We know what it's not....maybe

Two days ago Andi went to work after being home for a few days with a virus. She lasted about 2 hours at school before feeling so sick she decided to go home. She almost made it ~~ but she passed out in the school office, hitting her head on the floor. Jacob came and took her home and she napped for a bit. I saw her about 4:30, talked to her about 6:30 and all was well, except she had a headache.

About 7, Jacob calls to tell me he's taking her to the hospital because she has quit speaking in words and was just speaking gibberish. An hour later I arrive just as they are loading her into an ambulance to take her to Evansville to St. Mary's.

Throughout the night we sit while they do test after test on her. Her speech eventually changed from gibberish to the talk of someone who had suffered a major stroke. She felt fine except for the headache and had no muscle weakness of any kind. Her neck hurt a lot.

Since going to the hospital Andi has had a CT of her head to check for brain bleeds, a MRI to check for brain bleeds, a MRA to check her blood vessels for clots, a CT of her heart, an Ultrasound of her neck to check for clots, an Ultrasound of her chest, 2 spinal taps to check for meningitis, and an echo cardiogram of her heart.

All these tests have shown so far that they they don't think she's had a stroke, a heart attack, seizures, an aneurysm or that she has meningitis. They've done nothing to show what she does have. Her headache that she has had for days continues relentlessly. It hurts only in the part of her head that the doctors say control speech and balance.

This afternoon they are running massive amounts of steroids through her in the hopes that if there is swelling in her brain that is not showing up on the scans, that this will help. They are also going to try a series of medicine through the night designed for migraine headaches. This will be the third medicine that they've given her for migraines.

Although her speech is screwy, her sense of humor and determination remain intact. She changed her name on her armband to Keller, H. She's grubby because she can't sit up, much less shower. She's frustrated that she can't be understood and that for the time being, she obviously can't teach school. But she's already started speech therapy.

At this point, we don't know what will happen. The doctors say Andi's speech could be restored as quickly as it left, or it could take months of therapy.

After much preparation, I took Sophie and Keegan to see her today and through her tears Andi asked Sophie is she could understand her. Sophie said, "Yes, Mommy, it will be OK." Then she just laid her head on Andi's chest and although the conversation was over, everything that needed to be said, had been.

It will be OK.