Posts Tagged ‘seizures’
We Made A Bucket List
I have a bucket list. I used to think such things were cliche and cheesy and what does it really do anyway? And then, at 24, I became a mom. I really wanted to be a mom. In high school, on career day, I dreamt about lots of careers but in the back of my mind I always thought, but I’m gonna be a stay-at-home mom so I never really took those dreams very seriously. One cold January day, my dream came true! The little baby boy I had prayed…
Read MoreThe Doctor who said, Your Child is the Least of my Concerns
My daughter is autistic and started having seizures at age 11. I remember the day I got the call from the school nurse that she had a seizure in class. I actually expected it at some point due to her neurological issues, so it didn’t take me completely by surprise, but it was terrifying nonetheless. We already had a neurologist so we had the 24 hour EEG right away which confirmed she was having partial complex seizures. The type where you just kind of stare off into space for as little…
Read MoreUnexpected Spectrum
When my wife Tammy and I met, we had four children between us; two from her first marriage, and two from mine. After a few years of being married we became like any other couple. We talked about having a child. We had yours and mine, and now we wanted the ours. Tammy, having her tubes tied after her second child, made it a little more difficult to get what we wanted. We could choose the surgery route to reverse her previous procedure, which costs a lot of money with…
Read MoreWhen My Life Was Flipped Upside Down by a Dual Diagnosis
The other day my life was flipped upside down. We were on our way home from the video EEG and the impact of a dual diagnosis struck me to my core. It was a Friday afternoon. Derek was driving. I was watching all the cars out the window. My mind was reviewing the information we had learned and coming up with a new list of to-do’s. When, suddenly, it dawned on me. This is our life. Appointments, tests, seizures, medical fears, disruptive behaviors, therapies, financial burdens, hospital stays, unrelenting exhaustion…
Read MoreJumping Into the Rabbit Hole
It was 2016 and we were feeling pretty good about things. The psychiatrist recommended an occupational therapist to use as a way to address our son’s up tick in outbursts. Within the last year the explosive tantrums were not occurring with the same frequency (yay), but when they did, they were fierce (nay). And when they were fierce there were times I would get sad and sink into what I call the rabbit hole. I would feel sorry for myself and lament that other families did not have to deal…
Read MoreOur First Steps on a Journey that Continues Today
People often ask me if I knew my son had autism when he was an infant. The answer is no. There were, however, all these little clues that he was different from his brother. Little to no eye contact, not responding to his name, and not smiling when myself or someone else would smile at him. But, they were all just out of my awareness and the complete picture of what we would face in the coming months was not yet clear. I started to question things near Finn’s first…
Read MoreI’m Thankful For You: My Husband
(Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Jamie Happel and is part of Cooper’s, ‘I’m Thankful For You’ Campaign.) This November I would like to honor and thank my husband, Chris Happel. He is an absolutely amazing husband and father. Chris and I met last year at the hospital we both work at. He is an Emergency Physician and I am a Radiographer and Mammographer. Fast forward a year later and we are now a crazy, fun and loving blended family with six children. Our children are ages 20, 13,…
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