Migraines

Today was the day of our (repeat) electroencephalogram appointment at Kennedy Krieger in Baltimore. I woke up at 4:00 am to get ready for a 6:45 am departure. Luckily, I packed the diaper bags and had the kids clothes laid out last night to make the morning run smoothly.

We made it to Baltimore in record time this week: 92 minutes! I started working on a migraine before we hit the route 30 bridge into York county, so the drive down was pretty quiet and uneventful.

Derek and I came prepared with DVDs, snacks, juice and toys for the appointment. We checked in with 3 minutes to spare- G dressed comfortably in shorts and a T-shirt, and barefoot. He hates wearing shoes and socks typically, but ESPECIALLY in the car, so we let him go without the shoes (we carried him the entire time) to avoid a tantrum before the electrode torture began.

Greyson’s EEG required 25 electrodes on his head and chest. He began to resist and cry before the first one was even placed.

Placing the electrodes took about 20-25 minutes due to G’s wiggling and crying. The tech for the imaging was fantastic! She was so understanding, calm and soft-spoken. She turned the lights down and put on “paw patrol” so G would focus on something other than being held tightly and being poked at. We had a private area just for us, with our own lab tech, tv and bathroom, which I was grateful for because of his screaming and crying.

Greyson fought with us for about 30 minutes of the test- kicking, screaming, crying, hitting, biting and spitting at us, while Derek had him in a tight hold. Eventually, he gave up and passed out on Derek’s shoulder. About 40 minutes later, the tech came in and removed the electrodes and we went on our way.

By the time the valet brought the car around to the entrance, my head was pounding. I had a full-blown migraine. I was able to drive home, but was basically out of commission once I pulled into the driveway and put the car in park.

So, now we wait.

Next Friday, we will be heading back down to Baltimore for three appointments- an appointment with Dr. Comi to get the EEG results and two evaluations with a neuropsychologist and rehabilitation specialist. This week will be another week of more questions to write for the different clinicians we will be seeing, and another week of anxiety. Hopefully we can get more answers, but for now, we wait.