EEG Spikes and Cooper
Note: I wanted to let everyone know how grateful for all the prayers, good thoughts and vibes. We write this blog to keep all our family and friends updated in one easy swoop. We aren’t by any means looking for pity. Things could be much, much worse. We are beyond grateful and blessed for our little boy that God gifted to us. We are also grateful and blessed to have all of you. I am under the opinion (my own) that God puts people in your path for a specific reason, sometimes you find out those reasons. I don’t think that the people you meet are by change or circumstance. And that includes all of you that have supported us.
Last Thursday (July 25) we got a call from the neurology center. They found something on the EEG and asked if we could come in as soon as we could. That happened to be today. (Tuesday, July 30) We were going to see a different doctor at the practice. The one we saw before specializes in autism and ADHD.
The new doctor explained that she had seen spikes on the EEG. They happened randomly and they are commonly seen in children with autism. The spikes were on both sides of the temporal lobe region (on the sides of the head.) The weren’t constant. They were sporadic and it wasn’t like there were a ton of them.
After meeting Cooper, she saw some of his “autistic” mannerisms, covering his ears, flapping his arms. She also saw some of his ADHD, anxiety and behavioral issues - running around the room, jumping, walking on chairs, dancing and asking questions.
She also had a plan of action for us. And this is where we are right now. Two of the three things I was going to ask about if they didn’t bring up, were mentioned. The first one is a genetic test. However I didn’t realize Dustin, Cooper and I were all going to have a genetic blood test done. This will take 4-6 months to get results. It is a full panel that is going to see what we all have. Cooper did have a genetic test done involving salvia but that came back normal and showed he had no signs of autism or ADHD.
The blood test was awful for Cooper…well really all of us. Dustin had to sit and hold him down. I had to come in front and keep him pinned to Dustin. I watched as all his moving around caused the needle to come out and blood spurted all over. I watched as the nurse found another vein and moved the needle around until blood started flowing into the tube. It killed me to see.
The second thing she suggested that I was going to ask about was an MRI. She really wants to take a look at his brain and make sure everything is normal. I think she may also want to check for any trauma his brain may have endured during childbirth. I think that he had some damage done when they delivered him. And it is quite possible. That will be done in a week or two with a 3-4 day turn around on the results.
She also is putting him on a low dose medication to stop the spikes. It should also help him concentrate as well. So we are going to try it and see. Also she suggested ABA therapy again, but we really want to wait and see how he does. I don’t like the idea of my child going 7-8 hours of therapy a day. Plus we need to do more research. And we want the medicine to work before we start throwing things at him.
This is our game plan for the time being. He is still enrolled in the preschool he attended last year for the fall. We are also waiting to hear back from he school district on any what he qualifies for and if he is going to start this year.
Thanks again for reading and supporting us!
Cooper and his bandage from the blood draw.