want to see if we can capture them through EEG. We will be going on Friday at 9am for a 3 hour EEG appointment. They need to capture about 3 episodes in order to have the concrete documentation they need.

Ideally, if they capture the 3 seizures that they need, the neurologist will look at the findings and will determine what the course of treatment will be. In the meantime, they have slightly increased one of Karter’s meds so that he is not seizing so much throughout the day.

I honestly don’t really know how to ask you to pray. I just want answers. If the seizures are still in the right frontal lobe, as in the past, I suppose my hope is that we can move forward with the possible option of more surgery or at least start chatting about the possibility. It would be nice to either rule it out completely or move forward with it. The unstable back and forth makes it so hard to keep life moving. Please pray that we get the answers we need and whatever the best treatment for Karter would be presented and started quickly. The unknown wears us out really quickly, so please also pray for added strength.

I will most likely not have an results until early next week, when our neurologist is back from holidays and has some time to review the EEG. When I find something out, I will update.