Dawson Turns Blue!!!

This happens to be the coolest guy I know.......... ( besides me of course!!) HA!!

SOOOOOO..... Yesterday evening Allison, Dawson and Madison were all in the shower ( I guess its easier to do it that way???) Afterwards Dawson got out and he was trying to get to his Ma Ma and she was just not able to pick him up right then and there. So I picked him up and he did one of those cries that just took his breath away. Now, he has done this before, even to the point his lips kinda start to turn a bluish color BUT I had never seen ANYTHING like this before. His lips turned from purple to blue, his whole face turned blue and he just couldn't breathe. Allison is screaming at me " Is he OK?? Is he OK??" I'm holding him and I don't know what to do so I start kinda smacking him on his back like hes a choking victim or something. To be completely honest......

Im starting to freak out a bit, because he is stuck in the middle of a cry and just wont breathe...

After what seems like forever.............

He passes out!!!! I mean completely out. He just went limp in my arms and now we are really freaking out. This is my 4th kid and I have never seen this before. So what do I do?? I lay him on the bed and start smacking him on the back again....

Now upon passing out, he did start breathing again but my goodness... Talk about a scare. We did learn one thing from this..

I Can not be counted on during a medical emergency. My answer seems to be to just smack you on the back a lot until you've just completely passed out.

He is doing much better now and we both hope and pray we NEVER see anything like that again. I know the story is kinda funny now but it was really really scary.

Seizures still about the same. I absolutely hate hate hate starting my day by waking up and watching him have seizures. We have a Neuro visit lined up July 6th and I'm kinda thinking one of those 24hr EEG that we all just love, will be on the horizon.

Tonight Dawson is walking around with his radio singing and clapping and stomping around to the song " If your happy and you know it." so all is right in the world tonight. We thank you for your constant prayers and support.

Our love to all

Jeff and Allison

Pics and Video

Ok, so it appears as though we have no clothes for Dawson since he is half naked in most of these pics and videos.. First of all it has been soooooooo hot here. The temp the past 10 days has been anywhere from 94 to 97 degrees ,and with the good ole Alabama humidity, the heat index has been around 107. So with that being said, and the fact that Dawson takes Topamax, well we don't put him in clothes unless we have to because he just gets so hot.



Not much change in the seizures which is kinda disappointing but other than that, were hanging in there.



Anyway its been a while since weve posted any pics so we hope you guys enjoy.







Because sometimes one Pacifier just isn't enough

Yep, Im T-R-O-U-B-L-E

Long overdue update

First of all my apologies for such a delay in posting an update. As it turns out, I am a man. And everybody knows that as a man, I cannot manage my time properly, nor do two things at one time So Allison made me sit down and do this while I had nothing to do........ HA!

The latest scoop on Dawson is, is that unfortunately, seizures continue. We almost made it one day without any yesterday but he woke up last night and had some. He had more this morning when we woke up, and he had some after naps today. YUK!!!!!

We are in a holding pattern of sorts on his Meds until we can get back to Huntsville to see his Neuro. We are scheduled to go July 6th and im guessing we will be trying something new, or adding something, or going up on something..... you know the game

Despite the seizures he is still doing really really well. He has been the sweetest little boy these past few weeks ( although Madison would definitely not agree!!) His language and communication skills continue to grow in leaps and bounds. He tells us when he needs changed ( No 1 and No 2 ) with sign and words. He has a big " HI" for us every time he sees us and we've been working on saying the name of animals as well as the sounds they make. Hes doing really well with these things. Dawson continues to amaze us and just as before, it seems hes not going to let seizures stand in the way of doing or saying what he wants to.

The past few weeks have been pretty rocky for us. We are left with more questions than answers ( something I don't deal with well) and I have to admit my attitude has been less than what it needs to be concerning the return of seizures.

BUT............................

Our faith is strong and we are now more than ready for whatever lies ahead. God is once again stirring our hearts and moving us in the direction that he wants us to be in. I have been reminded recently that having faith in God during good times is the easy part. We are learning how to trust him even though we don't understand what hes doing. All I know is that he IS DOING and that's good enough for me.

Thank you so much for those who have been praying for Dawson and for us. It gives us great peace and we are very thankful to each one of you.

Our love to all.

Jeff and Allison

seizures galore

Just wanted to give a quick update and ask for prayers. Dawson is still doing really good but the seizures are getting more numerous and harder. When the seizures returned weeks ago, they were so mild that there is hardly any way you could see them. Of course WE could, but if you didn't know what to look for you would have missed them completely. Unfortunately now that is not the case. He is back to having seizures almost every time he wakes during the day or night.

I think he can feel them coming because when he wakes up he rolls up onto his stomach in kind of a ball, digs at his eyes, and then he will start to have seizures. This morning he and i woke up at the same time and he was already in " seizure position" and we were kind of laying face to face. It broke my heart as I laid there and watched him have seizure after seizure. I quit counting at 30 because it was just too painful for me to watch. I couldn't help but wonder, What is he going through? Do they hurt? how does it feel? and of course the proverbial WHY?????


So we once again ask for prayer as we seek seizure freedom for this guy. We did talk to his neuro today and right now the order is to continue going up on his Lamictal and stay the same on the Topamax for now.

The good news is that he continues to do really well. He has been in a really great mood all week. He is eating really well. He runs around the house yelling and laughing and talking up a storm. We just really really need these stupid seizures to go away!!!

Our love to all

Jeff and Allison

Some Pics

some pics of the kids fishing and Dawson at the river.

Test Results

I don't have all the intricate details because Allison is the one who's done all the talking to the neuro, but basically from what I can understand, All of Dawson's test results came back negative for everything they were testing him for. That sounds like good news but actually I personally think its not. If we can find whats causing his seizures then of course they are easier to treat and stop. I have to tell ya, its a little disheartening to be at the same dose of meds that stopped them the first time and for some reason this time that same dosage is not working. Maybe its cause hes older and bigger, maybe maybe maybe.......

I'm running out of maybes....

One of the things he was being tested for was Dravet Syndrome. I guess I'm glad that test came back negative because its one of those " CATASTROPHIC" forms of epilepsy. Don't you love they way they label some of these syndromes. Its like being diagnosed with " TERMINAL" cancer. It just sounds so harsh. Never mind there are varying degrees of these syndromes. Very mild cases all the way up to very severe cases. But none the less we have to use the word catastrophic. I guess that's what scared me so much when I learned he had Infantile Spasms. You do all this reading about this catastrophic form of epilepsy and its so easy to get sacred our of your gourd. What a joy its been to watch Dawson thrive, and grow, and learn, and just be normal even though he has a catastrophic form of epilepsy. And there is still joy!!! Even though the seizures are back he is continuing to thrive, and grow, and learn, and just be normal, and that is nothing more than the goodness and greatness of God. We are hopeful and prayerful that we will once again gain control of the seizures.

This week has been just crazy fun!!! Ashlyn and Katelin are here for two weeks plus we have my niece here from Prattville. We have been out doing stuff every day and I ( and I hope the kids) have had a ball!! We've got some good pics and we will post them in the next day or so.

Please keep the prayers coming and we love you !!

Jeff and Allison

Good news / Bad news

The Good news is, is that Dawson is back to his old self again. It seems that whatever was ailing him has passed. Fever is gone, appetite is back, and his smiling happy go luck self ( that we were really starting to miss) is back. He was working on cutting some of his 2 year molars and either they have broken through or stopped bothering him. There is no way I'm sticking my fingers that far back in his mouth to find out. Id rather poke a wolverine with a stick as to put my fingers between his choppers like that. So thank goodness he is feeling better!!

The bad news is, is that seizures are still around. the past few days its been only in the early morning so we are blessed to have them contained. But none the less, they are here. Looming and lurking around. Right now we have doubled his dose of Topamax from 15 mg morning and night to 30 mg morning and night. I'm not sure what the next move is either. I feel like we will be in a holding pattern until all of those test we had done last week come back.

So here's to a happy Dawson!! Thanks for your prayers and support as we once again kneel in prayer for seizure freedom.

Our love to all

Jeff and Allison