VEEG report!



Jennah hates getting her scalp abraded



I am thrilled to report that Jennah’s last 24-hour VEEG shows NO seizures … wohoo‼‼ Of course, this doesn’t really mean that she is completely seizure-free, just that she didn’t have any during the course of the study. However, as a bonus finding, the EEG shows that she has a marked improvement in her background waves … this is absolutely phenomenal‼ So if she is having any seizures, then they certainly aren’t harming her and they aren’t worth increasing the medications to treat. Any change in meds is usually very disruptive to Jennah, so it’s not worth rocking the boat in this case.

Finally got all those electrodes glued on!

 



Our hospital room at Swedish before we messed it up.
We got to take the cute blanket home!



We also went in for her preschool assessment today! It makes me realize that she really isn’t a baby anymore … she’s real little girl! It was so cute to see her in a school environment. Of course, she met the special needs requirement with flying colors … in fact, you can say she excelled at how needy she is, lol! It’s funny because when you hear “assessment”, it’s usually, “gosh, I hope my kid is good enough”. In this case, it’s “is your kid really truly delayed?” With all of the procedural and paper work stuff they have to do, she won’t be able to start until the summer program and she’ll be ready for the fall school year. This is just fine with us since we have the hip reconstruction coming up …



While we were at the assessment, the orthopedic surgeon’s office called to schedule the procedure. So as soon as I got home, we got Baba on the webcam and set a date … May 5. Not something to really look forward to, but we do what we have to, right?











We left Dubai for this??

We arrived back in Seattle again on Christmas evening. It was friggin' cold! We left 75'F weather for this? What were we thinking?? Not to mention an array of insurance issues, doctor appointments, back to classes for me, and A & B in a new school again.

Fast forward 2 months to Feb 24 ...
we're doing as well as we can hope considering our hectic situation! A & B have done AWESOME! It was amazing to see how well they have adjusted to the cold weather, new school, and being away from their dad. They are amazing kids.
I'm back in my classes at UW as well. I did become quite ill with bacterial pneumonia shortly after the new year. It had to have been a combination of airplane travel, jet lag, stress, and sheer denial that something was seriously wrong since we just had a lecture on the topic in my diagnostics class.
Jennah is also doing well. She's back on her horse twice a week, even in the frigid cold. We've ironed out the insurance issues and have met with her orthopedic surgeon and neurodevelopmentalist. Next up is her 24-hour video-monitored EEG on March 14. Once we get the OK from that, ISA, we will go ahead and get her reconstructive hip surgery scheduled.

We had a crazy amount of snow these past few days. The 4Runner rules the roads. The kids LOVE the snow, but are poorly equipped. We went to REI in an attempt to find waterproof gloves without success. A is wearing her leather knee-hi boots to play in the snow ... and so is B. He doesn't realize they are my goddaughter's hand-me-down boots. Hopefully no permanent damage done. ;)

I personally miss Dubai terribly. I miss the warm weather and the coffee mornings with mums. I miss the coffee shop at school with the expansive view of the swimming pool and chatting with my dear friends. I really miss my hijaab and my husband, too. Patience is certainly a virtue.

At least we are near family and other old friends here. Also extremely comforting to know that Jennah receives consistent therapy and is among great medical care here. This is definitely the better place for her.