Since July Sidney has been suffering from anxiety which has led up to brief spells where she basically freezes in place. Looking at Sidney you wouldn’t know a thing is wrong. Physically she is 100%. She is getting A+’s in school, pitching better than ever, and excelling in her new sport volleyball. However, for the past (nearly three months) Sid has been talking less and less – and having momentary lapses where she just kind of freezes in one place. Sidney was admitted to Riverbend Hospital in Eugene on Friday after her condition deteriorated the past 2 weeks. A MRI and EEG were performed and showed some abnormalities in both.
The results of the MRI showed Sid has a dark “spot” about the size of the end of your finger in the deep tissue of her brain stem. Because of the depth of the “spot” in her brain it is not easy to determine what exactly it is. We will not know more until the results of extensive tests are returned early next week. It is not a “text book” case where there is a logical explanation for the cause of her symptoms. They do however think that there is something “structural” within the brain that is causing Sid’s condition. This weekend the doctors are gathering more information using 48 hour EEG monitoring (brain wave patterns) to see if there is any type of seizure activity. On Monday we will be moving Sidney up to Doernbecher Children’s hospital in Portland where a team of specialists will take Sidney’s case and determine a course of action. We do not know how long this will take but we will do everything we can to get Sidney back to normal soon.
Sidney is an extremely courageous girl and will fight this illness with all her strength. I have included as many friends as possible so that the power of our prayer will be multiplied many times. I ask that you add Sidney to your prayers and to your friends and church congregation prayers. Please pray to continue to give Sidney the strength to fight this illness; that you pray to give the doctors the wisdom and insight to find the cure and to give our family the strength to get through this very difficult time.