Improving!

Today when I picked Morgan up from school to go to therapy, several people from her school commented on how much better she is doing since the surgery. They noted that she is more aware of her surroundings. When before, she wouldn't even notice a chair in front of her and would fall over it, now she carefully walks around it. She notices obstacles in front of her and carefully steps over them or maneuvers around them. In therapy, she was interactive, making choices and using the communication device, with assistance. She was reaching with her left hand and also playing the musical piano using both hands. She was still hyperactive, but less than last week. As the therapist put it: she was a "happy hyper" rather than an angry hyper. She would sit for awhile and attend to task, but they would give her breaks so she could get up and run around. The therapist said she noticed improvement just from last week. Yay, go Morgan!

No witnessed seizures in two weeks!

So this post will be a Praise, Praise, Praise to The Lord! We want to give God the glory for answering our prayers. We have not witnessed any seizures for over two weeks. Before the surgery, she was having 7-8 seizures every night and seizures just about every day in her nap. The seizures were mostly in her sleep but she also would have stare seizures when awake. So we all are part of this miracle! We all have covered our little Miracle Morgan in prayer and God has answered! Even though we are going through a difficult time right now with her hyperactivity, we want to focus on the miracles God has already provided. Even though we have had a rough last couple of weeks, being in the hospital twice, I am thankful we weren't there this time for her seizures. Another miracle is her amazing balance! No more falling! The PT at the school said on Friday how amazed she was at Morgans balance and strength in her legs. Just want to also say thanks to all our friends and family for your patience during this time. We still love you all but just haven't been able to spend the fun times with you as we are going through all this. Thanks for understanding, our social lives just aren't exciting right now. God Bless you all!

Better day

Today Morgan still had some hyper moments but also had more calm times. She did relax enough to take a nap today. In therapy, they did some deep pressure and sensory integration to get her to calm down. She did work hard in therapy. She rode the tricycle again. She had fun sitting on the ball. She made some new sounds today that sounded a lot more like language. The PT noted that she is not hyperextending her knees as much when walking. Her balance continues to be amazing. Regarding her hyperactivity and behavior change, the therapists told us what the neurologist had said: that it just takes time for the brain to heal after this type of surgery and that her body is responding to the change. This behavior can happen when the right side of the brain is affected, but it is temporary. Thank you all for your prayers for strength for our family.

Another trip to ER

Sunday we spent the day in the ER and then she was transferred to Dell to spend the night. We just got home. The hyperactivity she was doing, had gotten worse. She also developed a rash. The doctors didn't know exactly what it was. The neurologist checked her over and said that sometimes after a brain surgery it could cause some behavior changes at first. Anyway, thankfully we are home now. Will keep it short tonight because very tired.

Smiles and kisses

Morgan has been smiling lots and giving kisses this week. Her standing and walking balance has been amazing. Such a miracle! Before the surgery, she was falling multiple times a day. We are also thankful she is feeling much better since her recent illness. However, she has been very hyperactive the last few days. I feel it must be from the antibiotic. Please join us in praying peace over her and our family. The high pitched screaming is stressful on our whole family. And all thy children shall be taught of The Lord and GREAT SHALL BE THE PEACE OF THY CHILDREN. Thank you Lord for that peace for Morgan.

Riding the tricycle at therapy (and watching the other kids)

Great day back at school

Morgan went back to school today. She had a great day. The teachers commented on how great her balance was! She walked around holding onto the teacher's hand, with good steady balance. Also, she was alert and happy today. However, this evening, she was very hyper. I am afraid from the antibiotics. She takes probiotics to help counteract. I continue to always pray "Great is her peace!" I know there will be no setbacks from this illness and round of antibiotics. Thank you for the prayers.

Feeling better!

Today Morgan felt much better. She had no fever and just a little cough. I kept her home from school and therapy so she could rest. She should be ready for school tomorrow and therapy on Wednesday and Thursday. Considering as sick as she was, she has bounced back really fast. Her balance has remained pretty good. She is walking around everywhere and has only fallen once. Prior to her surgery, she was falling down multiple times a day. I am so glad she is feeling better, she has smiled several times today. So much to be thankful for!

Little Cowgirl

We are home!

We are finally home, after three nights in the hospital. Morgan is so glad to be home. She is feeling much better. She is back to walking around everywhere and playing with her toys. The doctor sent us home with an antibiotic for the UTI and Tamiflu for the flu. Of course our pharmacist said "the flu! ,this late? " Yes, I guess it is kind of odd to be getting the flu when its not flu season anymore. What we are so thankful for is the fact the sickness did not make her seizures any worse. Actually, her seizures are much less! The last one I witnessed was Thursday night and it was very short. I have been able to keep a close eye on her too since being right there in the hospital. Praise God! We are so thankful for the healing!

Going home!

The doctors came in and told us Morgan can go home today. Latest temperature this morning was 99.2. She is feeling much better. She sat up and ate all her breakfast and kept it all down! No vomiting since Friday. Our awesome nurse Annie said she looks like a different child today. We are just waiting now for the whole discharge process. They will be sending us home with a strong antibiotic to fight this rare bacteria. So happy to see Morgan feeling so much batter. She has been up walking around and seems very anxious to get out of this room. We are going home soon, Morgan, you have been such a strong little girl!

Another night in the hospital

The doctor told us Morgan needs to stay another night. They are waiting on the culture. He said she has a rare bacteria, only 1% of cases, that they need to keep studying to see exactly what it is. They will then know exactly what kind of antibiotic they need to treat it. Right now she is just on a broad spectrum antibiotic. Also, her fever has still been spiking. Right now, her fever is down and she seems to feel a little better, but still uncomfortable. Poor baby has had a rough time, with getting the flu and a UTI. She is such a trooper, though. She sat up and was smiling at me earlier. We are not focusing on the fact she had to come back to the hospital and go through all this, but rather that it is all going to turn out ok. Thank God for a wonderful team of specialists that found the rare bacteria and can treat it! Thank God that the staff has been so caring and compassionate. I have to specifically mention our nurse yesterday, Annie. She was absolutely one of the best I have seen! Not only very knowledgeable, but so caring and loving toward Morgan. And what an advocate she was for Morgan! I could go on and on (I need to fill out the patient satisfaction form and give her extra kudos!) I am also so thankful for the outstanding place where I work that has been so understanding when I have had to miss work. Thank you Lord for being beside us throughout this whole time. We are blessed!

In the hospital

Morgan is in the hospital again. Today is the second day. We came in on Thursday night to the ER because she had 103 fever. She also had a bad cough. Neurosurgery told us they needed to see her to make sure it was not an infection being she was only 4 weeks post op. In th ER, they did an X-ray and checked her for pneumonia, which was negative. They then checked her for the flu. This came back positive. However, they said since it wasn't flu season, it could be false positive. Therefore, they were being very thorough and testing for other things. Yesterday, they found she had a urinary tract infection also. She has been on antibiotics for this. Her fever has been up and down, she has vomited a few times, and still has a bad cough. She is feeling a little better today. I will keep you posted. Thanks for the prayers! God is good. Although we are sad all this has happened, especially when she was progressing so much, we are thankful they have found the source and that it is treatable. We pray there will be no setbacks in her progress once she is over this sickness.

Prayers still needed

We have been sharing all the wonderful improvements, and for this we are so thankful. However, Morgan still has much needed prayer. She had a rough couple of days, mostly because she was sick, running a low temp with a cough. Secondary to this, she had a couple of seizures. She was up most of the night last night coughing, so was so tired today and slept most of the day. Therefore we did not go to therapy. I was so sad to see her not feeling well. She had lost that sparkle in her eyes. We pray for no setbacks with the illness. She had such a fabulous day on Monday and was showing such progress. We know that she will perk up and be better tomorrow! Please also pray for our sweet Will. He has been acting out some lately. He is just going through a lot with all this. I know he feels the strain, although we try to stay as peaceful as possible. We continue to be thankful for all our blessings and focus on the positive.

Smiling at the speech therapist

So thankful for laughter!

Morgan was so interactive with the therapists today. She smiled and made great eye contact. When the speech therapist was making funny sounds and faces, Morgan actually giggled! It was so cute. It was such an appropriate response! What a miracle! God is so good. Our little girl seems so much happier now. Before the surgery, she never felt good, so we hadn't seen smiles or laughter in several years. In physical therapy, they put her on an adaptive tricycle. They strapped her feet to the pedals, and she pushed with her legs to make it go! The PT had to help guide her legs some, but Morgan did a great job and enjoyed it! After therapy, we went to get her vagus nerve stimulator increased. The doctor just puts this machine up to it and increases the settings. It will now send a higher frequency of impulses to the brain to help control the seizures. Her seizures have been less this past week. Praise The Lord! We are praying for the seizures to stop, and no more need for any medication. Please continue to pray for peace. She has been more calm overall, but today, she was showing a little hyperactivity. Not sure if it is the medicine or what, but we stand strong believing for peacefulness.

Fun pictures

Today I got some cute pictures of Morgan and Will. You can see in the pictures how she is interacting with him, good eye contact, really engaging. For this, we are so thankful. She had a good day. She has been taking it all in. Watching everything we were doing. She really was watching Will and our puppy playing with the bubbles. One day, she will be right in the middle of it. She did do lots today. She got on the trampoline for a little while, and then rode around in the ranger with us. I have noticed how much more she is looking around, like she is really seeing things clearly for the first time. I keep praying "Great is her peace" over her daily. We are so thankful she is much calmer, happier, and peaceful!

Showing more emotion

Today in therapy, she started crying. This was totally appropriate as she got scared when she was on the ball. We have all noticed that she is showing more appropriate emotion. She used to never cry unless she was really hurt. The other night, I put her to bed as usual. A little later, I heard her making sounds but didnt go in there. She began to cry. I went in there and she looked at me and was making a d sound. She reached for my hand. I got her out of bed and gave her a drink. She was happy then and I put her back to bed. She then went to sleep. We are so thankful for the little improvements, that really are so big. Her strength and stamina is improving so much. She is tolerating going to school and therapy very well, even though I know it is a long day for her. Praise God for healing her throughout from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet. Every organ, tissue, cell, and muscle is fully restored. We claim that healing for her.

First day back at school

Morgan went back to school today. Everyone was so happy to see her. Her teacher texted me this morning "she is having a great day! she is all smiles". The speech therapist at the school said "what good eye contact!". She was only at school for three hours today because she had to go to therapy at noon in Cedar Park. The therapists said what good progress she had made in a week. It was a good day, and we are so thankful! We continue to thank God for the improvements and pray that her brain will heal and she will be able to learn and develop.

"She looks great!"

These were the words of Dr. Lee today when he saw her. Especially when he realized it had only been three weeks. Dr. Clark was pleased too. Morgan looked at him directly in the eyes and grabbed his hand. She walked around the room and explored while we were visiting. They were so impressed at all she was already doing. They said the MRI showed some swelling still, but they were not concerned. They said this swelling could be causing the seizures, but even if she didn't have swelling, it was common to still have seizures this soon after surgery. They continued to say that it takes time for her brain to heal. Neurology wants to see her in a week to increase her vagus nerve stimulator. Other than that, they don't need to see her until June. They released her to go back to school. She will start back tomorrow. Yay Morgan! We are so proud of you. We give God the glory for all He has done and continues to do. He is fully restoring her and providing the miracle we have all prayed for.

Better day today

Morgan woke up feeling better today. She did good in therapy: reaching for bubbles, using her left hand to eat a snack(with help), swinging on a platform swing, crawling through a tunnel, and sitting/rolling on a ball. She also did lots of smiling today. This is so awesome because she used to never smile prior to surgery, since her seizures began at age two. She did have some signs of having seizures yesterday, like drooling and sluggish chewing of her food. She also was off a little on her balance. I see these symptoms after she has had seizures. I think there is a direct correlation. Therefore, I KNOW that when the seizures stop, she will not have any of these adverse behaviors. Thank you Lord for total healing and restoration in Morgan this very day! I want to tell you all something that Will said the other night. Every night when we tuck Will in bed, after saying prayers and giving hugs and kisses, we say one thing we are thankful for. He said " I am thankful for all the people that are praying for Morgan and our family". I wanted you all to know again that it means so much. I couldn't have said it better than my 7 year old son!