Alissa

Sometime in the spring started some specialty doctor visits with Alissa. She went in for her annual eye exam this spring, and the eye doctor noticed something in the pictures of the back of her eyes. We talked, and we were going to come in at 3 month intervals to watch it. But before Ali had her new frames picked out, the doctor decided it was just making her uncomfotable. So she sent her on to see a pediatric opthamologist in Peoria. After his initial visit, he wanted her to have a CT scan done. That test came back showing a possiblity of a condition called Pseudotumor Cerebri, which put it more on the neurological side of things. So our family doctor contacted a pediatric neurologist, who wanted an MRI done and an appointment with her. So I believe it was in June, Ali had to go into the hospital to be put to sleep for an MRI on her brain. When those results came back, she met the neurologist. The next step was a spinal tap - or a lumbar punture - in the end of July. This is the one test that could say yes or no to this condition. So she was then put to sleep for a spinal tap, then met with the neurologist that very afternoon. The test did come back saying we are dealing with Pseudotumor Cerebri. Basically, what this means, is that there is fluid around her optical nerve, pushing on the optical nerve like a tumor would. But it is not a tumor. But the pressure of the fluid could damage her eyesight and such. So she started a medication a few days later, and has been doing fine. We actually go back to the neurologist next week to check on her progress. The medication gets the fluid under control, and when we get rid of that extra fluid, it will no longer be needed. She has been very fortunate with it. They've told us that most people who are dealing with this condition have very bad headaches, often hospitalized because of their severity. She has not dealt with headaches. We only knew about it because of her eye doctor picking up on it.