Monday, September 28, 2009

Up On The Hill

Carly has been cruising on her slow and steady recovery, getting a little stronger each week through her many physical therapy sessions. Late last week, both Thursday and Friday, she had a few 20-30 second moments that looked a little unusual to us so we were keeping a close eye on her over the weekend. On Saturday and Sunday these unusual events culminated with what looked like a seizure that lasted almost 10 minutes while we waited at a tram (MUNI) stop in San Francisco. As soon as we got home Christa called the pediatric neurology department at UCSF, who recommended that we come up to the hospital as soon as we could for observation.

We arrived at our hospital room around nine yesterday evening and they immediately hooked Carly up for an overnight EEG study. An EEG requires 24 leads to be glued to your head using a loud vacuum hose to quickly dry the glue. The leads measure your brain activity and can indicate anything unusual such as a seizure. Needless to say, Carly was not happy getting the leads attached and she was pretty exhaused from yelling after the two hour process of setting up the EEG. After about fourteen hours of observation the neurology team determined that Carly was in fact having a type of seizure. The seizures are a bit unusual because Carly is interactive throughout the event, and she will even smile as it is happening. They have placed Carly on an anti-seizure medication and expect that it may take a few days for it to take full effect but we were able to head home this evening after our shortest trip to the hospital to date. Carly is doing well now and is ready for a good night's sleep in her own bed. This type of thing is not unusual for kids who go through everything that Carly has and it may simply be a passing issue as her brain rewires itself. She continues to be as strong as ever and will make it over this hurdle like every other that comes her way.

Love, Brad

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Quite A Year

It was one year ago today that our lives took a turn for the unexpected. Christa, Carly and I sat for what seemed like hours in the exam room waiting to hear the result from Carly’s head ultrasound. When the doctors walked into the room we didn’t know what to expect, but we could tell it wasn’t good. “Your daughter has a very large brain tumor.” It felt like all of the air was sucked out of the room, leaving us gasping for a breath. There was no way to know how to react and we didn’t have any idea what was in store for us.

It is putting it mildly to say that it was a tough year as Carly had to undergo fifteen trips to the operating room and a total of nearly four months in intensive care. She has proven to be a mighty little girl though, and no matter what has been thrown her way she has risen to the challenge. Her amazing spirit seems to radiate from her and she has a way of bringing the best out of anyone that she meets. I can't help but feel privileged to have been trusted with the care of such an incredible little girl.

The love, prayers and healing energy that all of you (who we now know as Team Carly) have continuously sent out to Carly, Christa and me has carried us through all of the tough times and it continues to help Carly on her healing path today. It has been inspiring to see and feel the power of hope and love, and I don't know how we would have made it this far without you. We are so grateful for your support. Carly may still have a long way to go to get back to 100%, but with her amazing spirit and the power of Team Carly she can't be stopped.

Love,

Brad