Megan's Journey

Update on Megan

2008-09-21T17:27:00.000-07:00

Hi,

I know it has been awhile. Megan was back in the Hospital for ECCS. It was decided to try Valium to fix this problem. The Valium is a new method and it did work for awhile. It is not working now. Megan is having ECCS again. Right now the doctors have decide to raise the amount of Valium she is taking. I hope this will work. Keep her in your prayers. Thanks.

Results of dexa-scan

2008-03-16T16:43:00.000-07:00

Hi,

Megan does not have osteoporosis. Praise the Lord. Megan has started to have petite seizures again. We are lucky. Megan is going back to CHOP on Thursday for an ambulatory EEG. She will wear EEG monitors for 24 hrs doing her normal activities. On Friday, I will take her back down to have them removed. It should be fun. Thank you for all your prayers.

Functional MRI Results

2008-02-09T15:38:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

I am sorry it has taken me so long to update the blog. Megan's doctors said that the results of the Functional MRI confirmed the results of the MEG. Megan's speech and language is still located on the left side of her brain. Due to this result, Megan can not have the surgery to remove the entire left side of her brain. I know this is not the answer that any of us wanted for Megan but we will deal. On the other hand, Megan does not know what these results mean so she is still the happy go lucky girl. She is my hero! The doctors are trying to come up with another plan for Megan. I will keep you up to date. Megan is doing well right now and is off the steroids. Thank God!!! She is being tested for ostio perosis due to the steroids. I hope all of you will continue to keep Megan in your prayers. Thanks for everything.

WADA NEWS

2008-01-13T15:45:00.000-08:00

Megan did not have the WADA TEST on January 9th. Her doctors wanted to wait until the results from the Functional MRI were completed before doing the WADA. We do not have the results from the Functional MRI yet. Hopefully, we will know soon. Megan's steroids are being lowered and she is doing ok. Thank GOD. I will post results as soon as I know anything. Take care.

2008-01-06T10:09:00.000-08:00

Megan's Functional MRI

Megan had a Functional MRI on Friday. She had to read words aloud, listen to sentences and press a button if they made sense. This MRI took 2 hours to complete. Megan was in the machine most of the time and did great. Hopefully, the doctors got the information they need to decide about the surgery. If not, Megan will have a WADA on Wednesday January 9th. I will post the results as soon as I know. Keep Megan in your prayers!!!!!

2008-01-01T17:45:00.000-08:00

Megan's Update

2008-01-01T17:32:00.000-08:00

Megan had to go into the hospital on her birthday December 26. She was not happy about this event but our family showed up at the hospital and she had a great party k.in her room. I hope the pictures look OK. She stayed overnight for monitoring again for ESSC. We got good news the Valium is working and the ESSC is gone. Megan's steroid amount was lowered. Hopefully, she will be off the steroids soon. Megan is scheduled for a functional MRI for Friday January 4th at CHOP. Keep your fingers crossed that all goes well and we can start planning the next step. Hope everyone had a great Holiday and a safe and healthy New Year!!!!

Hiccup in Megan's Journey

2007-12-09T18:11:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that Megan had to go into the hospital on Thursday December 6 for monitoring. She started having minor seizures again and the Doctors were afraid she was having ESCS again (continual seizures all night long). The monitoring showed that the ESCS is back and Megan has been put on Valium to help correct this problem. We will see how it goes. Megan is home now and back to her usual funny self.

WADA NEWS

2007-12-09T17:59:00.000-08:00

Hurray!Hurray! The WADA test has been scheduled for January 9th. This test involves threading a catheter from Megan's groin to the left side of her brain. Anesteia will be administer through the catheter to put the left side of her brain to sleep and see how she functions without it. We hope she can do everything without the left side this would mean she can have the surgery. Please keep your prayers going we need a positive answer.

Thanks to Middlesex Sports Club

2007-11-18T08:11:00.000-08:00

I can not express in words my gratitude to the Middlesex Sports Club. They chose Megan as the recipient of their Texas Hold'em Tournament this year and they were able to raise over $4,000. Megan is so lucky to have so many Guardian Angels looking over her. Thanks again to the Middlesex Sports Club and all the contestants who turn out to support Megan.

MEG results

2007-10-25T16:36:00.000-07:00

The results from the MEG are back. It is not exactly what we wanted to hear. I guess it is another hiccup in Megan's journey to a healthy life. The MEG showed some speech and language skills on the damaged left side of her brain which means we may not be able to remove the left side. The doctors want to do the WADA test. The WADA involves treading a catheter from Megan's groin up to the left side of her brain so the doctor's can put the left side of Megan's brain to sleep with medication and see how her speech and language is affected. I do not have a date yet for this test. Megan needs your prays and thoughts at this time and so do I. I am really scared for Megan.

Just some updates

2007-10-23T19:15:00.000-07:00

Hi,

I wish I had test results from the MEG but I guess no news is good news. The "Texas's Holdem" game is this Saturday (10/27). There are few spots still left if anyone is interest. See you there. Also, the Applebee's fundraiser was a huge success. You raised over $700. Thank you so much. Hopefully, I will have news about Megan's MEG test soon.

Meg in the "MEG"

2007-09-24T18:49:00.000-07:00

Mrs. O'Brien took this picture of Megan in the MEG machine. I thought you would like to see what it is like.

Middlesex Sports Club Supports Megan

2007-09-21T18:08:00.000-07:00

We are overwhelmed by the support from the town of Middlesex. The Middlesex Sports Club has chosen Megan to be the beneficiary of their Texas Hold'em Tournament. The Tournament will take place on Saturday Oct 27, 2007 at 11:00 am and will start at noon. If anyone would like to enter, the cost is $30.00 and limited to 100 entrants. You can contact Vito LaSala (732) 968-1193. If you are like me and have no idea how to play, the Middlesex Sports Club is looking for volunteers to serve food and beverages to contestants. Please contact me at chemeyn@middlesex.k12.nj.us. The Chemey Family would like to thank the Middlesex Sports Club for their loving support of Megan

Megan's Meg Test

2007-09-21T16:16:00.000-07:00

Well, Megan did an outstanding job on this test. We will not know any results from the test for a month. It takes that long to map the information from the MEG onto her MRI of her brain to give a detailed picture of her brain and the locations of speech and language in her brain. This sounds like science fiction or what you would see on the show "House".

I would like to publicly thank Mrs. O'Brien who is Megan's teacher. Mrs. O'Brien went with us Wednesday to help Megan do the MEG test at Children's Hospital.
Mrs. O'Brien is an outstanding example of how teachers impact our children's lives. We all need to thank our children's teachers who help our children reach for the stars.

"MEG" Test

2007-09-14T03:33:00.000-07:00

GREAT NEWS!!!!!!!!!

Megan has been scheduled for her next pre-surgery test. The "MEG" (I think that is the correct spelling) is schedule for Wed Sept 19. This test uses magnetics to detect magnetic fields in your brain as you are doing some kind of skill such as talking. The theory behind this is the area of the brain giving off the magnetic field is the area of the brain controlling this skill. Hopefully, all the magnetic fields in Megan's brain will be on the right side. Megan likes going to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) because they have great food. A hospital with great food? Go Figure!!! I will hopefully have good news next week.

2007-09-03T20:15:00.000-07:00

Megan passed her first pre-surgery test. She is now being scheduled for a mag test. This test requires her to do certain activities while wearing a big magnetic helmet so they can locate magnetic fields in her brain. For those of us who are not medically train, the test will show which side of Megan's brain contains speech and language. We need Megan's speech and language to be located on the right side of her brain so the surgeons can remove the entire left side of her brain. I am hoping this test will be schedule sometime in September. Megan has started having continual seizures at night again so the doctors have doubled her steroid dosage which is not good for Megan but this little hiccup in her journey could move the process along faster I hope. Take care.

Thank You

2007-08-25T07:18:00.000-07:00

In our childhood, when ever we experienced a great sadness, hurt, or fright, we would often find comfort from a favorite “blankie” or stuffed animal. This blankie that we clutched tightly in our arms helped to ease our fears and hurts till all would be right with our world once again.

The Chemey Family would like to thank the Community of Middlesex Borough, the Middlesex Public Schools, every private and religious organization, every business, and every individual who has help to form a warm comforting “blankie” for our family to hold on to during Megan’s future surgery and rehabilitation The overwhelming outpouring of caring and concern from everyone for our daughter and sister Megan will never be forgotten.

I thought Megan's journey could be a learning experience for all of us. I will keep everyone informed on her progress with this blogger. Check here for updates on her testing and how she is doing.