Sunday, June 21, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Perspective of A Mother
I decided to start blogging since my life has been altered due to my daughters sudden illness. On our 11th year anniversary Saturday, February 28, 2009 our energetic, independent, bright three-year old daughter lost control of her movements. To me our daughter looked like she was having a stroke. I took her to an urgent care center first and the doctor referred me to Childrens in Plano and the Childrens in Plano took us by ambulance to Childrens in Dallas. Our daughter underwent a series of tests MRI, CAT, EEG, Spinal tap to find out if she suffered a stroke, brain tumor, seizure, cerebral infraction, alcohol abuse, inflammation of the brain, head injury, ruptured blood vessel (hemorrage), migranes, sleep disorder, seizure disorder, meningitis as well as blood work to see if there were any virus antibodies in her blood. She has been diagnosed with Acute Cerebellar Ataxia.
According to the neurologist it is believed that our daughter's immune system did it's job by attacking the (virus) cold (although I don't believe it was just a cold) that she had but the immune system kept looking for invaders. As a result her cerebellum (the part of your brain that controls muscle coordination) was damaged. When nerve cells in the cerebellum are lost or damaged or degenerative they provide less control to muscles, resulting in loss of coordination or ataxia. It could take weeks to months for our daughter to be 100%.
Thus far, it has been a few weeks ago since this incident and I have observed many things about myself while walking on this journey with my daughter. I have watched my daughter war with her body. I watched her fight to be able to stand up, to speak, to feed herself, and to play with her brothers. I was reminded of a scripture in the Bible where the Apostle Paul talks about the war that was going on inside of him. His inner being delighted in God's law but another law was at work in the members of his body, waging war against the law of his mind and making him a prisoner of the law of sin at work within his members. My research tells me that the cerebrum is the thinking part of your brain that controls the voluntary muscles. They don't move unless you make them move. The cerebellum although small controls balance, movement and coordination. Although my daughter wants to dance she is unable to stay balanced. Practically, she wants to do what she used to do without thinking about it but the cerebellum is keeping her from doing it. Another, example that recently happened is we were in the garage and I was getting her baby brother out of the van I happened to turn to look at her and caught her by the arm before she fell backward. We were both scared for a moment.
We live in the Dallas Texas area and I'm interested to know if any of you or someone that you know experienced this. I have not found an online community or support group in this area. The support groups I have found support people that have inherited the gene that causes ataxia.
You can find out more about my daughter's journey at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/naomiwilliams
According to the neurologist it is believed that our daughter's immune system did it's job by attacking the (virus) cold (although I don't believe it was just a cold) that she had but the immune system kept looking for invaders. As a result her cerebellum (the part of your brain that controls muscle coordination) was damaged. When nerve cells in the cerebellum are lost or damaged or degenerative they provide less control to muscles, resulting in loss of coordination or ataxia. It could take weeks to months for our daughter to be 100%.
Thus far, it has been a few weeks ago since this incident and I have observed many things about myself while walking on this journey with my daughter. I have watched my daughter war with her body. I watched her fight to be able to stand up, to speak, to feed herself, and to play with her brothers. I was reminded of a scripture in the Bible where the Apostle Paul talks about the war that was going on inside of him. His inner being delighted in God's law but another law was at work in the members of his body, waging war against the law of his mind and making him a prisoner of the law of sin at work within his members. My research tells me that the cerebrum is the thinking part of your brain that controls the voluntary muscles. They don't move unless you make them move. The cerebellum although small controls balance, movement and coordination. Although my daughter wants to dance she is unable to stay balanced. Practically, she wants to do what she used to do without thinking about it but the cerebellum is keeping her from doing it. Another, example that recently happened is we were in the garage and I was getting her baby brother out of the van I happened to turn to look at her and caught her by the arm before she fell backward. We were both scared for a moment.
We live in the Dallas Texas area and I'm interested to know if any of you or someone that you know experienced this. I have not found an online community or support group in this area. The support groups I have found support people that have inherited the gene that causes ataxia.
You can find out more about my daughter's journey at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/naomiwilliams
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