Day 5...Dan is back!!

The neurologists came back to do their rounds and examinations on Kyara. They were not as uplifting today as they have been. Although they are considering Kyara a success in surviving the cardiac arrest, her EEG has actually gotten a little worse. She was considered moderately sluggish, but they are now rating her as severe. The EEG measures brain wave activity, so this has been a blow to us. She also had another mild/minor seizure this morning. It only lasted 10 seconds and again was subclinical which means we did not see any outward signs of the seizure. It was only recorded on the EEG machine. She is taking antiseizure medication and still working on the dosage. The doctors are not concerned about the minor seizures...they may not mean much of anything.

I am very skeptical about the results of the EEG. It seems to me that she is responding better than she was previously, so how can the EEG say things are worse? She is actually responding some now, whereas the first day or two she was completely unresponsive. She is able to keep her eyes in the middle instead of the sliding off the side or up into her head. She is localizing pain and touch and responding to it, so I just can't understand how the EEG is say she is getting worse.

In fact, today the nurse, Julie, removed Kyara's foley (a urinary catheter) and was putting a diaper on her. She and Gunars bent her knees up and they asked her to raise her bottom so that Julie could slide the diaper underneath her. Holy cow, she DID IT! Granted it was not very far, only high enough to slide the diaper under her, but she responded!

Later Dan, the Physical Therapist that we worked with in the fall (remember the tricycle?!), came in to start rehab with Kyara. We are concerned about her muscle tone and muscle contractions so Dan is back! As much as I would love to never have seen him again, it was great to see him. Bittersweet. Dan really helped both Gunars and I feel a bit more at ease with Kyara condition. He explained that most of the improvement Kyara will make will happen in the first 3 months. Not the first 3 days. We have to be patient and keep working with Kyara. He was open and honest about the fact that he has seen patients that do not improve, but that he has also seen many patients that do improve. Time will tell what Kyara's course will be. Dan did suggest looking into rehab facilites back in Atlanta so that when Kyara is medically able, we can take her home and have the BEST treatment available. If anyone knows where the best place in Atlanta is, please let us know. We will be doing research on it, any suggestions can help us explore the possibilities.

Tonight before I left, Kyara was pretty stiff. I was playing with her hands and trying to get her to open them up more. She was moving her left leg a little. Then she stopped. I reached over and touched her left knee and asked her to bend it. She did. Ok, probable coincidence. After waiting for a minute or two I asked her to move it again...she did. Still, coincidence. Let's try this, I put my hand on Kyara right knee and asked her to move it...SHE DID! She did this for the next 10-15 minutes. I know what I saw and how much I want it to be purposeful movement and responding to commands, but I still have to hold a little excitement inside. I can assure you of this, I laid my head over her and Thanked God. I believe this was a sign and I pray that I am right and not just wishful thinking. We have had such a rough road, and everytime we feel something is going right, it has bumps, so I have to be cautious. But, I just feel in my heart and soul that Kyara was communicating with us. We will see if she reacts the same tomorrow. I pray to God and Heaven Above that she will. Small steps keep us focused on the big recovery.

Good night, precious girl. We love you so much!