Friday, March 16, 2012

Starting a new Journey

I think in order to understand me I should share a little back history.  I wont go to far...I promise!!

     Shawn and I met in high school (16) and I fell in love immediately.  However I was a bit of a spoiled brat so our start was rocky.  When we were 18 we found out that we were pregnant and that forever changed our lives.  We did not rush out to get married, neither one of us knew if we could handle the stress of being so young with a child and married!!  October the 11th of 2001 the greatest things in the world entered our lives Braydon 6lbs 9oz of pure healthy boy!!  He was BEAUTIFUL!!!  When Braydon was a 1 1/2 we decided to get married and move away from our family in TN to FL.  Shawn had just graduated College and was offered a great job down there working with my father and his mentor.  3 weeks after moving down there my father suffered a heart attack and passed away and 1 month after that I discovered I was pregnant.  Not exactly planned however we were both excited!!  On April 8th 2004 ( also Mine and my mothers birthday) Claudia Fowler was born.  She was beautiful so perfect!!   3 days after her birth we packed a Uhaul and with the help of my mom went back home to TN.

    Shawn and I never planned our future like this however we have always rolled with the punches.  We are young parents and somethings may not always pan out, we do our very best.  Well while Braydon remained Healthy over the years Claudia on the other hand declined in the health department.  Long story short she has several small diagnosis that causes big problems mixed together.  She is asthmatic, has bad allergies, she suffers from constipation(mostly from medicines she is given) and she has acid reflux that as a smaller child she aspirated into her lungs causing lots and lots of cases of pneumonia.  She still has all of these however we finally have them all under control!!  Asthma is our worst and these past few months have been rough, but we seem to be on the up and up!!

     So why did I start this blog you might ask, well let me answer that.  We were thrown a few curve balls this week and found out yesterday that Braydon our perfectly healthy child is Epileptic.  I want to share this journey with my family and friends close and far, this seemed the best way to do that!!  I also want to make new friends some who maybe suffer the same trials as we have and will.  But I'm getting ahead of myself......let me tell you about the new curve ball and how it was thrown.....

     Sunday March 11th 2012 we went to visit friends in Murfreesboro TN, about an hour and 30 minutes away.  While down there Shawn and his Best friend went to the gun range and the friends wife and I took the kids shopping, to get ice cream and then to play at the park.  It was BEAUTIFUL outside.  We just arrived at the park and the friend and I sat on a bench outside the entrance of the play structure were there were tons of benches for the parents.  My children are almost 8 and 10 and this was an enclosed park with only one entrance and exit and I was sitting at it.  I was sure they did not need me following them around the park.  About 10 minutes after being in the park a woman came running out of the wooden castle saying there was a child suffering a seizure and I just knew it was Braydon.  I'm still not sure how I knew....but trust me I knew!!  After running through the castle I could see his little feet still shaking, he was suffering a gran mal seizure.  The ambulance arrived and took him to the nearest hospital.  After about 6 hours they let us go. 

     Yesterday we met a neurologist, who I was convinced would tell me that this was a freak occurrence and it would never happen again.  I mean all that I had read said that for every 5 children that have a seizure 3 of them will NEVER have one the rest of their lives.  Great odds huh!!  So we did an EEG and met with the Dr.  The Dr tells us that Braydon is epileptic.  He said that his brain was wanting to have a seizure the entire time he was hooked up to the machine.  This doctor said that he never diagnosis after one seizure how ever it was very apparent based on the eeg that he is without a doubt epileptic.  So what does this mean you are probably wondering......it means nothing really.  With the right medications he can live a very normal healthy life.  We started a new medicine last night.  Apparently these meds biggest side effects is that they can be mood altering.  So we have to make sure that we are monitoring his mood and if this med makes him cranky we will try another and if the next makes him have seizures we will try another.  The Dr.  eased us and made me feel like this is manageable. 

       Together as a family and when I say family I mean the support of everyone we love, we will have a normal life.....one day at a time!!

8 comments:

  1. I love you guys! Wow I never knew how well you can write. This will be a great avenue for you. We are always here for you!

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  2. You are an amazing person E, you bring a smile to my heart and a tear to my eye. You call everyone sunshine and amazing, you are describing yourself. It is an honor and pleasure to be a member of your "family". We are here for you, whenever and whatever you need. Debby

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    1. Thank you!!!! You are my family and you and your family always take care of me and mine and it is never forgotten!!

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  3. You are nothing but amazing and will make the best of everything. Always remember how many people love you and are here for you when you need us, even when we're far away. Big hugs and lots of love to all of you!

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    1. I miss you so much!! Love you guys too, enjoy your new journey!!

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  4. While I don't have the same problems with my children as you do, I can assure you that "normal" is not us either. I have friends that never have to take their children to the Dr. and then I have some where their kids can never catch a break. Your normal is your normal. Just be thankful for your support system! We have to count on the good days to get through the bad days... hope to read more soon!

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    1. You are very right!!! I have the most amazing support people and over the past few weeks I have seen people drop what they are doing to help me!! That is what life is truely about....the people that you love and they love you back!!

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