We arrived Monday morning, bright and early. Elisabeth was brought to her room, and shown around. The tech attached 28 EEG leads to her head, with some type of glue. She lay still and grinned for the whole hour and a half.
We needed camera, EEG, and isotope data on 3-5 seizures. The isotope test is time sensitive, so one seizure had to be between 9:00 - 3:00. Once Elisabeth had them, she could go home. We were hoping for a quick stay.
Elisabeth was realizing hospitals aren't comfortable. She didn't like the itchy leads. She didn't like having her bed elevated, and she didn't like being confined to a room. It was hard to have a needle in her arm, a backpack attached to a wall, and a pole to pull around every time she moved.
But, she loved having a menu, and meals brought to her on a tray. She loved the child life helpers, and she loved getting to play games, do crafts, read, watch dvd's, and have all that free time and attention.
She loved hearing the voice over the loudspeaker. "Did I see flowers in the corner?" She'd giggle and laugh, and "yes!!! My pastor sent them!!!!" All smiles. Sweet girl.
Day one: No seizure
Day two: No seizure. They injected the isotope at 3:00, and got a scan of her brain while normal.
Day three: We were starting to wonder by then. Would she have any at all? How long can we stay here? Do we need to re-schedule mom's flight?
We started trying to trigger them. Sleep deprivation. Jump. Heat up the room. Jump some more. Elisabeth started teaching the child life girls her ballet moves and stretches. The voice applauded over the loudspeaker. She grinned, and kept going. Every hour she got up and jumped. IV and leads attached. Nothing.
The sweet nurse, Angela, who watched her all day, isotope in hand, made friendship bracelets with her. 3:00 came and went. Angela packed up the isotope injection, and left. We'd have to wait another day.
Elisabeth's good friend Anna came by to visit around 4:00. Elisabeth got super excited and ran to the window. All the sudden, we heard the voice over the speaker having a different tone. "Elisabeth, can you count to five?" "Elisabeth can you remember this word: Elephant."
She was having a seizure!! She didn't remember it at all. No memory of the word. But she was glad everyone was happy. The seizures came quickly after that. Too quickly. We gave her a very small dose of med, and they stopped again. That med is a lifesaver. No doubt about it.
At the hospital, they have a volunteer radio station, called 'Radio Lollipop'. On some weeknights, they'd do a live show, with requests, games, and prizes. Elisabeth was all ready. Phone in hand.
"The 9th caller will win a prize." She dialed. wrong caller number. She dialed again. "You've won the prize!!!!" She was beside herself with joy. Jumping up and down and laughing. The lady asked Elisabeth if she knew the song that was playing. Yes. "Would you like to sing along, into the phone?" Oh yes!!
I watched her, holding that receiver and singing her heart out. Her face was one big smile. She radiated joy.
It was then that I realized something. In spite of stress, discomfort, medication, and sleeplessness, her frail little body had a spirit of iron. She had a strength to her, a joy, that showed through, even in the worst of circumstances. At the young age of ten, she had become a true Southern Lady.
Cure or no cure, she would be all right.
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