So, many of you have called to check on Rollins, so I wanted to let everyone know what is going on. We went to the doctor last Wednesday just to make sure everything was ok and that this was just a freak thing. Dr. Boggess said he believed she passed out from a lack of oxygen because she was crying. However, I did share something with him that I hadn't really discussed with anyone til now. Rollins has this thing she does where she will be playing and all of a sudden go in this daze. I can say her name, and she doesn't respond. I can wave my hand in front of her eyes and she doesn't blink. Then after 10 to 30 seconds, she loosens up and starts laughing. I had always thought she was doing this on purpose to be funny. She sometimes does it multiple times a day. Dr. Boggess has another theory, though. He said it sounds like typical petit mal seizures, and asked how long she had been having them. It's been going on so long, that I honestly have no idea. He said he wanted to get her to a pediatric neurologist because this can really affect her ability to concentrate when she starts school. I told him how Brother has been saying he thought she had ADHD because she can't concentrate and looses focus very easily. If this diagnosis is correct, this could explain her lack of concentration.
Of course as soon as I got home, I got on google. I found out that many times these seizures go undetected for months and these type seizures don't have that "confusion" phase that happens after most seizures. Rollins is able to go right back to what she was doing before it happened and has no remembrance of what happened during the seizure. In most cases, they outgrow them by their teenage years and even though they can't be prevented, medication can be taken to help lower the frequency.
I have to be honest, I am not upset about this at all. I know we have been through a lot with Rollins, and this just seems like another bump in the road. It could be so much worse--I had friends that would have grand mal seizures--that would absolutely terrify me. I know God isn't going to give us more than we can handle. He has already done wonderful things with her Gastritis, and she is a healthy 34 pounds (25th percentile) 3 year old. Grady, too, is getting much better, and is now 27 pounds (25th percentile) and will be 2 in two weeks. We are even planning a trip to Disney World in the next couple months. I am very anxious to see how this goes since neither Rollins or Grady have been away from home since last Fall when we went to Auburn. For those of you that don't know, their Gastritis and Esophagitis is much worse when we travel. They also will not even spend the night with my parents. It's really sad when your 3 year old says she doesn't want to stay in a hotel because it makes her throw up. I am keeping my fingers crossed that all the excitement of Disney will trump these disorders!
Anyway, I will keep you all posted on Rollins appointment with the neurologist. She is such a special little girl with a heart of gold. I am so blessed to have her!
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Hey Crystal! I happened upon your blog while going through the FeedJit live feed on my blog! It lists blogs in Guntersville and I recognized your name! Maybe by the Grace of God too b/c your last post was about Rollins' seizures. Hamp was diagnosed with absent seizures. This is the "new" name for petit mal seizures. Last year I noticed him stopping in the middle of a sentence and staring. Or he would be reading a book out loud to me and stop mid sentence. He never remembered doing this. However, as time passed he would get very frustrated because he would 'come back' and not know what was going on b/c he had missed several seconds. I taught a student once that did this. In years before, teachers thought she was being defiant or was daydreaming or had ADD. I was the Student Support Coordinator and knew that she did not exhibit behaviors classic to those disorders. We sought out medical attention for her. Found out it was petit mal (now called asbent) seizures. When Hamp started doing the same things, I took him directly to the doctor. His doctor referred us to a pediatric neurologist. They ran tests. During the 20 minutes test, Hamp had EIGHT seizures. One test was sleep induced. He had FIVE in his sleep. I broke down. He and I have been through so much with losing Kass and I just couldn't face anything being wrong with my Hamp! He is now on medication. The side effects were not fun, but have seemed to be fading away. They gave me the statistics for children growing out of this type of epilepsy. It's very high starting at puberty. We pray that he will grow out of this. My biggest fear is that he has one in the shower or while he is driving once he is older! If you have epilepsy, the doctor assured me that this is the best kind. I hope this helps. Call me or stop by if you have anymore questions.
-Wendy
You guys are in our thought and prayers!
Katie
Wendy, surprisingly, you are the first and only person that I have found that even knows what these are, much less, has a child that experiences them--and you are just across the street! How neat is that? Anyway, we go the 27 for an EEG, so I am anxious to find out if this is indeed Petit Mal Seizures. The more I have thought about it, I honestly believe there are a lot more children out there with it, but they go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed as ADHD. If we receive a confirmed diagnosis, I will definitely be coming to talk to you.
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