Thursday, March 27, 2008


My baby girl has a diagnoses...Vasovagal Syncope. A big word for a little girl. Two years ago, she had a seizure-like episode. Come to find out, she had minor little episodes periodically since she was only about 1 yrs. old. It was the hardest thing to witness and the hardest thing to watch her go through the tests. An EEG, blood work to test for diabetes, epilepsy and some other diseases I can't even remember. After they all came back negative, we had to make the choice to give her a CAT scan, which would reveal any tumors in her brain. That was bad, but even worse was the 3 day wait for the results. In those horribly long 3 days, i would watch her play, dance, run and hope, pray and literally cry for no tumors. The scan came back all normal. no tumors. but still, we didn't know what would cause her to react like she had. The doctors told us to carry on as normal, they couldn't find anything physically wrong with her. We went for a whole year and then it happened again. Then again it happened just last December. She lost her tooth, saw blood and fell to the floor in a seizure-like state. Minutes later, she was back to her normal self. Then just last week, I got a call from the school nurse. She had went down on the playground. My heart went into my throat. By the time I got there she was awake. I took her home, she ate lunch and was running around like nothing had happened. After doing some research at Mayo Clinic, we have finally nailed down her condition. Vasovagal Syncope. It's a nerve in her neck that is triggered by something like the sight of blood, dehydration, hunger and several others. These are the 3 I notice that could be the culprits for her reactions. It causes her to basically faint. 85% of children outgrow it. Scheww. I can't tell you how glad I am to know a name for this thing. She is a bright, beautiful little girl who brightens up your day just by walking in the room. It's not often, but it may happen. I just thank God for giving us the name and the peace of mind that comes with it. There's no better feeling than that.

Run and play, little one, you're going to be just fine.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

That's a lot to deal with. I am so glad you have found a name to identify with and it seems that she will outgrow this in no time. Takes a little weight of the shoulders, doesn't it? I will pray for your beautiful ballerina.

Chris said...

Wow, that is a lot. Did you have to go to the Mayo Clinic for tests? Pretty heavy-duty. I have heard of this condition in many children, it amazes me that they can grow out of it. I am so glad, I know how helpless it feels to watch a child go through something like that and there isn't much you can do at the time. I can't imagine being the child's parent! I will pray for fewer and fewer episodes, and for her to grow out of it very soon.

bobbione8y said...

oh DeAnn. i am sorry you had to go thru those 3 days of waiting, and the wondering about what was wrong.

i am glad you got an answer, and that it is one that you can manage. and oh yeah. you are right. SHE is a beautiful, beautiful little girl :)

carey said...

oh schwew. my eyes were flying through this post, hoping to get to a happy ending. it sounds fairly harmless in the scheme of things. i'm SO GLAD. i'm so sorry you had to go through all this worry, though. you should have told us so we could pray with you!!

Karen said...

Oh, DeAnn. My heart is in my throat. I'm so so thankful for your diagnosis, and that the whole scary thing is right where it has always been, in God's hands.