This is what an EEG looks like if an infant has Infantile Spasms:
And that is when they are NOT actually having a seizure. This pattern is there all the time, causing chaos in the brain.
From epilepsy.com
What's the outlook?
Most children with infantile spasms are mentally retarded later in life. Those whose spasms are related to an underlying developmental brain disorder or injury have a higher likelihood of moderate to severe retardation. The outlook is brighter for those who were developing normally before the spasms started: 10 to 20% will have normal mental function and some others may be only mildly impaired. Some children with infantile spasms develop autism. Many doctors believe that the quicker the seizures are controlled, the better the results will be.
When the spasms stop, many children later develop other kinds of epilepsy. About one-fifth of children who have had infantile spasms will have the Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.
In other words, grim. Epilepsy is the reason that I don't know if my child will ever live independently; the reason I don't know if he will be main streamed in school or in special ed; the reason I let a doctor cut out part of his brain; and the reason our lives have been turned upside down.
For most people only one day is epilepsy awareness day, but for us it's every day.
Pictures from the parade and of the family decked out in purple coming soon!
Beautifully written.
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