tapiocapuddin

Emily had surgery on Friday. Instead of the corpus callosotomy, they opted for a more conservative plan which was to place grids on both sides of her brain and then leads (for the EEG machine) which are directly attached to her brain. She did have a seizure on the operating table, but once she came back to the ICU room, she did not show any further signs of seizures. This is GOOD news. The doctors feel hopeful that her seizures are being controlled.

The plan has shifted to try and treat her movement disorder. (Her entire body moves almost constantly as if she's having seizures). It is the doctor's belief that this problem may be due to the previous seizures having irritated this portion of the brain and/or to some of the medication she is taking. There is no timetable on when or if this might clear up. Emily will hopefully be in surgery on Tuesday [9/20] to have the leads removed from her brain. (The grids will be permanent)

Besides the obvious trauma/pain with her head, her body is experiencing withdrawals as they wean her off several of the medications that she has been taking. She is very irritated with the breathing tube that has been in her throat for about 2 weeks. That should be removed once this surgery is complete.

We are overwhelmed by the number of people who have been praying for our Emily. It is very humbling to know that so many family, friends and even strangers have taken time to pray for our child.
We can't say thank you enough.
Ken & Natalie [Emily's parents]

PS. While Stacey [Natalie's sister] was so graciously caring for her niece in the ICU, someone stole her vehicle from the parking garage at the hospital Saturday night. It was found today, but completely stripped. We are so grateful to Michael & Stacey for their love and support and really hate that this has happened to them.