Monday, August 2nd was a long day at the hospital for Whitney, Darin, and Tessa. Hillarie and I left Oklahoma that morning with a long 8 or 9 hours in the car to cry, and pray, and cry some more as we anticipated hearing what new news they would be given. They woke up that morning knowing they would send Tessa into a day of more testing-MRI, Hearing Screening, and a visit from an eye specialist. She was sedated again that afternoon and taken into the MRI, leaving Whitney and Darin waiting for a couple of hours for her to return to them and then even a couple more hours after that to find out the results. The doctors met with them later in the day and informed them (in simplified terms) that the brain consists of "gray matter" on the outer layer and "white matter" in the center of the brain. Thoughts originate in the outer "gray matter" of the brain and travel down through the "white matter" then on down the spinal cord in order to initiate mobility and other instructions throughout her body. The MRI results showed all of the brain damage concentrated in the "white matter" area of her brain. The doctors are concerned that Tessa will have difficulty telling her limbs to move. The MRI also showed that Tessa's occipital lobe is damaged-this is the lobe which translates images that come from her eyes. Whitney and Darin were devastated by this news. The doctors at Baptist Medical have also been consulting with an infection specialist to learn as much as they can about the virus so that Whitney and Darin can be fully informed.
~Lindsay
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