This fictional story depicts a typical scenario of a patient having a test in the Neurology Lab at Children's Hospital. This virtual visit is intended only to give parents and children a brief overview of what to expect during the outpatient test. This scenario will vary depending on your child's health and specific reason for the test. For more information, contact the Children's Hospital Neurology Laboratory at (865) 541-8108 or e-mail us.

Last night, someone from the hospital called my house to talk to Mom about my test. The lady who called said that I couldn't have anything to eat after midnight, and I could only have clear liquids from midnight until two hours before my test. After that I couldn't have anything until the test was over. That means I was going to be really hungry! But Mom said we would go to my favorite restaurant as soon as the test was over so I could have something to eat.

The lady who called from the hospital also said I could only sleep from midnight to four o'clock in the morning. Wow, that's a short night! But I need to sleep during the test, so it will be easier for me to fall asleep on my own if I didn't have much sleep during the night. One other thing the lady said was for me to bring my favorite pillow or stuffed animal or anything I like to sleep with, so I could have it for my nap during the test.

My test was scheduled for 8:30 in the morning. Mom and I drove to the hospital and checked me in at the Admitting desk. After Mom answered some questions and signed her name on some papers, the Admitting clerk told us how to get to the Neurology Lab, which is just around the corner from Admitting.

My test is an outpatient test, which means I'll only be at the hospital a couple of hours and then it will be done and I'll be able to go home. There are two other ways the EEG can be done. One way is to spend the night in the hospital; kids who have this test are videotaped during the test, so if they have a seizure during the test, their doctor can see what it looks like. The other way is called an "ambulatory EEG." For this test, kids come to the hospital to get hooked up to the EEG test, and then they go home. A special monitor keeps track of all the test information while they are at home. The next day they come back to the hospital to finish the EEG test.

Once I got in the EEG room in the Neurology Lab, a nice lady named Julie took some time to ask my mom some questions about me. She asked if I've ever had an EEG before (I haven't), how much I weigh and other stuff. She wanted to know what was happening to me that made me need to have an EEG. She also asked things like if I have been sick recently and if anyone in my family has seizures besides me.

Then Julie, who is a neurology diagnostic technician, talked to me. She said, "We don't have any ouchies in here!" Even though my pediatrician had already told me that, I was glad to hear Julie tell me that, too.

Julie showed me the "buttons" that she needed to put on my head. They are really called "electrodes," and there will be 22 on my head (little babies don't get as many). There will also be two buttons on my chest. Julie said they won't shock me, and it will just feel like she's playing in my hair when she puts them on my head.

When Julie was ready to start putting the buttons on my head, I had to lie down on a special hospital bed that is really high. First she measured my head with a "floppy ruler" so she would know where to put the buttons. She drew a red dot at each place. Then she cleaned my head really good at each spot. Julie put a little bit of cream on each button and then stuck them all over my head, and then wrapped white fabric called gauze all over the electrodes on my head, but she didn't cover my eyes. She talked to me a lot to help me understand what she was doing so I wouldn't be scared. It took her about 15 minutes to get me ready, and she was right - it didn't hurt at all.

It's really important that I sleep during the test, because the doctor can learn a lot more about my brain during sleep than when I'm awake. Julie helped me to get all snuggly on the bed with my favorite teddy bear, "Benny," and some blankets, and then she started the test. She sat behind a special computer that showed her my brain, and she looked at different things about my brain while I was still awake. Sometimes little kids will sit on their mom's lap during the test until they fall asleep, but I was big enough to be on the special bed.

She also had "Mr. Blinky Light" flash in my eyes eight times, kind of like a camera flash. I had to keep my eyes closed, but the flash is so bright I could still sort of see it. Julie said I would see pretty colors and shapes, and I sure did!

Then she had me take some deep breaths for a few minutes. After that, it was time for me to take a nap. Julie turned the lights down low and made sure I was really comfortable. She sat by her computer, and my mom sat nearby. They were both really quiet.

The next thing I knew Julie was telling me to wake up. Wow! I didn't even know I fell asleep, and now the test was almost over! Mom said that while I was asleep, Julie just worked on her computer for a little while. The test only took about 30 minutes, and I was only asleep for about 10 minutes. That was a short nap!

After the test was over, Julie told us that the results would be sent to the Neurology Lab doctor (he's called a neurologist), and in a few days, he would tell my pediatrician why I am having seizures and what we need to do to help them stop. Some kids just outgrow their seizures, but other kids need to take special medicine every day. It just depends on what is causing the seizures. Julie said I needed to rest and stay calm until my pediatrician called us.

Julie told me that EEGs are the most common test done in the Neurology Lab, but they also do a lot of BAER hearing tests (BAER stands for "brainstem auditory evoked response"). These tests are given to babies who have failed newborn hearing screening tests and toddlers who are speech delayed. The Neuro Lab also has an area called the Sleep Lab. Here they test kids who are having problems with sleep.

After we finished talking with Julie, we left Children's Hospital and drove to my favorite restaurant to get something to eat. Boy, was I hungry!