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Good news on the MRI, and here's hoping that the EEG comes back clear as well!

Wow, ok, I read this post, went away, and then came back and read everyone's responces. Lots of great advice out there. That being said...

You asked for constructive though on this, so I'm gonna give a bit of salt here.

Why was there *unsupervised* interaction between your 5 year old child and your dog after you knew that your dog was having issues with the kids?

You asked your 5 year old what happened, and then decided to give up the dog with no further evaluation of the dog or the incident?

What did you do to establish the pack order to the dog's understanding? After the first incidents of growling, what did you do to modify the dog's behavior/reinforce training lessons, for both the dog and the kids?

All these things should be looked at by you before you make the decision to introduce a new dog into your household. No matter what breed of dog you go with, if the dog and the kids are not trained to respect the order of the house and all in it, you'll always run the risk of problems. Yes, your children should come first, and the protection of them comes before all else, but they also need to learn to have respect for a dog and their boundaries as well.

Just my .02.

I just got back from lunch. My Husband and Son decided to suprise me by packing Onyx in the back of the car and "kidnapping" me from work for lunch. A wonderful visit to McDonalds and ten thousand "Onyx Questions" later, I'm back at work with a full tummy and a smile on my face.


I love that man of mine!

I agree with MagicM3, teaching is a gift, and you could really help.

With your grasp of Spanish, you could be an enormous help to those in the Spanish community who are suffering because they can't hear.

Keep us posted on what you decide, and know that we're pulling for you!

Ok, I got a chance to read your updates. Not to get too personal on a public board, but what kind of Health Insurance do you have? Can you get second opinions, see a specialist, or does everything have to go through a PPO?

Bloodwork is all fine and well, and can rule out a bunch of things, but a Pediatric Neurologist will need to be consulted if Epilepsy is suspected. They'll need to do an MRI as well as some other tests, most of which (thank goodness) are done while the little one is sleeping.

Not to argue with anyone here, but these do not sound like Petite Mals, these sound like "Absence Seizures". What happens is that the child's brain has a "misfire" (a lot like a bad distributor cap on a car) and the electric impulses in the brain get routed incorrectly. The child will seem to "zone out", there will not be any convulsions per se, sometimes the child will drool a little, or a "tic" will develop. Muscle rigidity will also occur in most cases. These seizures can last anywhere from mere seconds to upwards of 15 minutes. My son's longest was 12.5 minutes, all the while with me screaming in his face in an attempt to call him back to alertness. (One of his first...freake d me out!)

There are several different things that can increase the frequency of this occuring, sleep and diet being the main two. At Izzy's age, she needs a lot of sleep, and deprivation can make the seizures worse. Also diet can be a huge factor. She's at the age that you are probably introducing her to a more varied diet than she's had previously.

I would definately start leaning on your Pediatrician. Demand that he look further into the Seizure diagnosis. (after all, that's what you pay hiim for!) Also, in the meantime, you can perform your own sort of testing. Ensure that Izzy sleeps for at least the recommended times fir her age group. (Believe me, I remember what a fight it was to get my son to rest, I'm feeling your pain!) Also, try to observe and record what you're feeding Izzy. Document *everything*, this will help your Doctor(s) to accurately diagnose what's happening to your baby.

I'm sure you've already started to research, but here's a couple of places you might want to bookmark:

www.epilepsyfo undation.org
www.epilepsy.c om
http://kidshealth.org/teen/diseases_conditions/brain_nervous/epilepsy.html

I hope some of this will help.

See now Onyx would have bowled me right over......he's such a graceless ox. *lol*

Great captures all of them. Angus is just such a sweetheart.

Strength to you and Eric in this time. I'm so very sorry.