Tessa Reed Shea's Documentary: Happy Halloween!

Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween!

It was another tough night last night and I gave Daddy a very hard time. I was up until just after midnight and then every few hours throughout the night. This morning started out rough and then I fell asleep! I slept and slept and slept! I was able to get all my feedings in today and really had a great afternoon.

Then my brother came home and was very loud and excited for Halloween and Mommy was sure all the noise would wake me but I stayed asleep. I even put on my Halloween headband and special outfit and I still didn't wake up!

I didn't get to go trick or treating but I did get to see some of the trick or treaters who came to the front door! I just coughed up a lot of congestion that had been building up for a while and now I feel so much better! I am all changed in my PJs and ready to get some sleep. Hopefully I give Beth an easy time tonight.

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My Story

I was born on January 18, 2011 and weighed 6lbs 14.5 oz and was 19.75" long. I was born with lots of fluid in me and no desire to suck or swallow. It wasn't until 12 hours after I was born that doctors started to worry about me. I had an MRI, CT scan and EEG and they discovered severe damage to the thalamus in my brain and diffuse white matter.

I spent a month at the Children's Hospital NICU and they sent me home with a nasal gastric (NG) tube because I still couldn't eat. I started to make a little progress drinking from a bottle at home (10 mls at a time) and then I got the flu and ended up back at the hospital.

It seemed like just after the flu I started arching much more than I had before and lost all desire to want to eat with a bottle. My arching episodes got much worse and Mommy and Daddy thought I had reflux or maybe a stomach ulcer from my NG tube. We scheduled surgery for a stomach feeding tube (G-tube), but ended up at the emergency room because I was arching so much and started to have trouble breathing.

When we checked into the hospital for the 3rd time, they gave me morphine to see if it would take away any pain I might be having from my NG tube. When that didn't stop my arching, they knew something else was wrong. They hooked me up to an EEG and found out that I was have lots of seizures, abnormal brain activity and something called hypsarrhythmia.

The doctors left the EEG on for several days to study my brain activity and my brain activity was something most doctors at the hospital don't see very often. That is when they diagnosed me with Ohtahara Syndrome and also a form of West Syndrome. The seizures are a side effect from my brain injury and my prognosis is not very good. Mommy and Daddy from the advice of some amazing doctors, have decided to bring me home to spend time with my family and experience as much love as I possible can.