Neurology Update

Yesterday Elodie had her six month follow-up at the Stroke Clinic. Although her blood clot is dissolved, they still want to follow her development. Two conditions are commonly associated with both hydrocephalus and strokes (although Elodie's thrombosis is not exactly classified as a stroke because it was in a vein and not an artery). They are cerebral palsy and seizure disorders. The neurologist asked me to describe her current development and then did a few activities with her. Elodie impressed me by reaching out, raking, and eventually picking up a small piece of balled up paper out of the neurologist's hand. It's still really hard for her to coordinate her hands to do what she wants when in a seated position, and I have never seen her actually succeed at picking something up, so I was completely floored, and super proud! After she poked, prodded, and stretched all of Elodie's limbs, she reviewed the concerns present at three months and declared that NONE of them continue to concern her. She said there wasn't anything that she isn't doing right now that she would want her to do. I nearly cried! Elodie's muscle tone was described as "excellent" with no concerns of CP, and she currently shows no signs of seizure activity. She is such a little miracle!

I also remembered to ask for copies of her MRI images from November. Brian is never able to attend appointments with me and I wanted him to be able to see her progress. It's simply amazing.

This is a top down view. In August, the bright white blob in the middle of her head is cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The light grey material around the edge of her skull is her brain matter. As of November, most of the fluid has successfully drained out. All of the squiggly grey stuff is her brain matter, and as you can see it is now taking up most of her skull. The occipital lobe (back middle) continues to have the least "typical" brain matter, but her neurosurgeon expects continued healing since it was the most impacted to begin with.

This is a cross section view. In August, you can see a giant fluid pocket. (It looks like two in the picture but it's actually all one, the black ovals are all CSF.) Most of her brain was squished to the front. As of November, the entire area was filled in with her brain matter. These pictures make me cry happy tears! I know there's no guarantee that she doesn't have significant brain damage. A brain can look great and still have a poor outcome, and the opposite is also true. However, I find it extremely encouraging and with how well she is doing, I really think she's going to continue to excel. We feel so very blessed!

Elodie is pretty excited, too!