When Damonito was six months old he had a grand mal seizure that nearly took his life. A grand mal seizure lasting more than five minutes or immediately followed by another grand mal seizure can result in brain damage or death. This particular seizure lasted forty-five minutes. Damonito's medication levels are always checked when he is admitted to the hospital. His tegretol levels were 0. His pharmacy had mis-mixed his medication. To be more precise, they didn't shake it up before dispensing it. He hadn't had any anti-seizure medicine for two weeks.
We're not sure exactly what happened, if his ability to swallow had been compromised by the seizure or if it would have happened anyway, but at that time he lost the ability to swallow. He aspirated formula from his bottle into his lungs which creates a whole other set of problems. The G-tube went in and since he couldn't pass a swallow study he couldn't have anything by mouth. It would be two years and a lot of therapy before he would eat solid food. And he really didn't know what to do with it. It was a tactile experience. Mostly he played with it. He's getting better with it now. He can use a spoon. And sometimes he actually gets it in his mouth.
No comments:
Post a Comment