Hannah's Neurology Visit

We had Hannah's neurology appointment with a different neurologist this week. We loved him!!He spent 2 hours with us taking a detailed history and going over everything. The best part was that Dr Ritacco didn't focus on the things that Hannah might not do. Instead he pointed out the things that she is doing. Which I think we need to be reminded of that every once in awhile. We tend to get focused on how behind she is that we forget all we have accomplished in the last 8 months.

After reviewing her MRI she had done in November, Dr Ritacco feels that Hannah had a prenatal stroke which caused severe encephalomalacia. We will probably never know why it happened. The major blood vessels that supply blood to the front of the brain were very small. It will never be known if that is a factor that caused the stroke or if they are small because the brain was damaged and therefore didn't need as much blood. He did order a ton of blood work to be drawn over the next few months to determine if Hannah has any clotting issues and things like that that may have caused the stroke. Most likely this is not the case but he feels it can't hurt to rule it out since it could have implications in the future if something comes back abnormal.

We are also going to take her for an EEG to rule out seizure activity. It's possible that when Hannah wakes up suddenly after only sleeping for 3-5 minutes (I'm not kidding, it is literally 3-5 minutes!!) that she is actually having a seizure. If she is, she will be put on medicine to control the seizures and a bonus it will also help her sleep better. I don't want her to be having seizures but a part of me would really love for her to sleep better :o)

Although cerebral palsy is usually not diagnosed until the age of 2, it is highly likely that Hannah will have some degree of CP. How severe it will be is unknown. She will continue to have physical therapy and speech for right now. I'm sure there will be more in the future.

As for Haley, she is doing well. She loves going to preschool and seeing her 2 best friends Ava and Abby! She is a great big sister. She is really into princesses right now and loves to wear her tutu and dance around the living room. She tells me that when Hannah gets bigger she can wear one of her tutus and dance with her. It breaks my heart to think that it might not happen. Through all of this I hope it will teach Haley compassion for others.

Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers. Pray that Hannah will surpass all our expectations!!