Thursday, July 17, 2008

More explainations....

Many of you will have questions. I am open to answering what I can, so ask away. I will update with another history that will fill in more blanks. But for now I will answer the questions as they are asked....

The brain damage was caused by the metabolic disorder. Basically it goes like this. Protein is not broken down properly causing a buildup of something called methylmalonic acid. In layman's terms, it poisons her. During periods of illness or stress, it is worse. While her immune system functions normally, your body, in it's natural healing process, breaks down proteins in the muscles. Thereby making even a common cold dangerous. She tolerates illness much better now, but when she was younger a cold was deadly. It would set off a chain reaction that ended with her glucose levels falling into the 20's. That is near death. That is the point at which they assume the brain damage was caused. So far it seems to have effected the area that controls key reflexes. Emmi had no startled reflex as a baby. This translates into having none of the reflexes necessary for balance. This portion of the brain is responsible for all of your major reflexes, breathing, etc. So we are extremely lucky that she has only minimal damage. At this point, we don't know the extent of the damage. We know she has a normal IQ, but we also know there appears to be some early signs or learning disabilities. So time will tell just how bad it is....

2 comments:

Sheri said...

Man, reading all of this and knowing it all, it is still odd to see it all written out. kwim That is especially true with knowing Emmi and how normal she is in so many ways.

You know, no matter what comes up with her, I am forever here for you.

elizabeth said...

Great blog! I hope you'll consider adding it to the aggregator at Deaf Village (www.deafvillage.com) -- we'd love to have you as part of our community!