Getting well

Dawson finally is over the hump. He's been generally not feeling well this whole week. Snotty nose, can't breath, irritable, so on and so forth. And to make it worse, theres really not much we can give him on the med front. Most of the over the counter cold/allergy meds can lower seizure threshold so we really dont risk it and just let his body fight it on its own. He always wins but there is usually a few days there where it always seems to get the best of him. All this to say, hes doing better and the past few days he has been in a better mood.

Not much change in seizures. They are hanging around and some days are better and some days are worse. Even on the bad days were counting our blessings because he continues to thrive and do very well developmentally. Yes, there are delays here and there, there are things he should be doing that he is not but, there are things he should be saying that he doesn't, BUT all in all, considering how many seizures he has had, and considering how many he still has, we are THRILLED with what he has accomplished. He can run, jump, feed himself, communicate needs, he tells us he loves us, even better than that, he shows us he loves us with hugs and kisses. He plays with his sisters and for the most part, if you met Dawson, you would never ever know he has a seizure disorder, much less one as devastating as Infantile Spasms. yes we are VERY proud of Dawson and how fun it is to watch him grow and blossom.

The things he isn't doing, we are dedicated to getting him there. Speaking of which...

Tomorrow is our meeting with the school system regarding Mr. Dawson and where he will be going to school. We are hoping to get him in the special needs preschool where he can get one on one therapy during the school day. We really feel this is the best option right now. My hope is for him to be able to be able to attend regular school with regular kids and for him to be just a regular kid himself... I believe getting him into this special needs school now will help him accomplish that goal later.

Well let everybody know how the meeting goes tomorrow evening.

Say a few prayers for us and know we love you all

Jeff and Allison

sickness

We've been kicking around this cold back and forth to each other for a little while now. We thought Dawson was going to be lucky and miss it but Nope. He started sounding gunky and you could tell the past few days he just has not been himself. More clingy, more fussy, and just wants to sit and be held. So after a night of horrible sounding coughs,and a visit to the Dr, Dawson has the croup.

Hopefully he will get over it quickly because unlike Madison ( who you could never tell was ever sick) Dawson is not a very good patient. We've gotten spoiled and grown accustomed to Happy Dawson.. Hopefully he will get back to his old self soon.

As a side note, we have a meeting scheduled with our school system on March 31st to see if Dawson can get into special needs school here. I'm kinda torn on this because Dawson has fought so hard to overcome all these obstacles. Seizures too many to count, and yet his only delay is speech. Yes there are some behavioral issues that need addressed as well, but as I have mentioned before those are 100% better since weening down Keppra. But the other side of that is, if he can get in, he will get one on one therapy ( including speech which he really needs) so I'm leaning towards hoping he qualifies. Its the best thing for him right now. Say some prayers for us regarding this matter please. Also pray that Dawson kicks this illness very quickly!!

Thanks for stopping in to see how were doing!!

Love u all

Jeff and Allison

Dawson "the goat"

Somebody please tell me my seizure boy is not the only one who does this...

I have AFFECTIONATELY ( that was for Allison) nicknamed Dawson... The Goat

The reason why?? Its not because he eats good. Although his eating and appetite have been pretty good of late. Its because he eats EVERYTHING... Most people with a 2 1/2 year old would kill to get rid of the pacifier..Me?? As long as I see a pacifier in his mouth, it means nothing harmful can go in... So its a safety blanket for me and him both. HA!!

Dawson, because of seizures, has always been very orally fixated on things.. he always has something in his mouth.. Paci, toothbrush, fingers, shirt, etc, etc. But what gets him his affectionate nickname is... Kleenex, napkins, balloons, those elastic hair thingys that girls use to put their hair up, tape,plastic, Blue felt tip markers ( that one was fun!) sucker sticks,rocks, and anything else that will fit into his mouth. He always spits it right out on command but I'm really hoping this will pass with age. As he gets older, his mouth will get bigger!! which opens up a whole new variety of goat edible type things...

Still having a stretch of good days.. The other day only one seizure was seen which is a huge improvement, although it was followed the next day with about 10... Very frustrating!! Dawson is becoming increasingly better at coming and telling us what he wants as opposed to fussing about it while we play mind guessing games... His favorite request are cookies, juice, and suckers.. Not the best diet i know but Hey we are trying to reward him for actually saying words and communicating.. His meltdowns are minimal now compared to what they were even a month ago. God has blessed us with a beautiful boy who has the sweetest personality ( although Madison would disagree at times) and he has also blessed us with Madison who watches over him like a hawk and will do anything for her brother!! ( which makes me wonder if some of the "goat" items are coming from her??? HA!!!

Beautiful weather has arrived as of yesterday and Dawson absolutely LOVES playing outdoors. Chasing the puppy, playing in the dirt, running up and down hills, and eating sticks and rocks!!

Hope all of you have a great weekend and we are truly thankful for those who check in and pray for our family... Please spend some time meditating and praying for
Hudson,Regan, and Landon. I know ALL these kids need lots of prayer time but these 3 specifically continue to weigh very heavily on our minds..

Love to all of you!!
Jeff

still movin along

Things around here are still about the same. Dawson continues to do very well and thrive despite numerous seizures throughout the day. We have recently increased his Zonegran again and still no real big changes as far as seizures go.. It is so hard sitting around wondering when these things are finally going to get better.. I know they are, its just a matter of when..

Madison started running a fever a couple of days ago with a pretty bad cough so we made the decision this morning to go ahead and take her in and have her looked at. She has a touch of pneumonia and now were thinking were glad we went ahead and went in on a Saturday before that got much worse.. Hopefully Dawson will not get that bug!! that would be disastrous!!

We are so blessed to have him doing as well as he is. He was laying in bed this morning pointing to all his different body parts and saying their names and watching him do these things ( the same things that originally we thought he would never be able to do) still has that WOW factor for me. I just don't think that kind of stuff will ever get old.

Met a new family this week who is just starting this seizure journey. Please stop by and check them out if you haven't already, put them on your prayer list, and let them know your thinking about them please. I am amazed at how eerily familiar their story is in these early stages. Out of all the kids Ive read about, the beginning to their story very closely resembles the beginning of ours. We got the pleasure of speaking with them the other evening and it was a good opportunity to trade some good info back and forth.. you can check them out at:

http://landonmichaelstory.blogspot.com/


Say a prayer for Madison that she will recover quickly and also that Dawson doesn't catch it. That's the last thing we need right now.

Our love goes out to each of you

Jeff and Allison

Groundhog Day

I know we haven't done a very good job of updating recently and for that I apologize to the few who check in and see how were doing.. The fact is, there just hasn't been a whole lot to blog about.

Its almost like that movie Groundhog Day. You know the one where he wakes up and every day is the same...

Its not quite that bad, and as far as some things are concerned, groundhog day is not such a bad thing. There just hasn't been any changes in Dawson and therefor leaves my simple mind with little to talk about.

Seizures?? yes and still daily. Scattered randomly throughout the day. That's the groundhog day that is not so good!!!

All in all, just as always, Dawson continues to do extremely well despite the stupid seizure monster. Slowly, but steadily, he continues to do and say new things. Progress doesn't have to be leaps and bounds.. It just has to be progress. And for these progressions we give all thanks to God. Just this morning I watched Dawson sit in the floor and try to put his shoes on. Not just try, but was almost successful with one of them. Had the right foot and everything. Then he gets up and comes and grabs Madison's hand and takes her to the fireplace and tells her its
"HOT" These are simple things I know, but they are simple things he wasn't doing a month ago.. Progress is good right??!!

As for us this weekend?? Beautiful weather has once again invaded our little corner of the world and outdoor activities will take top priority. Lots to be done!!!

Also want to do an online Happy Birthday to my best friend and wife Allison. Last week she turned 30 which makes her officially an old woman now HA!! Happy Birthday ALLISON!!!

Thanks for checking in and we love you all

Jeff