Ms. Gracie

Gracie had her fourth embolization treatment this past Wednesday.  This treatment has not been as smooth as the others.  The neurosurgeon embolized six veins this time.  When she woke up in PACU, she wasn't fussing like the other times and was just laying with her eyes open, very calm.  We were thinking she was handling the procedure better this time.  We then were put in our room where we would stay over night so that she could be monitored.  We began to notice she was having eye spasms and going cross eyed, along with no emotion, no speech, and vomiting.  This went on for a couple hours (which felt like an eternity) before the doctor was able to check on her.  The doctor suspected that her brain was swelling and started her on a heavy dose of steroid.  She continued to get sick for a couple hours, but was starting to talk and show some emotion.  Funny enough, one of the first things she said was "wheres Evie" after Evie's mom came to visit.  After a long night of little sleep and a lot of emotions, things were looking a little better Thursday morning.  The doctor came back and explained that it could take a few days for the swelling to go down.  He gave us the option to do a MRI to confirm his suspicion of the swelling or see if she may have had a mild stroke.  He also explained that no matter the outcome, he was going to treat it the same way (steroids for the swelling).  In order to do an MRI she would have had to go under anesthesia again.  As much as we wanted a definitive answer, it was going to be at her expense, so we opted to take her home and give it some time.  We are now home and eyes have shown much improvement.  She is still not herself and this is very difficult for us to see.  She is saying things backwards, uncontrollably repeating things over and over, and not acting as maturely as she was before.  The doctor increased her dose of steroids and feels that this is all apart of the swelling and side effects of the medication.  After consulting more with the doctor, we have scheduled an MRI for Wednesday of next week.  After the MRI, we are going to view the results and leave the option open to have a balloon placed in her jugular to open it up and relieve more pressure.  With all this being said, WE NEED YOUR PRAYERS.  We are praying that the steroids will take away the swelling, that she has a complete recovery and no side effects, that she can rest, and that Gods peace would fill her.  Also, we only have two more weeks until Katie's due date.  Pray that the baby does not come in the next week.  Pray for strength, faith that moves mountains, peace, wisdom, and confidence in the decisions we make. Thank you all for all your prayers and support thus far.