Dr. Z

It took me nearly three hours to drive home from Sioux Falls and I'm still a little shaky from the experience. An ice storm started just as we were leaving Sanford Children's. The roads were terrible, especially 29. It took more than an hour to drive 15 miles and there were cars in the ditch everywhere. Once we got to 18 and headed east the roads gradually improved. They were still icy and I was still a nervous wreck, but they weren't nearly as bad. Plus, the roads had been sanded or salted so cars weren't skidding off the road every few feet.

So, about the appointment: We really liked this doctor. He was very gregarious and spent a lot of time getting to know Jon Felipe a bit. The examining room had a large yellow school bus painted on the wall which Jon found very cool. Dr. Z's opinion is that this cluster of seizures was caused by one of two things. Most likely it was caused by the tetanus shot. In support of this, the seizures started a few hours after he got the shot and lasted for about the next 48 hours. This would mean the seizure on Monday was a coincidence.

The other option is that his shunt is failing. The doctor said that if we had come in last week, he would have sent us immediately for a CT scan, but since the seizures have stopped, he agreed to wait and see if they start again. He is going to contact the neurologist, though, and she may overrule that decision and request the scan. Dr. Z said that the shunt will likely fail eventually - Not good news! However, we don't need to worry about that just yet. I'm pretty sure it was the shot.

This storm may put a damper on our travel plans. I am not anxious to do that type of driving again soon, preferably not ever. Behind the ice storm, which wasn't suppose to hit quite this early, another blizzard is predicted. I love all of you back east and am looking forward to spending time with you, but I also want to keep everyone safe and that may mean postponing the first to ensure the second.