EEG (no results, yet)

Today was EEG day. The EEG, electroencephalography, is a tool to monitor waves inside the brain. It records electrical activity within the brain and the hope is that it can record any abnormal events, if they occur. During the test, they wanted moments of being awake, asleep, and stimulated. 

The waiting was the hardest part today. I made a mistake with the time and we arrived super early, which meant extra time waiting. In case you didn’t know, two year olds aren’t the best at waiting. He took it like a champ and we got creative while trying to entertain him. Thankfully we were in a waiting room with mainly adults and they were all gushing over his hair and trying to entertain him with me. 

The EEG involves lots of electrodes attached to your head. The tech commented that his luscious locks would get messy, and she was right. They use some sticky stuff to attach the electrodes. It felt like we would get 4 attached and he would pull off or wiggle out of two. It was a process. Thankfully the tech was patient and didn’t seem to be bothered by his squirming and protesting. She also wasn’t bothered when he smacked her hand away. I was mortified. I know he’s two and we were really pushing his buttons, plus he lacks the ability to communicate his frustration, but it’s still embarrassing. 

We finally got him settled after wrestling with him and sweating bullets. He was pretty thrilled when we stopped touching him. 

They wanted him to sleep and I finally got him to take a little snooze. It took some creativity and I hope I never have to see the video (yes, they record the study) and the contortionist moves I had to do in order to get him to sleep. He slept, I laid next to him, and then it as time to wake him. With strobe lights. It seemed like torture to me, but he just laughed at it. 

The hope is the pediatric neurologist will review the study this evening and pass along the information/results to his neurologist. That information will be shared with us immediately if it’s urgent. If it’s not urgent, we will review at his follow up appointment. 

We aren’t 100% sure what we want the test to show. While we never want to hear bad results, it would give us answers for the staring spells we are witnessing and could help us determine next steps. It’s always strange to be hoping for a diagnosis, but we have found that a diagnosis can help bring some clarity. We have also found that often times some answers cause more questions. 

That, my friends, is why we love our boy. He’s unique. That’s for sure.