2020! Bang!

~ Laura

Well, the new year is opening up to a continent up in flames, a potential world war with an unstable country, and personal chaos here at Apt. 11D.

In late November, Ian had a little seizure. He drooped out of a chair right in front of me. It lasted only a couple of seconds, but it was alarming. I called doctors, and the tests started.

The weekend, he had a 48-hour EEG test. I picked him up from school on Friday afternoon and took him to the neurologist’s office. The technician wired his head up with about two dozen electrodes that were glued to his head. Then she covered it up with gauze. He said he looked like a nun. The wired snaked down his back and connected with an satchel that recorded his brain waves.

We also got a camera with a small tripod that recorded him all day. He carried the camera from room to room setting it up on nearby desks and tables. At night, he switched that camera to infrared mode, so even his sleep was recorded.

Because we were grounded for the weekend, I decided to tackle some big chores. We rented a steamer from Home Depot, and Steve, Jonah, and I stripped wallpaper from the office and our bedroom. It’s going to take another couple weekends to finish stripping, spackling, and painting, so I’m living in a construction zone right now. My office has been temporarily moved to a family room. I hope I can concentrate in a new space.

Yesterday, I dropped off the equipment at the office. I didn’t expect to hear from the doctor to the end of the week. Because he hasn’t had any other incidents, I believed that we were going to get a shrug from the doctor. I really thought that she was going to tell us that that this was a one-time thing and not to worry.

But then the office called me at 4:00 and asked if we could get there at 5:15. I did 10,000 steps just pacing around my living room.

Short story. He has epilepsy. And we have to do an MRI in a couple of weeks to rule out a tumor.

I just took on a quickie writing project to distract me for the next week. I’ll be back here, but blogging will have to take a backseat to home and work priorities until we sort things out. My life is a construction zone right now.

Published by Laura

16 thoughts on “2020! Bang!”

  3. What a challenge to deal with. Sound like there’s good professional support to help you and the whole family. All the best.

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  4. Good luck. The medical establishment can do marvelous things these days. Ian is very lucky to have such a supportive family.

    We’ve gone through the “rule out a tumor” step 3 times. It’s a good sign that the MRI is in 2 weeks, not, like, yesterday.

    A friend found out her son was having microseizures. Like, 20 in a minute, come and gone so rapidly no one noticed. It’s a miracle her son learned to read. Medication made a world of difference for him. There are treatments today.

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  5. I really want this to work work out well.
    Also, I can’t believe the amount of energy you have. I’m quite sure that the last thing I would think of if I had stuff going on at home was, “Well, I’m home! I’ll rent a wallpaper Steamer!”
    You are a very admirable person.
    And again, I’m hoping for the best for Ian and all.

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  6. Wow, Laura, so sorry to hear this. As Cranberry says, there are great medical treatments for epilepsy these days, but I’m sure that doesn’t take away the scariness of it all. Good luck.

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  7. “Also, I can’t believe the amount of energy you have. I’m quite sure that the last thing I would think of if I had stuff going on at home was, “Well, I’m home! I’ll rent a wallpaper Steamer!”
    You are a very admirable person.”

    Also, my immediate thought.

    A doctor at a Children’s hospital (whose specialty were significant cardiac issues) once told me that she saw two kinds of parents (usually mothers). There were the ones who shut down when faced with a challenging situation and there were the ones who stepped up with enormous energy and power. So, first, my doctor friend did not believe that all mothers had the personality and skills to support their children in the best ways (which is sad). And, second, she said the children with the moms who did came through the challenges much better. She also said the hospital tried do their best for the other children, sometimes with the help of volunteer advocates, but the children with energetic, skilled mothers were definitely fortunate.

    Rooting for this construction phase going as smoothly as possible.

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  8. Welcome to Holland. I know it’s all scary and unexpected, but it could end up just being different.

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  10. I’m sorry you didn’t get the “one time thing – not to worry” diagnosis. I hope the MRI can rule out other worries and that your medical team has a lot of good treatment options.

    We tried to take down wallpaper during our first year of marriage. We decided in future years that we’d rather stay married than ever attempt that again. (Our last house was purchased with no wallpaper, anywhere. we’ll just never move.) You guys seem much more home-savvy than we ever were, though!

    We’ve been through some recent older-kid hospitalizations too – it’s so hard when there is so much unknown and so much out there to worry about. Sending all my thoughts and (non-denominational) prayers your way.

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  12. My NYC cousin lives well with epilepsy that wasn’t discovered until he was in his 30s. Good luck to all with learning more and managing the condition!

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