March 22, 2007
Our Friend David
For those who haven't heard, our friend David is in the hospital after having a pretty serious seizure a couple days ago. Thank God Tiana and Eric, at whose place David was couch surfing, were able to find him and dial 911. After giving us quite a scare, he seems to be getting back to normal, flirting with his nurse, joking about his catheter, and requesting his electronic toys. I've been able to talk to him a couple times since waking up, and he sounds strong and happy. He's been had a CT, EEG, and MRI, which have ruled out a tumor and shown that the seizures are done. Apparently they've ruled out meningitis also, so the biggest scares are off the table. He also said looking back at some old EEGs, the docs think they've located an epileptic focus*. While it's a bit of a punch to roll with, let's be thankful they now know what's up, and this should be pretty manageable for him. We love ya Dave, and you're in our prayers. Hopefully we'll get to see you soon; Lizzie's itchin' to dance with her uncle David soon!
*In the comments Kallie has pointed out something my wife tells me all the time not to do. Sorry to let med jargon seep in. Anyway, epilepsy is basically when a bunch of neurons in the brain start firing all together and way too much. Sometimes there can be a small point (a focus) in the brain with firing patterns that can lead to this scary pattern. The EEG measures brainwaves that represent neurons firing, and sometimes certain patterns can point to a focus in a certain area of the brain, which is good for solidifying diagnosis and deciding the best treatment options.
Posted by mattalexander at 5:52 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
