Today has been another good day with the exception of sick kids. Both Dawson and Madison have some sort of crud. Lots of coughing, lots of sinus drainage, lots of gagging on sinus draining, and tons of snot. Kinda gross I know but these are just the medical facts. So far Madison has gotten the worst of it. Shes had an off and on fever since Friday with hers but I think shes on the tail end of the fever part of it. Hopefully both kids will be over it by the time the weekend is over.
Dawson continues to cruise right on along. Still working on perfecting the crawling thing. His range seems to grow broader and broader each day. He still has a tendency to kinda tuck his left leg under him as he crawls but, taking into consideration all the nasty things Infantile Spasms do to you, I could really care less about that. He is crawling forward, in his own way, and thats all that matters. He is really getting good at playing copy cat as well. Today at Grandmoms house she would raise her hands up in the air, then he would copy her, and they would both clap. Its funny though because as when we were doing it this evening, We would raise our hands way up in the air and instead of Dawson doing it too, well he would skip that part and go straight to the clapping. I think that's his favorite part.
As we were at the Pediatrician's office with the kids today, He seemed just amazed at just how well Dawson is doing. ( He is the same Dr. that diagnosed him) I know its hard to tell on here ( HA HA) but we are just so proud of him and all he is doing. Thanks be to God for the healing that has taken place in this baby!!!
We love you and thank you for your constant support.
Jeff and Allison
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Infantile spasms video
The video posted at the top was something Allison found. It was found on a blog of a couple whom we have just met. We were both deeply moved by the video. It took us right back to the first days of having found out Dawson had Infantile Spasms. He does not have Tubular Sclerosis as described in the video and we thank God for that. We wanted to post it to help draw some attention to families just like ours who have lived with this devastating condition. We hope you will take the time to watch it. Coincidentally, there are a few pics of Dawson's Neurologist in this video. We love you all
Jeff and Allison
Jeff and Allison
Monday, July 28, 2008
sleeping issues again
For the past few days Dawson has reverted back to some of his old sleeping habits. He is back to taking 30 min naps during the day and waking up several times during the night again. Not sure why either. He has also been quite fussier than usual as well. The days of sitting him down in the floor with his toys for an hour seem to be over for right now. A few minutes of playing and then hes crying and fussing again. Our little laid back, do whatever, content just to be playing fella has changed into I only want mommy to hold me, and I don't want to sleep, and I don't want to play monster.
Hopefully this is just a phase and it will pass soon.
He continues to progress forward and will give sugars to just about anybody who asks him nicely for some ( including me again YEA) and he is also started waving. He saw his reflection in the glass the other day and waved to himself. Of course we pounced all over that one and now we are trying to get him to wave to everything and everybody. He only does it if it suits him though. Its almost as if you have to be worthy of his time to wave to you.
We went and tried the picture thing again yesterday and we were able to get some really really good pictures of him. They should be August 6th and if any off our out of town family and friends would like some please drop us an email at wade92503@yahoo.com and leave us your address. We would be happy to send one of him to you.
Still waiting to hear back from the folks in Atlanta on his test results. Its been over 6 weeks now and we are past being antsy for the results. Hopefully we will get those soon.
Thanks for taking your time to check in on Dawson. Each and every one of you are so appreciated by this family. We love you
Jeff and Allison
Hopefully this is just a phase and it will pass soon.
He continues to progress forward and will give sugars to just about anybody who asks him nicely for some ( including me again YEA) and he is also started waving. He saw his reflection in the glass the other day and waved to himself. Of course we pounced all over that one and now we are trying to get him to wave to everything and everybody. He only does it if it suits him though. Its almost as if you have to be worthy of his time to wave to you.
We went and tried the picture thing again yesterday and we were able to get some really really good pictures of him. They should be August 6th and if any off our out of town family and friends would like some please drop us an email at wade92503@yahoo.com and leave us your address. We would be happy to send one of him to you.
Still waiting to hear back from the folks in Atlanta on his test results. Its been over 6 weeks now and we are past being antsy for the results. Hopefully we will get those soon.
Thanks for taking your time to check in on Dawson. Each and every one of you are so appreciated by this family. We love you
Jeff and Allison
Saturday, July 26, 2008
bad phases and plans unravel yet again
Most of you know by now that over the past few months, every time that I have tried to plan something a little special for Allison or the family, it blows up. You might have to refer back to the Huntsville Air Show story for the last version.
So this weekend I had planned a little getaway for Allison and myself and partly for the kids too. I booked a weekend at the http://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-photos/mslmc-marriott-shoals-hotel-and-spa/ This hotel is about 5 minutes from our house and it is an awesome place to stay. The schedule was to check in early Friday evening with the kids, swim Friday afternoon and Friday night, Get up Saturday and swim and have lunch with the kids, send the kids away for the evening, romantic dinner with my beautiful wife, pick kids back up late Saturday night, swim Sunday, go home......... I should have known it wouldn't happen like that. I am so snake bitten when it comes to stuff like this lately. The story goes as follows...........
I come rushing in from work Friday afternoon pumped up and ready to go. Allison has not been able to do anything in the way of packing because of Dawson and bad phases ( will explain later.)
No problem, I get a few things together for myself, and I grab Dawson so Allison can get the "Real Packing" done. Madison is asleep in her room ( which I found highly unusual at the time) but whatever, she can sleep until we are ready to go and then she won't be in the way. While I am sitting holding Dawson I smell something... There is a definite smell a baby makes when it goes poo in it's diaper.. There is also a definite smell a baby makes when that Poo has escaped or bypassed the diaper. This was definitely the second smell. I pick him up off my lap and its all over my shorts. I immediately scream for backup. Allison takes him, bathes him, hands him back off to me, I put him on his changing table, get a diaper ready and before I can get it on he starts Peeing everywhere. I didn't even try and stop it either. " Just let it go buddy" is what I said... And he did.... So now he needs another bath. Bath two is over and we progress towards walking out the door to the hotel. I go to wake up Madison and I lean over to kiss her sweet little head and guess what?? She is burning up with fever...........
The same Madison who is NEVER sick, and i mean N-E-V-E-R sick, is obviously, well, sick. After some debate, and taking into effect the rooms are already reserved for me at a hotel that is always booked up, we decide to give some Motrin and then wait and see if her fever comes down any. After a while it does start to come down and the decision is made to trudge forward.
We arrive at the hotel ( several hours after original planned time) get checked in, quick fever check ( it was low grade) then hit the pool. The water was fine, the kids were having a ball, and I was starting to think I had escaped a sure disaster in the making.
Upon going to bed last night, the plan was to get up and hit the pool again with the kids pretty early after breakfast. Before I get into the next part of the story I have to tell those who are not from these parts that it has been very very dry around her the past several weeks. No rain whatsoever, Not even a cloud in the sky. It's been so dry around here that I caught a catfish the other day that had ticks on it. And hot, my goodness has it been hot. It's been so hot that one day last week I saw a dog chasing a cat, and they were both walking. So we get up this morning and guess what?? Yep, its raining, and its cool, and Madison still has a fever. We tried to go for a little bit anyway because Madison was just begging to go. She just got so cold that there was no way for her to swim.
After lunch she started going downhill pretty fast and I made the decision to cut our losses, and pack up and check out a day and a half early so we could at least get Madison to her own bed where she is most comfortable. About 10 minutes after we got home a bit ago, I peeked outside and the sun is shining so brightly and so pretty. AND ITS HOT TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am done trying to plan anything until 2008 is over.
Please do say a prayer for Madison. She came in and went straight to bed and went to sleep. She has never done that before so obviously she is pretty sick. She has no other symptoms other than a high fever. I guess if she still has it tomorrow well take her in to get her checked out.
I mentioned earlier that Dawson was in a bad phase. Well, the past week or so, he has felt the need to be glued to Mommy. And that is no exaggeration either. I kinda feel bad for Allison because she can do NOTHING. If she sets him down he screams until she picks him back up. If she hands him off to me, hes ok for a min or two but then as soon as he sees, hears, or even smells that she in near he starts screaming until she gets him again. When he is away from home while we are at work he seems to be fine. But as soon as Allison walks in the door it starts over again. She can't even go to the bathroom, or take a shower unless he is asleep. Hopefully this will pass soon because it's leaving me with doing all of the work around here. ( just kidding)
Other than the " I have to be sewed to my mommy" thing, he continues to do great. We are coming up on 60 days with no seizures and his progression is full steam ahead right now.
We love you all
Jeff and Allison
So this weekend I had planned a little getaway for Allison and myself and partly for the kids too. I booked a weekend at the http://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-photos/mslmc-marriott-shoals-hotel-and-spa/ This hotel is about 5 minutes from our house and it is an awesome place to stay. The schedule was to check in early Friday evening with the kids, swim Friday afternoon and Friday night, Get up Saturday and swim and have lunch with the kids, send the kids away for the evening, romantic dinner with my beautiful wife, pick kids back up late Saturday night, swim Sunday, go home......... I should have known it wouldn't happen like that. I am so snake bitten when it comes to stuff like this lately. The story goes as follows...........
I come rushing in from work Friday afternoon pumped up and ready to go. Allison has not been able to do anything in the way of packing because of Dawson and bad phases ( will explain later.)
No problem, I get a few things together for myself, and I grab Dawson so Allison can get the "Real Packing" done. Madison is asleep in her room ( which I found highly unusual at the time) but whatever, she can sleep until we are ready to go and then she won't be in the way. While I am sitting holding Dawson I smell something... There is a definite smell a baby makes when it goes poo in it's diaper.. There is also a definite smell a baby makes when that Poo has escaped or bypassed the diaper. This was definitely the second smell. I pick him up off my lap and its all over my shorts. I immediately scream for backup. Allison takes him, bathes him, hands him back off to me, I put him on his changing table, get a diaper ready and before I can get it on he starts Peeing everywhere. I didn't even try and stop it either. " Just let it go buddy" is what I said... And he did.... So now he needs another bath. Bath two is over and we progress towards walking out the door to the hotel. I go to wake up Madison and I lean over to kiss her sweet little head and guess what?? She is burning up with fever...........
The same Madison who is NEVER sick, and i mean N-E-V-E-R sick, is obviously, well, sick. After some debate, and taking into effect the rooms are already reserved for me at a hotel that is always booked up, we decide to give some Motrin and then wait and see if her fever comes down any. After a while it does start to come down and the decision is made to trudge forward.
We arrive at the hotel ( several hours after original planned time) get checked in, quick fever check ( it was low grade) then hit the pool. The water was fine, the kids were having a ball, and I was starting to think I had escaped a sure disaster in the making.
Upon going to bed last night, the plan was to get up and hit the pool again with the kids pretty early after breakfast. Before I get into the next part of the story I have to tell those who are not from these parts that it has been very very dry around her the past several weeks. No rain whatsoever, Not even a cloud in the sky. It's been so dry around here that I caught a catfish the other day that had ticks on it. And hot, my goodness has it been hot. It's been so hot that one day last week I saw a dog chasing a cat, and they were both walking. So we get up this morning and guess what?? Yep, its raining, and its cool, and Madison still has a fever. We tried to go for a little bit anyway because Madison was just begging to go. She just got so cold that there was no way for her to swim.
After lunch she started going downhill pretty fast and I made the decision to cut our losses, and pack up and check out a day and a half early so we could at least get Madison to her own bed where she is most comfortable. About 10 minutes after we got home a bit ago, I peeked outside and the sun is shining so brightly and so pretty. AND ITS HOT TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am done trying to plan anything until 2008 is over.
Please do say a prayer for Madison. She came in and went straight to bed and went to sleep. She has never done that before so obviously she is pretty sick. She has no other symptoms other than a high fever. I guess if she still has it tomorrow well take her in to get her checked out.
I mentioned earlier that Dawson was in a bad phase. Well, the past week or so, he has felt the need to be glued to Mommy. And that is no exaggeration either. I kinda feel bad for Allison because she can do NOTHING. If she sets him down he screams until she picks him back up. If she hands him off to me, hes ok for a min or two but then as soon as he sees, hears, or even smells that she in near he starts screaming until she gets him again. When he is away from home while we are at work he seems to be fine. But as soon as Allison walks in the door it starts over again. She can't even go to the bathroom, or take a shower unless he is asleep. Hopefully this will pass soon because it's leaving me with doing all of the work around here. ( just kidding)
Other than the " I have to be sewed to my mommy" thing, he continues to do great. We are coming up on 60 days with no seizures and his progression is full steam ahead right now.
We love you all
Jeff and Allison
Friday, July 25, 2008
Friday July 25th Update
What a busy week we have had! House full of kids with all kinds of stuff to do. We had so much going on this week that Allison and I both had to take some vacation time to keep a handle on everything. So much for using vacation time for relaxing. It's been anything but that but I wouldn't trade these days for anything in the world. With all the kids, and all the stuff going on, I look around and see life happening and then we just try to soak it all in. I know that all too soon these days will be over so we are trying our best to enjoy them as much as we can in the here and now.
Dawson just continues to do fantastic. He is getting better and better each day with his forward motion crawling. Doesn't it just blow your mind the awesome power of God??? It certainly does ours!!
Katelin continues to do really well. As of right now the only insulin she is getting is at night. She is in her " honeymoon phase" where the body starts producing its own insulin again. This will not last and she will eventually go back to getting shots with every meal. She ( and we) are enjoying this time short as it may be. Her b/s levels are still tending to be low at times so we have to keep special eye out for her especially during exercise. A couple of times this week it got way to low. Low enough to give glucose drinks to get it up in a hurry. She has learned what it feels like when her sugar is getting too low and does a good job of letting us know shes not feeling right. This is just such a difficult time for her and she is handling it better than I thought a 6 year old could.
So we continue to marvel at God's grace, and our hearts are full of thankfulness for all he has given.
We love you
Jeff and Allison
Dawson just continues to do fantastic. He is getting better and better each day with his forward motion crawling. Doesn't it just blow your mind the awesome power of God??? It certainly does ours!!
Katelin continues to do really well. As of right now the only insulin she is getting is at night. She is in her " honeymoon phase" where the body starts producing its own insulin again. This will not last and she will eventually go back to getting shots with every meal. She ( and we) are enjoying this time short as it may be. Her b/s levels are still tending to be low at times so we have to keep special eye out for her especially during exercise. A couple of times this week it got way to low. Low enough to give glucose drinks to get it up in a hurry. She has learned what it feels like when her sugar is getting too low and does a good job of letting us know shes not feeling right. This is just such a difficult time for her and she is handling it better than I thought a 6 year old could.
So we continue to marvel at God's grace, and our hearts are full of thankfulness for all he has given.
We love you
Jeff and Allison
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
WE ARE CRAWLING
For the past few weeks Dawson has been on his hands and knees and so close to crawling. He has been moving backwards a little but couldn't seem to get the forward motion going. Well, tonight he was sitting in the floor with his pacifier and it fell out and rolled away from him. He crawled right over to it just as pretty as you please and put it back in his mouth. What an exciting time!!! Lock up the women and the toys because Dawson is on the move. There is just so much joy in our house tonight and I am just eating it up. The girls are all busy playing together, running through the house being loud and giggling up a storm, and Dawson is crawling.... Does it get any better than this??
What an adventure we have been on and hes not even a year old yet.
Also he has learned to shake hands. You put your hand out and say shake ( I know it sounds a little like puppy training) and he will grab your hand and shakes it. All these new and wonderful things he is doing. Isn't God Good !!!!
This night, please give God thanks for all the wonderful things he has done in this family's lives. The healing miracle of Dawson being seizure free is just scratching the surface. So many great and miraculous things have taken place in our lives since this started.
We love you all
Jeff and Allison
What an adventure we have been on and hes not even a year old yet.
Also he has learned to shake hands. You put your hand out and say shake ( I know it sounds a little like puppy training) and he will grab your hand and shakes it. All these new and wonderful things he is doing. Isn't God Good !!!!
This night, please give God thanks for all the wonderful things he has done in this family's lives. The healing miracle of Dawson being seizure free is just scratching the surface. So many great and miraculous things have taken place in our lives since this started.
We love you all
Jeff and Allison
Monday, July 21, 2008
Monday July 21st
Dawson is doing much better since his recent illness. He had fever for about a day accompanied by some intestinal troubles. Today he was back to his old self and spent the day at Grandmom's. She said he had a great day today.
Don't have time to post much as it is now bath time for the kids and we are all tired and just want to go to bed. Thanks for all of those who checked in to see that He was feeling better.
Our love to all of you
Jeff and Allison
Don't have time to post much as it is now bath time for the kids and we are all tired and just want to go to bed. Thanks for all of those who checked in to see that He was feeling better.
Our love to all of you
Jeff and Allison
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Sick Day
Our little buddy is sick today. Last night as we were going to bed he started shivering. Initially we thought the worst just because he was asleep and was making these weird movements but it didn't take us very long to see that they were fever shivers. So he ran a fever all night and has run one all day today as well. He has had some intestinal issues to go along with it and one case of vomiting. I think its a little stomach bug. We were all a little freaked out because this is the first time Dawson has ever been " sick." He has slept most of the day today and will only tolerate mommy being near him. As long as she is with him he is Ok. When a child is sick..... Only a mommy will do.
Hopefully by tomorrow he will be over this and back to his usual self.
Good news. The past few nights he has been sleeping all the way through the night. He was doing 6 hour stretches but now he is sleeping all night long. We certainly have much to be thankful for!!!
Say a prayer for him tonight that his fever will go away and that he will feel better tomorrow please. We love you guys!
Jeff and Allison
Hopefully by tomorrow he will be over this and back to his usual self.
Good news. The past few nights he has been sleeping all the way through the night. He was doing 6 hour stretches but now he is sleeping all night long. We certainly have much to be thankful for!!!
Say a prayer for him tonight that his fever will go away and that he will feel better tomorrow please. We love you guys!
Jeff and Allison
Friday, July 18, 2008
family pics
We just LOVE his smile
need I say more??
Madison and her " please just take it already" smile
Katelin the brave
Ashlyn receiving her award at horse back camp
Ashlyn riding Rambo
Zoey our Golden Retriever
Dawson and Zoey having some play time
pictures are worth a thousand words
Its so nice to be sleeping again
and SOOOOOOO very happy!!
I love my bear blankie too
Nighty nightWednesday, July 16, 2008
No sugars??
For some reason the past couple of days I can't get Dawson to give me any sugar... He will give mommy sugar. He will give Ashlyn sugar. He will give Madison sugar, and he will give Katelin sugar. None for daddy though. Have any of you said anything to him that has made him mad at me???? I think you have and I plan on launching a full investigation to find out who it was too.
Seriously though he is doing great. He is once again doing new stuff and he just seems to be taking off now. He was laid down in his crib the other night and Allison went in to check on him and he was standing in his crib!! Yep, we are pulling up now. Also we are crawling. Well sorta. He's on his hands and knees and he goes backwards but that's the first step. Forward crawling is just days away I think. It is so great to see him doing all of this " normal " stuff. He is also understanding some of the things we say to him as well. He knows No No, give me sugars, bite, drink, night night, and he knows his name. Im sure there is more these are the obvious ones. GO DAWSON GO!!!!
Katelin is doing pretty good. Still a struggle getting her b/s numbers where they need to be. Yesterday we were fighting high numbers and today her b/s has been running on the lower end all day. Its an hour to hour struggle and she is still getting insulin 4 times a day with b/s checks at least 6 to 7 times a day. Thats a lot of pokin for a 6 year old.
Other than that, we don't have much goin on right now. We are still waiting for his test results from Atlanta and we hope that we will have those soon. Tonight we are giving God all the praise and thanks for 48 Days seizure free!!! Thank you Lord
Our love to all and thanks for looking in on us
Jeff and Allison
Seriously though he is doing great. He is once again doing new stuff and he just seems to be taking off now. He was laid down in his crib the other night and Allison went in to check on him and he was standing in his crib!! Yep, we are pulling up now. Also we are crawling. Well sorta. He's on his hands and knees and he goes backwards but that's the first step. Forward crawling is just days away I think. It is so great to see him doing all of this " normal " stuff. He is also understanding some of the things we say to him as well. He knows No No, give me sugars, bite, drink, night night, and he knows his name. Im sure there is more these are the obvious ones. GO DAWSON GO!!!!
Katelin is doing pretty good. Still a struggle getting her b/s numbers where they need to be. Yesterday we were fighting high numbers and today her b/s has been running on the lower end all day. Its an hour to hour struggle and she is still getting insulin 4 times a day with b/s checks at least 6 to 7 times a day. Thats a lot of pokin for a 6 year old.
Other than that, we don't have much goin on right now. We are still waiting for his test results from Atlanta and we hope that we will have those soon. Tonight we are giving God all the praise and thanks for 48 Days seizure free!!! Thank you Lord
Our love to all and thanks for looking in on us
Jeff and Allison
Monday, July 14, 2008
Dawson loves grapes
Grampy feeding Dawson some grapes last night. Check out the death grip Dawson had on Grampy's hand
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Its too hot today
Our morning started off busy. Jump out of bed and get everybody ready to go see the horse show that Ashlyn was in. She has been at horseback camp all week and they had a spend the night party and then all the campers put on a horse show for the parents and grand parents.
I was so proud of her. She looked so good riding today. All grown up looking ( pics coming soon)
She has been riding for several years now and horses are her passion. The show was awesome but I cant begin to tell you how HOT it was our there ( at 9:00 am) The southern humidity was a killer. Obviously we had to find some shade for Dawson and to tell the truth it was just way to hot for him to be out there. We survived the heat and Ashlyn went immediately down stairs to get caught up on some much needed sleep.
Dawson has been really good again today. He has been playful and full of laughter. He still continues to eat very well and readily gulps down almost anything that is put on a spoon and left anywhere near his mouth. Allison and I were talking about the huge differences we have seen in him since the stoppage of seizures. Its just amazing and we have been blessed.
We are still battling low blood sugar with Katelin. We are checking B/S levels every two hours to make sure its where it needs to be. The past couple of days its been pretty good but I checked it just a few minutes ago and it was low. So we give the juice, wait 15 min, then check it again to make sure its ok. ALWAYS something to do around the Wade household. Speaking of which, the kids are all wanting lunch.................................
We are grateful for your prayers and for checking in on our mundane lives. May God bless each and every one of you!!
We love you
Jeff and Allison
I was so proud of her. She looked so good riding today. All grown up looking ( pics coming soon)
She has been riding for several years now and horses are her passion. The show was awesome but I cant begin to tell you how HOT it was our there ( at 9:00 am) The southern humidity was a killer. Obviously we had to find some shade for Dawson and to tell the truth it was just way to hot for him to be out there. We survived the heat and Ashlyn went immediately down stairs to get caught up on some much needed sleep.
Dawson has been really good again today. He has been playful and full of laughter. He still continues to eat very well and readily gulps down almost anything that is put on a spoon and left anywhere near his mouth. Allison and I were talking about the huge differences we have seen in him since the stoppage of seizures. Its just amazing and we have been blessed.
We are still battling low blood sugar with Katelin. We are checking B/S levels every two hours to make sure its where it needs to be. The past couple of days its been pretty good but I checked it just a few minutes ago and it was low. So we give the juice, wait 15 min, then check it again to make sure its ok. ALWAYS something to do around the Wade household. Speaking of which, the kids are all wanting lunch.................................
We are grateful for your prayers and for checking in on our mundane lives. May God bless each and every one of you!!
We love you
Jeff and Allison
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Thursday July 10th Update
Our battle for the correct dosage of Lamictal has been won ( for now at least) Allison confirmed with the Neuro that they could indeed order some and they did and now it is on its way. BUT... there was mention that next time they could only get the 5 mg and not the 4 mg. There is a big difference in " Whats best for Dawson" vs. " Whats the easiest thing to do" Obviously we want to do the first, and the Doctors office wants to do the latter. Anyway, when we get to that bridge again we will cross it.
Dawson is doing really well, Katelin is bravely trudging right along with Diabetes, Ashlyn has been at horseback camp, and so far today the only tragic thing that has happened was Madison fell and skinned up her knee. Yes there was blood and for those of you who know Madison you know that she instantly went in to drama mode. You would have thought that her leg was severed off at the knee. I had to carry her like you would carry a soldier being carried off the field of battle. I asked her if she could walk and while crying hysterically, said " NO its halfway broken daddy"
Since then there has been a miraculous healing and her leg seems to be doing much better. At least shes walking again.
We are really hoping that soon we will hear something back from all the testing we had done it Atlanta. Its been almost 7 weeks now and were gettin kinda anxious to see what they found out.
So far all we have is a scar, and no answers, and that just wont work.
Thanks for your constant prayers. They have been answered and it is proof positive that our saviour is alive and well today and still preforms miracles.
Our love to all
Jeff and Allison
Dawson is doing really well, Katelin is bravely trudging right along with Diabetes, Ashlyn has been at horseback camp, and so far today the only tragic thing that has happened was Madison fell and skinned up her knee. Yes there was blood and for those of you who know Madison you know that she instantly went in to drama mode. You would have thought that her leg was severed off at the knee. I had to carry her like you would carry a soldier being carried off the field of battle. I asked her if she could walk and while crying hysterically, said " NO its halfway broken daddy"
Since then there has been a miraculous healing and her leg seems to be doing much better. At least shes walking again.
We are really hoping that soon we will hear something back from all the testing we had done it Atlanta. Its been almost 7 weeks now and were gettin kinda anxious to see what they found out.
So far all we have is a scar, and no answers, and that just wont work.
Thanks for your constant prayers. They have been answered and it is proof positive that our saviour is alive and well today and still preforms miracles.
Our love to all
Jeff and Allison
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Lamictal Anger
Dawson's current meds and doses are as follows:
4mg of Lamictal AM ( 2 2mg tablets crushed)
30 mg Topamax AM ( 2 15 mg sprinkles)
45 mg Topamax PM ( 3 15 mg sprinkles)
So today Allison calls Dawson's Neuro to see if we can get some more Lamictal samples and the Nurses tell us that they are no longer able to get Lamictal in a 4 mg dose. They are only able to get 5 mg doses. Excuse me Mrs. Nurse?????
Now most of you would say so whats the big deal. Just get the 5 mg and go on. But those of you who have kids on seizure medication knows that 1 mg is a HUGE deal. That's just the way these meds work. Give one mg too little and you get no results. Give one or two mg too much and the meds can actually make seizures worse.. So yeah, we have been seizure free for 4o days now and its because we finally hit those magic doses of the right meds. So to change his meds at this point in the game was unacceptable to us...
Allison got on the phone with the people who manufacture the drug and guess what?? You can still get 4 mg doses. I don't understand why our Neurologist ( with whom we love to death and has done wonderful things for Dawson) would just leave it at " we can no longer get it" A couple of simple phone calls made by us and badda bing, badda bam here you go...... So we are just a little disappointed in Dawson's Doctor right now. We have enough 4 mg tablets to get us through the next 9 days and hopefully we can get some more by then.
On a more positive note. Dawson is doing fabulous. He did put up a wonderful fight last night about going to sleep. He fought it to the very end but eventually he gave it up and went on to sleep and did his usual 6 hour slumber. Even though it gets aggravating when he fights sleep, I still like it because Its that same fight in him that has helped him overcome all the obstacles. I pray that he will keep that fighting spirit.
We are so proud of what he is accomplishing. There seem to be changes in him daily now. He is rolling with ease from back to front, and front to back. Easily going from stomach to sitting by himself ,and going from laying on his back to sitting by himself. He gets on his hands and knees, drinks from his sippy cup by himself, and has been caught trying to pull himself up on a table. He says DA DA and MA MA ( Ma Ma when hes mad) and will occasionally give you kisses when you ask for it. Its just a miracle !!
Thanks, as always , for your prayers, your friendship, and your support.
We love you all very much
Jeff and Allison
4mg of Lamictal AM ( 2 2mg tablets crushed)
30 mg Topamax AM ( 2 15 mg sprinkles)
45 mg Topamax PM ( 3 15 mg sprinkles)
So today Allison calls Dawson's Neuro to see if we can get some more Lamictal samples and the Nurses tell us that they are no longer able to get Lamictal in a 4 mg dose. They are only able to get 5 mg doses. Excuse me Mrs. Nurse?????
Now most of you would say so whats the big deal. Just get the 5 mg and go on. But those of you who have kids on seizure medication knows that 1 mg is a HUGE deal. That's just the way these meds work. Give one mg too little and you get no results. Give one or two mg too much and the meds can actually make seizures worse.. So yeah, we have been seizure free for 4o days now and its because we finally hit those magic doses of the right meds. So to change his meds at this point in the game was unacceptable to us...
Allison got on the phone with the people who manufacture the drug and guess what?? You can still get 4 mg doses. I don't understand why our Neurologist ( with whom we love to death and has done wonderful things for Dawson) would just leave it at " we can no longer get it" A couple of simple phone calls made by us and badda bing, badda bam here you go...... So we are just a little disappointed in Dawson's Doctor right now. We have enough 4 mg tablets to get us through the next 9 days and hopefully we can get some more by then.
On a more positive note. Dawson is doing fabulous. He did put up a wonderful fight last night about going to sleep. He fought it to the very end but eventually he gave it up and went on to sleep and did his usual 6 hour slumber. Even though it gets aggravating when he fights sleep, I still like it because Its that same fight in him that has helped him overcome all the obstacles. I pray that he will keep that fighting spirit.
We are so proud of what he is accomplishing. There seem to be changes in him daily now. He is rolling with ease from back to front, and front to back. Easily going from stomach to sitting by himself ,and going from laying on his back to sitting by himself. He gets on his hands and knees, drinks from his sippy cup by himself, and has been caught trying to pull himself up on a table. He says DA DA and MA MA ( Ma Ma when hes mad) and will occasionally give you kisses when you ask for it. Its just a miracle !!
Thanks, as always , for your prayers, your friendship, and your support.
We love you all very much
Jeff and Allison
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Sunday July 6th
We hope everybody had a good 4th of July Weekend. We certainly did. We managed to have a pretty uneventful weekend. Good food, good time with family, and just spending some time together as a family. Doesn't get much better than that!!
Today after church we took Dawson to have some pictures made. The same Dawson who has a hair trigger smile, The same Dawson who would just as soon smile at you then anything. The same Dawson who is happy happy happy the majority of time was a blank canvas today. He sat there and basically stared down the lady who was trying to get him to smile. He gave us absolutely nothing. Not a grin, not a frown, not a smile, only the blankest stare you have ever seen. Personally, I think he thought she was crazy. Isn't it amazing what grown people will do to try to get a baby to smile. Why is it that people will talk to a baby like its a golden retriever?? and why does your voice go higher and higher when your trying to make a baby smile??? These are questions I am pondering tonight....
Seriously though, he has been a very happy baby. He is continually sleeping 6 plus hours straight during the night ( which is really cool) and he is eating us out of house and home. No joke, this kids eating like a horse. Topamax usually suppresses kids appetites big time but not Dawson. I love a healthy appetite!!!
So our miracle continues. God's grace continues to leave us in awe and we have been blessed by him far more than we ever deserve.
Your prayers, thoughts, and comments mean the world to us and we pray that each and every one of you will be blessed for all you have done for Dawson and our family.
Our love to all
Jeff and Allison
Today after church we took Dawson to have some pictures made. The same Dawson who has a hair trigger smile, The same Dawson who would just as soon smile at you then anything. The same Dawson who is happy happy happy the majority of time was a blank canvas today. He sat there and basically stared down the lady who was trying to get him to smile. He gave us absolutely nothing. Not a grin, not a frown, not a smile, only the blankest stare you have ever seen. Personally, I think he thought she was crazy. Isn't it amazing what grown people will do to try to get a baby to smile. Why is it that people will talk to a baby like its a golden retriever?? and why does your voice go higher and higher when your trying to make a baby smile??? These are questions I am pondering tonight....
Seriously though, he has been a very happy baby. He is continually sleeping 6 plus hours straight during the night ( which is really cool) and he is eating us out of house and home. No joke, this kids eating like a horse. Topamax usually suppresses kids appetites big time but not Dawson. I love a healthy appetite!!!
So our miracle continues. God's grace continues to leave us in awe and we have been blessed by him far more than we ever deserve.
Your prayers, thoughts, and comments mean the world to us and we pray that each and every one of you will be blessed for all you have done for Dawson and our family.
Our love to all
Jeff and Allison
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Video of the kids
Here is some video of the 4 kids. This isn't the greatest video because it was done with a web cam so I apologize for the poor quality.
As you can see, everybody is doing just great. Dawson had occupational therapy today and it went really well. He worked for about 40 min and then started to get fussy. His therapist said she is seeing a lot of progress especially in using his left hand.
We hope everybody has a very safe and happy 4th.
Today Dawson has been 35 days with no seizures!!
Our love to all
Jeff and Allison
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Wednesday night July 2nd
All is well around our house this evening. Madison has been busy doing Madison stuff and Dawson has been busy doing his own thing. He has been in a great mood this evening and is sitting here on the kitchen floor playing as I do this update. He is having a ball throwing toys and then grabbing them only to throw them again. That's a boy for you. It is so nice to see him doing so well.
His sores from his recent bout of Impetigo are healing up nicely so the antibiotics must be doing there job. We will try to post some video of him in the next day or so. You guys wont believe how much he is growing!!
Katelin continues to do well. The past few days the challenge has been to keep her blood sugar levels UP where the first few weeks after being diagnosed it was hard to keep the numbers DOWN. She is having problems with her blood sugar dropping after meals, so it is a constant juggle of trying to figure out just exactly how much insulin she needs and when she needs it.
She seems no worse for the wear though and she bravely carries on as though none of this is any big deal. Hopefully her numbers will level out soon and we hope we will see a little stability instead of not knowing from one day to the next what her blood sugar levels are going to do.
So we are just carrying on with usual activity and we stop and give God praise that we are able to do so. Thanks for your constant prayers and thoughts
Our love to all
Jeff and Allison
His sores from his recent bout of Impetigo are healing up nicely so the antibiotics must be doing there job. We will try to post some video of him in the next day or so. You guys wont believe how much he is growing!!
Katelin continues to do well. The past few days the challenge has been to keep her blood sugar levels UP where the first few weeks after being diagnosed it was hard to keep the numbers DOWN. She is having problems with her blood sugar dropping after meals, so it is a constant juggle of trying to figure out just exactly how much insulin she needs and when she needs it.
She seems no worse for the wear though and she bravely carries on as though none of this is any big deal. Hopefully her numbers will level out soon and we hope we will see a little stability instead of not knowing from one day to the next what her blood sugar levels are going to do.
So we are just carrying on with usual activity and we stop and give God praise that we are able to do so. Thanks for your constant prayers and thoughts
Our love to all
Jeff and Allison
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Tuesday July 1st
Allison took Dawson back to the Doctor today and we were right. It wasn't bug bits it is impetigo
No big deal and his nose is looking better already. He will take some oral antibiotics because he has one spot right on his lower eyelid and there is no way to get any medicine on it. Other than that we are doing really well. Dawson had a pretty fussy day yesterday and refused sleep most of the day, but he crashed in bed last night and pulled off another 6 hour stretch of sleep.
Well this post has to be short as we are heading to the park this evening for some swing time.
God bless you for taking your time to check in on Dawson. He continues to be seizure free and is doing just great.
We love you
Jeff and Allison
No big deal and his nose is looking better already. He will take some oral antibiotics because he has one spot right on his lower eyelid and there is no way to get any medicine on it. Other than that we are doing really well. Dawson had a pretty fussy day yesterday and refused sleep most of the day, but he crashed in bed last night and pulled off another 6 hour stretch of sleep.
Well this post has to be short as we are heading to the park this evening for some swing time.
God bless you for taking your time to check in on Dawson. He continues to be seizure free and is doing just great.
We love you
Jeff and Allison
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