EEG Test Results

There's cause for sadness and cause for hope.  The results still came back abnormal, which is very discouraging despite all the encouraging signs.  We were hoping that we could exhale a bit after so much anxiety, but alas, we have something to worry about for a while it seems.

The reason for hope is that it looks as though there was a slight improvement from last week. While I'm sure the neonatologist that gave us the results would be upset that I'm quoting him (because we have yet to meet with the neurologist who seems to think that making us wait a day is a good idea) but he said he wouldn't call this latest test burst suppression like the last one. However, it still did some of the same things and this week is a little more reliable than last week.  Again, we hope that the improvements continue and Karsie naturally fixes the problem, but we're getting a little more scared.  

We meet with the neurologist tomorrow and he will tell us more about the readings.  We will update you as soon as we can thereafter.  Please continue to keep Karsie in your prayers and pray for her little brain to fix itself soon.  We could really use a break.

EEG

We're not sure exactly when the neurologist is going to do this test, but this is the next scary test staring at us in the face.  We really need lots of prayer for this.  If you are not aware of this situation an EEG measures brain waves for an extended period of time.  During Karsie's birth, when all of the complications and blood loss occurred, Karsie lost a lot of blood to her brain. From everything that we have been seeing, there are good signs pointing to the fact that her brain did not take a huge hit, but it did take a hit.  Last week the EEG measured something called burst suppression.  This is where during the EEG her waves measure a lot of activity for a short time followed by a much-less-than-average activity for a short time.  This was a sign that her brain took a hit and could be a reading of many severe complications.  However, this could also just be a sign that it was Karsie's first week of life and she had undergone major trauma.  In any case, the doctor has planned to do another test early this week (we're not sure if surgery will push it back) to test it again.  If it reads "normal" or at least that it is beginning to improve, it looks as though Karsie is out of the woods for any long-term brain damage. However, if it reads a burst suppression again, we are in for a long, emotional journey with her brain development.

Please keep her and the EEG test in your prayers for the next few days if you can.  She already is a testament to what prayers can do, and we are hoping for a good outcome for this as well.