Ally Update

Hi Everyone - I talked to Lisa this morning and wanted to update everyone as best that I can. A lot of information was passed my way so if I don't go into a lot of detail I will once I get confirmation as to what I am talking about.
Yesterday Ally had around 20-30 seizures just in a 7-8 hour period. Lisa called her pediatrician who then told them to go to the ER. At the ER they gave her another steroid blast and started the steroids again to help with the swelling.  They decided that they needed to transport Ally back to Oakland Kaiser hospital where she will remain until the steroids are completed.  She should be able to come home either Friday or Saturday.  They also did another spinal tap and everything from that looked good.  The doctors told Lisa that some of the test done a while ago came back positive for antibodies.  This means that the antibodies could be the thing that has caused the encephalitis.  So with that said they are starting her on a very low dose of chemotherapy that she will have once a month.  This is so it can bring her immune system down and basically kill anything that is not supposed to be in her body in the first place.  They are doing an MRI today at 2pm to be sure everything looks normal and to check on the swelling to see if things have changed.
Please Pray for the them as this is really draining on each one of them. Pray for answers Pray and believe that Ally is going to be healed from this and she can go on living her life as an 8 year old little girl.  Pray for strength, wisdom and peace for Joe and Lisa as this has been so hard on them both physically and emotionally. Pray for Katelyn and Morgan as they watch their sister go in and out of the hospital. Pray that the MRI comes back clean and shows NO swelling.
We all need to come together and pray for Healing KNOWING that our LORD JESUS WILL heal her. We know that He is with them every step of the way and knows what HE is doing.  This is where our faith in Jesus comes in, lets pray believing!!!

Everyone where ever you are tonight at 7:00pm sharp lets all pray for healing for Ally. There is something about prayers in numbers. Lets cry out to God together!!!!!!


and after that just continue for safe travels, comfort rest, wisdom and the peace that surpasses all understanding

Ally Update

This post is a little long since we have not posted in awhile. 

Stanford - While at Stanford Ally's diagnosis was confirmed. She has Limbic Encephelitis which is inflammation in the limbic system of her brain. Also Ally's encephelitis is a Auto-immune encephalitis – caused by her own immune system reacting against itself. We were able to come home last week because there was no point in sitting in a hospital room waiting to see if the treatment has helped. When we saw her neurologist this past Tuesday she was happy about her improvement.

Treatment Plan - Limbic encephelitis does not have a specific drug or treatment plan because every child's case is different. We know for Ally the IVIG hemiglobin transfusions and steroids have been working on helping with the swelling and have made improvements on the encephelitis. Ally will have another round of IVIG next weekend but only should have to be in the hospital in Oakland for 3 to 4 days. Then we wait to see what imrpovement she makes.

How is Ally doing ... That is the question of the day. She's definately the best we have seen her over the last month to month & a half. Ally has been able to go to school for a couple of hours this week, and her memory has gotten better.  As thankful as we are for the improvements she is making we are still very aware that the encephelitis is not gone. She still has personality changes, is extremely emotional, and everything has a sense of urgency to her.

Prayer Requests ...
Continued healing
That Ally can go handle go back to school next week even if only part-time
Patience for Joe and I
Dr.'s wisdom on what to do next

Thanks for all of the prayers and support.

Lisa

Ally is coming home

Hi everyone
I talked to Lisa a bit ago and she said that the Neurologist said that Ally could come home! She will be coming home tonight so pray for their safe drive and that they would be able to come home and rest and Ally can heal quickly.  She will have a follow up in a week with her neurologist in Oakland.  As I get more details I will keep you all updated.

Standford

Ally, Lisa and Joe arrived at Standford Children's hospital last night.  Both Lisa and Joe were able to meet with a team of doctors and feel like they are in the best place for Ally.  They met with a neurologist and she will be bringing Ally's case to a team of neurologists to see what the best treatment is for her.  Hopefully they will know in the next couple of days what that will be.  In the mean time Lisa said that Ally is in ICU and there is a nurse with her constantly! Which is a blessing so Lisa and Joe will now be able to walk out of the room for a bit even if it is just to get fresh air.  They will also have an opportunity to use the Ronald McDonald house if a room becomes available where one or both parents can sleep at night without being too far away. What a blessing!!!
Please pray for the doctors as they discuss Ally's case and figure everything out.   Pray that a room becomes available for them at the Ronald McDonald House.  Pray for wisdom and peace for Joe and Lisa as they will be meeting with these doctors.  Pray that Ally remains comfortable through this process. She has been so brave and courageous through everything up to this point and want her to remain that way.
Again if you would like to help with anything please email me at heathrriis@sbcglobal.net
Thanks again for your prayers and support.  I will keep you updated as I am updated....

Ally is moving to Stanford Hospital

Hello everyone
We just got an update on Ally.  They are moving her to Stanford Hospital.  After Joe and Lisa talked with the doctor this afternoon, the doctor said she had been in contact with Stanford regarding Ally and that this would be the best place for her right now.  She will be transported there in a couple hours and will remain there for at least 10 days.  They are doing more test and as they know more about them and the results I will keep you updated.  Please keep this family in your prayers as they continue to get more answers.  Pray for their travels as this place is farther away from home.  Pray for Ally as she has endured a lot already and has been so brave and strong.  Pray for Kaitlynn and Morgan as they will have one parent at home again for a while. 
If you would like to help in anyway please email me @ heathrriis@sbcglobal.net.  There is also a link for meals if you wanted to sign up.
 http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.takethemameal.com%2Fmeals.php%3Ft%3DAXRB8317&h=wAQCM8YqfAQDKgaqFA8RPaU6GHrcdwdSrvn4oIm0_ZKtTSw

Thank you all for your covering them in prayer.  I will keep you posted as I am updated

Meals for The De Monts

If you would like to help the De Monts and bring a meal to them you can follow the link below! Thank you all for your support and help through this but most of all your prayers.

http://www.takethemameal.com/meals.php?t=AXRB8317

Ally is back in the hospital but hopefully not for long!

This is the text I just received from Lisa:

The EEG showed Ally having 2 seizures within a 30 minute time span. One was 2 minutes and one was 3 minutes. So the neurologist felt like we needed to add another medicine and we would do the first couple doses as a heavy blast. Since Ally has had some reactions to other seizure medicines we all felt better about having Ally stay in the hospital while we make sure she can tolerate the new medicine. On a positive note the neurologist feels like we can start lowering the steroids and have her completely off of them in a few weeks.

Please pray that by tomorrow they will have all the medicine figured out and Ally will be home again. Pray for safe travels! Pray that the Lord gives Joe and Lisa peace abd wisdom as they are trying to figure all of this out and strength to get Ally on the mend adjusting to all the changes.
If you would like to help the De Monts with a meal please email me at heathrriis@sbcglobal.net they would appreciate it so much!
Thank you

Adjusting To Being Home

First off thank you everyone for your love prayers and support that you have given to The De Mont's.  It truely has been a blessing to all of them.
I recieved an update this morning on Ally as she is adjusting well to being at home.  They have all enjoyed being a family for the last few days. She has continued on her steriod medication so as Lisa has put it "Her attitude has been a little crazy"! This can be a side effect to the steriods.
She is still having seizures frequently about 4-5 times a day, but they seem to be short and are motorskill seizures in her right hand and arm.  Joe and Lisa will be taking her to Oakland tomorrow for another EEG to check on her progress and see how she is doing.  Please pray specifically that she is on the mend and that they won't admit her back into the hospital and that they will see positive signs that the steriods and the seizure meds are working.  Please pray for safe travels to and from the hospital.  Pray that the Lord gives those doctors wisdom in treating little Ally.
Thank you again from the De Mont's for your prayers and support!
I will update again after her doctors appointment tomorrow!

Ally is coming home

ALLY GETS TO COME HOME
ALLY GETS TO COME HOME
ALLY GETS TO COME HOME


Such a huge blessing Lisa and Ally are on their way home in about an hour!
Thank you all for praying and continue to pray as their journey continues......

Ally Update

Ally's prognosis as of right now is, if her blood pressure stays down past lunch and she has no seizures she will get to go home today!!YAY!!!!!!! They will know around 12:00-12:30. She will stay on the steroids for a while until all swelling goes down. The doctor has confirmed that Ally does have epilepsy. So with that diagnosis they will be dealing with it probably her whole life. She will start speech therapy next week and she will do it 3 times a week for about one year.  Wednesday of next week Joe and Lisa will bring Ally back to Oakland for another EEG and see her neurologist.  If she has changed courses and goes backwards they will admit her back into the hospital but Lisa said they are pretty confident that that is not going to happen.
First thing we need to Praise Jesus for his healing hand upon this little girl and that they received answers. The De Mont's have said several times that the waiting and the not knowing has been one of the hardest things.  Now they know what they are dealing with and what road they will have to take. Praise the Lord that they can all be together as a family again in their own home with Ally!
Things to pray for:
Pray that Ally's blood pressure stays down and she has no seizures so that they can come home and heal in their own environment.  Pray for Wednesday when she does her EEG that there is progress and that she can continue to heal at home. Pray for strength for Joe and Lisa as they will be caring for Ally at home just like in the hospital. Which means that 24 hour care needs to be given to her. 
I will update again this afternoon so that you all will know when she will be released.
Again the De Mont's thank you so much for all the prayers and support through this!!!!

Praise Jesus!

Today we got very good news. The MRi showed that the swelling is decreasing. This means that the steroid treatment is working. We still need to work on leveling the seizure meds. But if she continues the way she has been she might get to com home at the end of the week to continue recovery at home. We do not know if there is any permanent damage yet, but are praying there isn't. She will stay on a low dose of steroids for right now to help the swelling go away.

This is a post from Lisa

Praise Jesus for this news. Thank you everyone for praying and believing that the news would be amazing!!!!!!
Please continue to pray for them as Ally continues to get better and the swelling continues to go down!!!!!
Pray for their travels too as they continue to go back and forth.
Continue to pray that she is better everyday and gets to come home to continue to heal.
The DeMont family is grateful for each one of you and thanks you all for your continued support and prayers.

Ally's Monday Update

Thank you so much for all of the prayers and support you all have shown to the De Mont family.  They have been overwhelmed with the amount of people that have stepped up and made dinners, gave gas cards and most of all prayed for them and their sweet girl.  I was able to talk with Lisa a little bit today and get an update.
They didn't do the MRI today because the doctors wanted to wait a few more days for the steroids to continue to work.  So the MRI will be Wednesday or later in the week.  They did another EEG today and are waiting for the results back.  I will keep you posted as I hear.  The doctors are adjusting her seizure medications and weaning her off of one so the loopy feeling she has been experiencing has stopped.  She has had a few seizures in the past couple of days but they said those should slow down a bit.  Her personality is coming back even more since the last time I wrote so that has been an encouragement to them.  All of the tests she has taken this far have all been sent to the Mayo Clinic.

Please continue to pray that the Lord would guide the doctors and help them figure out what is going on with little Ally. Pray for complete healing!!!
Pray that the MRI would show no signs of swelling.
Pray that Ally would get the rest she needs and the sleep at night so that her and whoever is with her can sleep.
Pray that Joe and Lisa get the rest that they need both physically and emotionally as this is hard on all of them.
Pray for safe travels as they are traveling several times a day from Modesto to Oakland and back

As Joe has had to take a leave of absence from work to be with Ally, we are trying to help them out with all the additional expenses that come to them as well as providing meals and lunches when needed. If you would like to help you can contact me Heather Sutton at heathrriis@sbcglobal.net.

If you would like to send an encouraging note or a verse please do so in the comments below and they will get it. Or you can send them to the church and we will make sure they get them.
Big Valley Grace Community Church
4040 Tully Rd
Modesto, Ca.


As I know Joe and Lisa are so blessed by every ones concern, support and prayers. I started this blog so that they didn't have to repeat themselves with updates to each person. We all know that they both would continue to do that, but to keep them from more exhaustion I will be updating this as I get information. If you would like to pass it on to others that would be fantastic.

Thank you so much!!!
God Bless

Ally

Ally was diagnosed with seizures and encephalitis on July 20th while on a family vacation. Since then she has been in and out of the hospital trying to get answers as to what is going on.  Joe and Lisa have been with her in the hospital in Oakland since Aug 13th as the doctors are trying to give them answers.

As the seizures are not the main concern now, Ally has swelling in her brain around both of her hippocampus. (hippocampus is what allows you to create new memories). So we are praying that the swelling goes down and there is no damage.
She has been on anti seizure medication and two other medications to treat encephalitis, one being steroids. Steroids can take up to 12 days to see if it will work and bring down the swelling.
Ally had her 3rd spinal tap yesterday so her back was really sore last night.  The results of that test should be back next week.  They also did a blood test which showed her white blood count is coming down, Praise Jesus.  On Thursday she had an EEG that showed she still has diffused brain activity. Good news is that she has only had a few seizures in the last couple of days.  She will be having an MRI next week to see how the steroids have been working and to see if the inflammation is going down.
In the last day or two we have really been able to see Ally's personality come back a bit which has been a huge encouragement to everyone.  She has been the most courageous and brave little girl through this whole thing.  She has been such a witness to the nurses and doctors, showing them that her love for Jesus is HUGE! 

Joe and Lisa can't even express to all of the family and friends enough how much they appreciate all of you and the support you have shown them.  They know their Jesus is going to heal Ally and ask that you continue to pray believing the same thing.
Please pray for Joe, Lisa and the girls as they wait for answers. Pray for peace that surpasses all understanding. Pray for Kaitlynn and Morgan adjusting to the changes of having one parent home at a time for a while.  Pray for safe travels as they go from Oakland to home several times a week. Pray for the MRI she will have this week that it will show  the inflammation is going down or better yet that it is GONE.
I know that a lot of you have wanted to help and have been asking how.  If you are interested in helping you can email me Heather Sutton at heathrriis@sbcglobal.net.
As they going through this there are so many things that would be helpful to them.  Meals for the family that is at home, meals for the hospital as one or both will be there, gas cards, grocery cards, cash etc.  I know they will be grateful for anything but most of all grateful for all of your prayers because they know that the Lord will carry them through this and take care of their every need.
Thank you all again for your support that you have shown to the De Mont family and for your continued prayers