Baby Grace Update

Well, it has been a long week, and will continue that way. First, thanks for all your many prayers. I think that is what has helped me keep my sanity. After 5 days of no change in Grace I got in touch with her regular physician's nurse. They recommened I bring her in to be looked at by the nurse practitioner on duty. I ran Grace up there, and 2 hours later felt like we are getting somewhere. THe N.P. agreed that Grace has some kind of palsy in her face but concerned because of the reason, teh toy to the face. She recommended we take her to a specialist and went to consult with her regular physician. The regular physician came to take a look at Kayla and agreed we needed to see a pediatric neurologist. They sent me home and said they would call me later that afternoon with information. The pediatric neurlogist recommended an MRI be done, start her on steroid, and call in 3 days if no change. The earliest and closest MRI that could be done is in Winston-Salem at Forsyth, most places would not accept her because she is an infant and will need to be sedated for the MRI. So, 7am, next thursday! In the meantime the doctor office called me on Friday to see if she was any better. We could not see any improvement and told her so. She consulted with the doctor, who consulted with her doctor who called the pediatric neurologist who recommended an EMG be done. The closest location, he recommends is at UVA. So, they got us an appointment for Monday afternoon. After some research I am concerned about the type of test they will do. I plan to call first thing Monday morning to see what she is actually scheduled for. I am hoping and praying it is something a little different that what I think it is, possibly only the nerve test. Although some of this may see overly cautious, I think they are trying to ensure there is not permanent damage to teh nerve. On one hand I go "Surely this is just a freak thing and the usage of her face will come back tomorrow" on the other hand I just can't sit and not make sure everything is going to be ok. Please pray for our doctors, our travels, the procedures on Grace and our sanity!!!!

Love to all,
Archer's

First ER Trip

Well, as many of you know we call Grace our little devil in disguise! She is usually in full throttle mode ALL the time. Well, she had an accident Sat. night and got a pretty large bumpkin on her head but has not had problems which makes the rest of this story hard to believe. I left work early this afternoon to be with the kids because I didn't have a babysitter for the afternoon, within 3 minutes Grace and Kayla got in a fight, as usual, and apparently Kayla smacked Grace across the face with her toy. What kind of toy could get us to the emergency room you ask...only a Little People Toy. Mommies, you know what I mean...all else, it is a small hard plastic toy!! This is a pretty common occurance in our house as G & K fight alot. But I was taken aback because immediately I could tell that one side of Grace's face was not working properly. She is favoring one side in her smiling and squinting. Everything else is working properly such as walking, playing , talking, eating, eye movement, etc. etc. I went to urgent care to get in with a doctor but since they are unable to perform CT scans or anything they recommended I go to ER. Well you say hit in the head and buddy you get first row seating. I was sent in immediately. Thank the Lord with a restless 19month old. Then we had to deal with medical staff and try to make them understand Grace's face does not look like this all the time. She currently looks normal but does not express normal facial expressions..they are no longer A-symetrical. By the time they are telling me nothing is wrong Steven finally gets there and agrees with me. So we had to wait like 45 minutes for a doctor, who still agrees all is ok. There is also the issue that is it not recommended for infants to have CT scans because of the potential problems with radiation exposure. In the end we left with instructions to keep a watch on her and see what happens. I hope this is not a showing into our future with our wild little buck! In all seriousness, Grace has muscle tone and seems to function just fine but she is not really closing her left eye or using that side of her mouth with smiling or crying. We hope it is caused by a problem with swelling we can't see or something simple and everything will return to normal very soon. Pray for a speedy recovery!! Thanks and hope all is well. Sorry for the long story :) And yes, Kayla told us she hit her, showed us where, and said she was sorry.