Friday, March 8, 2002

Day 61

Finally getting on to a computer. I know that Kevin sent out an email this morning, but it didn't get to 'everyone'!

Everyone arrived in Seattle ok. Brianna & I came down on the private jet, but Kevin had to catch a commercial flight because there wasn't enough room on the plane for all of us.

Brianna is in VERY good hands. I am very impressed with the doctors & nurses. They seem to be proactive rather than reactive. Within an hour of arriving at the hospital, I had already spoken with about 8 people regarding her care. Most importantly the chief neurologist. He was not impressed with her seizure control & order more medication immediately. They kept pumping the medication until the seizures were stopped. And I mean PUMPED! The poor thing is still so drugged she hasn't really even been awake since we got here. But sleep is good, she really needed to give her brain a rest.

Because of the high dosages of medication, she was unable to exchange oxygen & carbon dioxide effectively, so they have intubated her (tube down her throat to breath for her). They have started to wean her off of this slowly, but currently is still on it. She is retaining a little bit of fluid, but that is one of the side effects of the Phenobarbital, especially at the level she is currently at.

They are running more metabolic tests to try & find a diagnosis. They have also suggested that Kevin & I speak with a geneticist (once some of this is figured out), to determine what the chances of this happening with future children may be. Keep in mind, at this point we don't know if it is a genetic issue or not. This would be a WAYS down the road.

They have started giving her breast milk again today & will slowly increase it if she tolerates it. Oh...some good news (I think). It appears that her brain is smaller all around instead of portions of it being smaller.

Well I think I am starting to ramble a bit! Kevin & I are doing well & are staying in a room here in the hospital, until the Kids Village is available.

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