Thursday, January 22, 2009

Seizures

Without a doubt seizures are probably one of my greatest fears. They are scary things - very scary. Our doctor doesn't think that Bennett has an increased risk of having seizures. However, it is still something that I've worried about and I find that I'm always watching Bennett closely to see if I can detect any sign of seizure activity.

Within the last few months I have noticed that every once in a while Bennett will stare off for a while. It never lasts longer than a few seconds. Sometimes I call his name and he'll turn right away, sometimes it takes a couple seconds. These stares are not accompanied by anything else (ex. tics, lip smacking, twitches). It's just him gazing.

I want to be sure they aren't absence seizures so I mentioned the situation to our doctor who proceeded to order an EEG. That's what we did today. Kara had prepared me for what would happen. It took about an hour. It took about 1/2 hour to measure and mark his head and attach the electrodes. He is supposed to stay as still as possible and in order to prevent him from ripping the pads from his head he was wrapped up tight in that blue contraption you see above. As you can imagine, he just LOVED that! He wasn't happy at all during this procedure and was quite vocal about it. However, by the time the technician removed the electrodes he was back to his happy self. He did show his displeasure with Jim and I though when we left the hospital. He quickly grabbed Grandpa's hand and pretty much ignored us for a while. I can't say I blame him.

Now we wait anxiously for the results. The technician told us it would take about a week. I'll let you know what happens.

10 comments:

Popcorn House said...

Seizures scare me too. Our doctor did tell us that Sammy is at a increased risk for seizures. I am always looking for signs, but so far we are ok.

Bennett, looks so cute wrapped up there with the monitors on his head. Sometimes you just need a grandpa!!!

Let us know what the results say. I am sure the staring is just a two year old thing!!!

Kara said...

So funny, I have some of the exact pictures of Kasia all wrapped up in that blue thing. Amazingly, she proved to have Houdini-like abilities and her little arm would fly out and rip off one or two electrodes before we could stop her.

Here's to hoping the results will be negative and this was just another little adventure along the way!

Anonymous said...

Keeping y'all in my thoughts for a good outcome.

Barbara

Amanda said...

Seizure terrify me! Our doctor also told us that Leah, like Bennett, theat Leah is not at a higher risk for seizures. That doesn't mean, I'm not always watching and checking!

I'm sorry Bennett had a rough time, but I'm glad he recovered quickly!

Let us know the results! We'll be keeping you guys in our thoughts!

Unknown said...

I'm so sorry you all (including mom and dad) had to go through all of this. However, it will be better to know than not know. Seizures are a frightening thing.

What I did notice over Christmas was Bennett's amazing capacity for concentration. e.g., When I was singing a song to him, he watched my mouth so intently. He seemed (to me) to have great focusing ability.

So . . . we shall wait, pray, and love him up. Don't you wish you were grandpa and not mom and dad who got the cold shoulder?

Lots of love,
Auntie Bonnie

grandma and grandpa said...

Hi Bennett,
it just breaks our hearts to know that you have to go through stuff like that. It's not easy to watch even when we know that it must be done and that it is for your good. I'm just happy that grandpa was there to offer you solace after you snubbed mommy and daddy. LOL.
Sometimes, only a grandparent can make you feel bettter.
Lots of love, hugs and kisses
Grandma and Grandpa

Ellen Seidman said...

Oh, I hope he doesn't have any. I think seizures is a very common fear among us moms. I did a post on this last month, and posted a video of a little girl having absence seizures, here's the link:
http://lovethatmax.blogspot.com/2008/12/scared-of-seizures.html

Kiera said...

Oh wow. I know what you mean about seizures being a fear.

Bennett really does look so cute wrapped up like a little burrito. I can picture how the whole scene went.

You are in my thoughts and prayers as you find out the test results.

That is so sweet that he decided to curl up with the grandparents.

Keep us posted.

Dawn said...

Definitely a scary deal, hopefully Bennett won't ever put you through that. Our therapists years ago thought maybe Aus was having the absence seizures and then he only had the one biggie. It's good you are getting an EEG early and then if there are any spikes you can get an MRI and really know if it's a probability. It's definitely not easy some days is it?

He looks so cute, and I remember the goo hair, he's so adorable.

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