Brain Test (or EEG)

So after the whole "seizure" scare when Nolan was sick last time, they referred us to a neurologist to get a second opinion.  I had been telling myself and trying to convince myself that it was just because he was so sick when the episodes happened, that nothing was wrong with him for real.  Our first appointment with the neurologist was not all that informative, because of course they can't tell you anything affirmative without having an EEG done.

I was dreading this test, only because I knew I would have to keep Nolan still for about an hour while they monitored him.  I had no way of knowing whether he would be terrified of what they were doing, cranky, or bored.  Thankfully, my mom was able to go with me so at least I had some backup if I needed it!

I scheduled the scan for 10:00 a.m. on a Friday, and took the whole day off.  I hoped that scheduling it around Nolan's nap time would work in our favor.  The doctor's offices for this type of stuff really freak me out.  You feel bad for everyone there and wonder what is ailing them, and hurt for all of the parents dealing with some pretty heavy stuff with their kids.

We didn't have to wait very long, and then they led Nolan and me back to the room where they would "prep" him for the EEG.  Basically, they sat us in a chair that looks like the chair you use when you go to get your hair cut.  They have to put these little sticky electrodes all around his head in a grid, so the first thing they did was take a protractor-looking thing and mark about 21 or 22 red dots all over his head.  Then they followed this with scrubbing each little spot so that the electrode would stick.  They pulled a tray in front of us so that Nolan could eat his puffs and play with a toy while they worked, and he didn't even pay them any mind!

After they got him cleaned up, it was time for the electrodes.  They stuck them all over his head in the same grid pattern, and it looked like he had this super long electrical cord rattail down his back!  They wrapped his head with lots of gauze to keep them all into place, and then wrapped his rattail with another zipper sleeve to keep all the wires together.  The wires were attached to the box that transmitted the information to the control room (that's what I called it anyway).

I must say, the wait wasn't so bad!  Apparently, his test was done in the same place where they do sleep studies, so they took us into a hotel-style room complete with bathroom.  They turned off the lights, and said they had an intercom and would be recording us for the next hour.  Right on cue, I nursed Nolan to sleep and he slept for the first 40 minutes!  This was such a blessing - he woke up right when they had to come in and turn on the strobe lights anyway.

After the nap, they moved to the strobe light portion of the test, which I have heard is known to cause the onset of seizures if they suffer from them.  I was a bit anxious for this part, but Nolan didn't react to them at all, other than looking like, "why are you flashing these crazy lights in my face?!"

Once that part was done, we just had to hang out for another 10 minutes and we were done!  My mom came back to sit with him in the chair while they took all of the electrodes off, and this was the only time he got a bit fussy.  I can't blame him: I am sure they pulled his hair and the rubbing alcohol they used smelled bad!  He quit crying as soon as they were done, and even got two toys out of the treasure chest for being so good!

For what could have been a pretty traumatic thing for a 10-month old, he did so awesome.  I am continually amazed at this little creature.  How he just rolls with the punches, hardly ever has a meltdown, and just is so strong.  It makes me feel like a wuss that I get all bent out of shape over all of this stuff and he just goes with it.  Who would have thought this tiny little guy would be such an awesome role model already?!  I could tear up just thinking about him and how proud I am.  Such a blessing, SUCH a blessing.  God is good.