Taught Abby how to do a "thumbs-up." This pic was taken at 5 am. She couldn't eat solids after 6 am so I woke her up early. She loved the Cinnamon Toast Crunch!
Dadu left the house within fifteen minutes of hearing Abby was headed to surgery. He drove til 1 am to get to the hospital! It was great having him here to help with the big kids and visit with Abby.
Abby wakes from her spinal tap. We were SO relieved she was singing and being silly... 
Since we had to leave unexpectedly, a co-worker of mine took the big kids home and Bubby picked them up after she got out of work. She watched the big kids all weekend for us and brought them to visit Abby in the hospital on Sunday. It's great to have such support! Pops drove for hours and hours to visit too and Abby just lit up seeing her family. We also got visits from our pastors, which meant so much to us.
We pulled Abby in a wagon to get around and I even dug out the old baby carrier which she loved being in again.
It all started with a fever... which got up to 105.7, so I took her to the ER in town. She was hallucinating and it was quite frightening. I felt so bad for her, she was absolutely on fire. The next day we followed up with the pediatrian and she tested positive for Strep. He was suspicious that it was Strep because Strep doesn't cause such high fevers, but he started her on antibiotics. Three days later and her fever was just as high. Then she started walking strangely and a few hours later she wouldn't bear weight at all. Unfortunately, the doctor was out that day and I couldn't get her in until the next afternoon. At that point he sent us back to Culpeper hospital for bloodwork. It was awful, they couldn't get any blood drawn from her little veins and it was very traumatic for us both. When she wasn't walking or bearing weight the next day either, he told me to take her immediately to the UVA Children's Hospital in Charlottesville.
She was evaluated by the orthepedic team and they felt that she had a bacteria in her hip, which was very serious. After trying unsuccessfully to get blood (another traumatic and unsuccessful experience), they rushed her into the OR for an emergency procedure to drain the hip. Luckily, they didn't find any bacteria so they didn't need to flush her hips out. They still needed to determine why she wasn't walking, but at least the worst case senario was ruled out by Day 2 at the hospital.
After several days (a cat scan, spinal tap and an MRI) they diagnosed Abby with a virally induced cerebellar ataxia from which she should fully recover. As we understand it, her cerebellum (that part of the brain that coordinates motor skills) was likely inflamed due to a general viral infection, which caused problems with speech, coordination and balance. The MRI (taken yesterday) did not show any swelling, likely because it had already subsided and/or she was missing spinal fluid due to a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) from the day before. The MRI also showed a Chiari I Malformation that could have contributed to the problem by putting pressure on her spinal cord. This is a congenital defect where a small portion of the cerebellum sticks down into the cavity where her spinal cord enters her skull. It shouldn't have any long term impact on her, although we do have to follow up over the summer to meet with a neurosurgeon to learn more and have additional MRIs in the future to keep tabs on it.
Her prognosis is good. She is expected to recover fully over time with the help of some PT and possibly some speech therapy. The doctors at UVA were great overall, and it was clear they really cared about their patients. Most of the nurses were great, too, as were the PT and Occupational Therapy folks. She got to attend “preschool” on Mon. and Tues. morning and there is a huge terrace with cars to drive and slides and other games for the kids to play. Friday and Sat. were horrible, but by Sunday almost all of the bad scenarios had been ruled out and Abby was starting to walk again. One of the biggest blessings for us was that Abby's recovery was triggered by a visit from several of her grandparents but especially Margaret and Patrick on Sunday. They were really worried about her, and she lit up when she saw them and started walking. The effect was so profound, that the doctors decided against keeping her longer (in a transitional facility for pediatric physical therapy) in order to get her home with her family, as they felt that would speed her recovery.
PT started this week, and I don't think we'll need many sessions. Since Abby used to have a therapist when she was little (she didn't roll over or sit up) the same lady is going to keep tabs on us over the summer. Over the last few days she's started walking again on her own and even has a swing in her step. She's started doing her funny dances and going up and down the stairs. She stumbles a bit and isn't running or jumping yet like she used to, but it's just a matter of time.
Thank you for your prayers and support. We are VERY blessed.
