November is epilepsy awareness month! Epilepsy is a disease that has stolen so much from my family, and from so many families that I know. It’s a disease I’ve seen take the lives of children. A disease that has stolen skills, development, growth, and joy. A disease in which research is underfunded and yet it affects 65 million people worldwide. Please take the time this month to learn more and help us spread awareness! Madison’s Story Madison developed epilepsy as a result of meningitis at 11 days old. She had her first seizures subclinically while she was sick, meaning...
Epilepsy Awareness Month
November is epilepsy awareness month! Epilepsy is a disease that has stolen so much from my family, and from so many families that I know. It’s a disease I’ve seen take the lives of children. A disease that has stolen skills, development, growth, and joy. A disease in which research is underfunded and yet it affects 65 million people worldwide. Please take the time this month to learn more and help us spread awareness! Madison’s Story Madison developed epilepsy as a result of meningitis at 11 days old. She had her first seizures subclinically while she was sick, meaning...
So Long Sweet Summer – An Update on Maddie Claire
Fall officially starts next week, and for a girl who has always been all about summer, I’m strangely really looking forward to some cooler temps and a slower pace around here. Once cold and flu season is upon us, I typically schedule less appointments for Madison and don’t take her out quite as much since she’s so high risk. This summer has been pretty overwhelming, sometimes in a good way, sometimes not. But I’ve realized I haven’t shared a real update on Miss M in a while since we’ve been so busy! And what better way than to do...
A Happy Maddie
Alert. Clear. Vocal. HAPPY. These are a few of the words I would use to describe Madison lately, and it’s been wonderful! What’s changed? Well not much, aside from starting a new CBD and weaning one of her seizure meds a few months ago. We’ve also finally figured out a good combo for keeping her constipation under control, and her teething spell has just about ended. Okay, so maybe a few things have changed! Regardless, she’s been a new child lately and John and I have been soaking in every minute. One of the worst things about epilepsy, is...
OBX 2019
Vacationing with a special needs child can really be hit or miss. Madison’s stability varies and unfortunately when you book a trip there’s no way to know if she’ll be having a good week or a bad one by the time that trip rolls around. We traveled to Florida in November and while it was relaxing to soak up the warm weather, Madison wound up having awful nights almost everyday. She barely slept, had seizures, and seemed uncomfortable a lot during the trip, which made things hard for John and I. We booked a beach house in OBX knowing...
Medicinal Marijuana: Part 2
Let me just start by saying, epilepsy sucks. I don’t think I could ever describe how painful it is to see your child have seizures every single day. How stomach turning it is to pump them full of strong and serious medications day in and day out. Medications that haven’t even been able to fully control their epilepsy. Yet this is the fate that many epilepsy parents face. CBD oil has been known to be somewhat of a miracle cure for many epileptic patients. There are tons of variations and ways to administer it. Some find seizure freedom with...
Medicinal Marijuana: Part 1
It’s official, Madison is officially registered with the NJ Medicinal Marijuana Program! We got her card in the mail last night and could not be more excited to start this journey with her in the hopes that medicinal marijuana helps her find seizure freedom. Because marijuana is not legal in New Jersey there’s quite a process in becoming a part of the Medical Marijuana Program or MMP. For one, you must suffer from an approved debilitating condition. In NJ these include: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Anxiety Chronic pain related to musculoskeletal disorders Chronic pain of visceral origin Migraine Multiple sclerosis...
CBD Oil
The running joke in our house has become that our baby girl has used cannabis before the age of 1, whereas my husband and I never have lol. CBD Oil. What is it? How does it work? Is it legal? Being that I am not well versed, like by any means, in the cannabis industry, I had never even heard of CBD. But, when Madison was diagnosed with Infantile Spasms, and nothing was working, I started doing my research on what other forms of treatment were available. CBD came highly recommended by many mama’s of epileptic children who were...