Ella’s periodic checkup with Dr. Duffy of Epilepsy at Children’s Hospital went well. He is always very encouraging and feels that, considering Ella’s condition, we are very lucky. The fact that she doesn’t have more seizures than she does, given her physiology, is very surprising. Reading about other parent’s trials with their children’s Hemimegalencephaly leads me to think he is right. He also said that the stagnation of her motor skills development is a. to be expected with the medication she is on and her condition and b. will be overcome after surgery.
The fact that she is developing cognitively is a good sign and hopefully she will be able to catch up quickly once the hemispherectomy is done. It looks like the operation will happen at the beginning of May. This is both amazingly frightening and a source for hope. I am reading ‘Half a brain is enough‘ and it gives a lot of hope for the best case scenario. It tells of a boy who’s had an hemispherectomy (right side, same as Ella) at the age of three and developed wonderfully doing everything a normal boy his age would do and more.
There are however scenarios besides the best case… Ella’s WILL be the best case scenario. Right?