Carmen called this morning to say that Carrie was having complex seizure storms last night. She administered the Diastat and called 911 to have her taken to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. The phone number is 513-636-1930 at the nurse’s station. I called main hospital and asked for Patient Information in order to get a brief description of her condition. They transferred me to the nurse’s station who transferred me directly to Carrie’s nurse. I asked her if she was in a private location. She placed me on hold and picked the line up from a private location. I told her I didn’t need her to confirm that Carrie was in the hospital. I didn’t want any records. I just wanted a brief (one-word) description such as: stable, critical, fair, etc. She wouldn’t give me anything. She asked why I didn’t talk to the baby’s mother. I asked her please not to tell anyone that I had called because I wanted to find out a more objective report. I explained that I felt that the mother was prone to exaggeration. She still wouldn’t tell me anything.

I called Mom so she could call Stewart. Mom called me back to say that Stewart called the hospital. They told him that they were basically observing Carrie to see if she was in fact having seizures or had had seizures. Of course, this is secondhand information, but it sounds like they told Stewart that nothing had been definitely diagnosed.

Mom and Stewart went to the hospital to see her. They just called me from the road to say that the doctors told them that the only thing wrong with Carrie is a developmental delay. They are going to stop by my house and tell me all about it while it’s fresh in their memories so I can put it in the journal.

Both mom and Stewart talked to the resident. He said that the MRI was inconclusive regarding seizures. He said that there were minor abnormalities in her brain that correspond with minor developmental delay. Her brain is basically normal.

Mom and Stewart saw Carmen agitating Carrie by taking away her pacifier and moving her arms and legs about. She had her sitting up and leaning forward. The nurse/nurse’s aide asked Carmen what she was doing. Carmen said that the doctor told her to do what she would normally do at home when a seizure would occur. The nurse told her to stop it because Carrie didn’t need to be agitated in such a way.

Mom was able to talk to the nurse privately. The nurse said that Carmen had told the hospital staff lots of stories. One story was that Stewart was a brain surgeon. She said that Carmen said that Stewart and Mom don’t make attempts to have anything to do with the baby. There is a general idea among the staff that Carmen exaggerates.