Maybe I can Get that Botox someday after all....

Happy 2012 to everyone. 

On Friday of last week, Brooke was admitted to Sutter Memorial Hospital by Dr. Sheikh, one of the intensivists.  Brooke's GI physician is the reason her case came to Dr. Sheikh.  Dr. Davies listened when I could not find anyone else to listen and helped us avoid a long line, long wait, and potential turn-around from our local ER.  The lethargy and concurrent loss of motor skills was getting worse.  Brooke was beginning to crawl and support her weight again in the evening, but from 7pm (sleep time) to 11:30am the next day, she was a mess.  A hot mess...hard to wake up when I tried and would sleep as late as 10am when I wouldn't.  She would wake for about an hour tops and fall back to sleep soon thereafter only to wake again groggy.  I was beside myself and worried.  I started to believe that it couldn't be caused by botox poisoning.  Her Neurologist was skeptical of the theory, and I was too now.  Why would it be getting worse?  Could she have anemia, a systemic yeast infection...I started trying to tie all of the pieces together.  A valiant attempt, but I'm just not a doctor.  All I really had was my gut feeling and I knew something was wrong.  Looking back, it had been going on for 3+ months - worse sometimes, better others - but she had never gotten back to her baseline.

We had an MRI on Saturday followed by a 24+ EEG.  The MRI was to look for fluid issues, brain bleeds, potential tumors.  The EEG was to look for seizure activity that could explain the fatigue and grogginess in the mornings.  Good news...so far it looks like the EEG is normal.  The verdict will be in on that tomorrow when the Neuro gets the complete results back to us.  Bad news and potential explanation for the lethargy...Brooke's MRI indicates hydrocephalus.  We speak with the Neurosurgeon tomorrow and should learn more.  The Neurosurgeon could always come back and not agree with the neuroradiology report.  There is always that chance.  If so...we still won't have an answer.  If they agree, we will be looking into the strong possibility of surgery to redirect the excess fluid from the brain into the abdominal cavity, where it is reabsorbed by the body.

Brooke is doing really well.  She is happy, smiling, kissing, etc. Julia is staying at my parent's house so Ryan and I can trade off hanging with her and spending time here.  I am doing the night shifts because there is no way I could sleep at home with Ryan and Brooke here without me.  This is all part of the journey.  Keep you posted...Keep us in your prayers...