Saturday, April 16, 2011

one day left to live series - 17 months and 18 days

Finally we've embarked on the Ayurveda treatment for Sripathi. After consultation with physician Dr.M from CNS ayurveda we are proceeding with a six month treatment with Kashyam, tailam for the body and scalp, churnam and pills. Well without hope all this would be a mere drill. So all I'm hoping for is his treatment though very slow should help develop his body tone.

Now that Sripathi has started having infantile spasms we need to talk to the physician if he would want to make any changes to the prescription or not.

As per the neurologist from TCH, the results from the last EEG show no major abnormalities as compared to the previous EEG, there just seem to be more spikes which could be causing his newer type of seizures. Yes we've also started with the nightly zonisamide, hope this will help control his spasms.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

one day left to live series - 17 months and 16 days

So here were are in Dallas, Texas.
Basically I'm not impressed about the move, for Texas is big, old and rude.

First I have to give my thanks to Hema ji and family for sharing their home with us for a week. I know that's a really long period to host guests at one's home. Finally we moved into our apartment with the bare necessities on the 5th of April. It's been over 2 weeks now since we shipped our stuff and they are yet to arrive. In the meantime Sripathi had to be taken to Houston for a scheduled appointment with Dr.W at TCH. This time around Mr.A could not make it since it was the first week at work and he cannot afford to take leaves.

I and Sripathi took a 45 minute flight to Houston. This was my first experience of the rudest Texan. Sripathi actually pooped in the flight. And the lady sitting beside me wanted me to get his diaper changed 'immediately' as she could not bear the smell. And the flight was so turbulent that the seat belt sign was on the whole trip. And somehow I managed to go into that small restroom in the front of the plane and laid Sripathi on my lap imagine trying to lay across a 84 cm baby in a small flight restroom. Anyways the terrible diaper change was performed while Sripathi was wailing.

As if that was not enough, the lady beside was so upset that Sripathi a 17 month old baby is not wearing pants or shorts to cover his diaper area. Well I could not answer her and I could not take all this rudeness, so I just sat there crying and hugging a really tired baby who was wailing so hard and finally went to sleep.

The silver lining here was when I was waiting for my stroller, one of the passengers came up to me and Sripathi, caressed him and wished me.

Houston was nothing short for its snobbishness. People I knew were not as welcoming as they used to be. The Doctor gave me further bad news. Well Dr.W is still the best person out there with Sripathi's welfare in mind. Basically Sripathi has been acting strangely in the past 3 weeks. When I explained about his activity similar to a seizure occurring around the 20th minutes since he takes a nap or goes to sleep. Dr.W explained that such episodes were Infantile Spasm.
Usually most drugs do not control infantile spasms well. But he has prescribed one that he feels is comparatively less with regards to side effects. And he made sure we get an EEG performed for Sripathi that very day.

Here was yet another Texan. She was a very nice technician. She had to do her job well. And she really did only that she was so irritable. She felt I was not cooperative is making sure my child is restrained within my arms while all the electrodes are stuck on head. Well I'm not sure how many parents are trained to restrain their children, very very physically. She was trying to stick them well with so many tapes and sometimes the tapes don't easily cut off and she got irritated with that. Well I was glad all this pain was over in less than 3 hours.

It was the most tiring 3 hours I guess. I and Sripathi slept for like 3 hours after we reached our friend's home.

Well then the next day, I thought I have just a few hours to get back home but then I met another friend, who felt she had all the time, grace and blessing in the whole wide world and was trying to give me a piece of her mind. Well I did not say a word just sat there listening to her saying that my son is born to get rid of all his accumulated Karma and that it is my duty and responsibility to take care of him. It seems God knows what to give to whom. Well I don't know what was going on in her mind. But all this left me so bitter. I was just waiting to get to my flight and fly away home.

So finally I was hoping I don't get to meet any more rude Texan. But sadly I had to talk to the agent at the Gate at the airport because I had to get a tag for the baby stroller. Also I wanted to request for a pre-board so I'm able to settle with Sripathi before all the passengers board.
But I was told that families cannot go for pre-boarding. So I said ok. And was waiting for the tag. The agent walks closer to the stroller and asks for the ticket, then she asks for other papers for the ticketing. I gave her my online ticket and also Sripathi's birth certificate.

While she reads his birth certificate she mentions that my son is big for 17 months. Well I had to say something or otherwise it was seem like I'm forging his birth certificate just to get him in as a lap child and not pay for a ticket. So I tell her that he has a medical condition. But believe me in that situation and after all that I've been going through, tears rolled down my eyes to hear someone say something like that about my son. So now the agent felt that she made a mistake my saying something about a sick child. Now she gets back to me with a pre-boarding pass and also a $100.00 voucher to use in my next flight. She then tells me that though he is a big boy, he is precious.

Well my first impressions don't seem to change.