Sunday January 11, 2009 -- PART II

So Christy spent some time on the EEG machine to watch her brain waves for signs of seizures.  The plan was to leave her on for 24-hours, but when no sign of seizures were found in a couple hours, they ended the test early.  Yay! NO seizures.  So, they're back to thinking the twitching she's doing is muscle spasm.  They did mention that the EEG was a little slower than yesterday, which may be concerning.  They proceeded to do the MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) of her Brain.  This is different than a CAT scan (computed axial tomography) because it can often distinguish more accurately between healthy & diseased tissue.  It gives more of a 3D look at the brain.  We were particularly curious about the brain stem, because it holds the reticulating activation system (see the previous blog)... Anyway, it showed NO emboli (Emboli is an object-most likely blood clot- traveling from somewhere in the body) infarcting anything.  An infarction is when the blood supply is blocked and the tissue with out blood supply /oxygen dies. This was great news, and we all breathed a sigh of relief.  Some damage was shown in the cortex.  In the first blog I talked about the cortex being the most susceptible to lack of oxygen, and therefore we were the most concerned about this area of the brain.  This area of the brain is the part that plays a key role in memory, attention, perceptual awareness, thought, language, and consciousness.  Remember that Christy's initial EEG showed some normal sleep-wake cycles and that reflects the brain cells working in  the cortex.  Tomorrow, Dr. Chang (neuro-intensivist) will meet with the NeuroRadiologist (expert in reading x-ray and scans) and review Christy's MRI to get a clear interpretation on the cortex injury.  Some of what looks like injury now could be artifact. Artifact is an outside interference that may show up on the scan and look like damaged tissue but its not. Dr. Chang was also quick to remind us that none of these test really matter, and we need to focus on what Christy is doing on a daily basis.  Today the twins (keli'i & kaeo) witnessed her move both her arms once in a flexed position! Also, the nurse, Donald, myself and a few other members of the family witnessed her trying to open her left eye again! SO ALL OF THE PRAYERS AND LOVE ARE WORKING!! CHRISTY CAN FEEL OUR LOVE EVERY DAY. IT IS ALL OUR LOVE, POSITIVE THOUGHTS, AND PRAYERS THAT WILL STRENGTHEN AND HEAL CHRISTY! 

 I also want to wish Kainalu, Christy's younger son a Happy 8th Birthday!  Donald was able to enjoy a birthday celebration for Nalu in Waikiki with Dylan today.  Nalu's birthday wish was to swim in the pool at the hotel, and Christy's close friends were able to make that happen.  The kids all came to visit mommy tonight, and gave her a kiss and explained all the things they have been doing!  Christy also was able to listen to a recording of Kainalu and Dylan read a book to her!  Kelsen has been coming to see mom daily and asking smart questions- all the kids are! Christy loves her kids more than anything else in the world, and I'm sure she's comforted by their love.  Until tomorrow...