Creativity and Epilepsy: Educating Children Who Witness Seizures

This post is part of the Epilepsy Blog Relay™ which will run from June 1 through June 30. Follow along and add comments to posts that inspire you!

Seeing a seizure no matter how many times they occur and no matter the age of the bystander, can be extremely traumatic depending on the type of seizure a person may be experiencing.  It is a delicate situation to tend to the person who is experiencing the epileptic event as well as comfort those who are witnessing everything unfold, especially when there are children involved.  As a parent, when you have a child with epilepsy who has young siblings you have to be very creative in how you handle all things related to seizures.  This includes conversations regarding seizures as well as when/if it comes to watching the episodes themselves.  

Being that Sonya began having seizures within one month of her life, they were less noticeable to others, however, Sonya is 5 years, 3.5 years, and 21 months younger than her older siblings, which means they were extremely young the first time they were exposed to seeing a seizure.  At the beginning they honestly did not notice one was occurring, but eventually as the seizures got longer and more intense, her siblings became more aware.  As parents, Sam and I did not want to scare our older children, but it was important they be aware of what a seizure looked like so if necessary they could inform us if they saw it occurring first.  For example, Sonya's car seat faced our then 5-year-olds and so while driving she would occasionally tell us "Sonzee is having a seizure".  There have been false reports, however, more often than not, the reporting is accurate and a huge help in beginning to comfort Sonya, both verbally, and for her sister who sits right beside her, physically.

There have been times when the seizures are just too overwhelming for us to want our older children to be around, regardless of how helpful they can be, and so we have to be creative in how we distract them.  Sonya went through a time when she required oxygen during the end of her seizures and for some time following the episode.  When she would begin her seizure typically another person (unless we were alone) would go and grab her oxygen and begin too hook it up to her.  For the majority of the time we were able to distract our older children by having them go and play in another room or go have a dance party, but once or twice our oldest would stop in her tracks and look at us placing the oxygen cannula on Sonya and ask if she was going to be alright.  We could tell she was scared and so we explained that Sonya was having a seizure and it was alright, but that sometimes extra air is needed to help people breathe.

Children in general can "make light" of many situations, and this includes seizures.  They can see someone making funny, weird, awkward, dramatic, and fast movements with their bodies and can think this is something to imitate.  At a young age it was extremely important for us to emphasize to our children that seizures are never anything to be made fun of and what is occurring to a person who having one is not pleasant, is not funny, is not weird, is not comfortable, and is by no means a joke.  It is also extremely important to balance sharing this information with young children in a manner that does not scare them, but does emphasize this is a high magnitude situation that should never involve laughing.

While Sam nor I are perfect in the ways we have chosen to be creative with our older children in regards to educating them on seizures, here are some ways we found helpful with our older children and their exposure to epilepsy.  We are not expressing that every parent should follow these ideas nor is every parent going to want their child to see a seizure, however in a lot of family situations it is simply impossible to prevent a child from witnessing a seizure, so it is always better to be as prepared as possible.

1. Talk and explain to a child who is watching the seizure what is happening to the person experiencing a seizure-reassure them that even though it looks extremely scary the person is going to be alright
2. Answer questions that a child may ask regarding watching the seizure
3. In general keep the lines of communication open between the child watching the seizure and the adult supervising
4. Be aware of the child who is watching a person have a seizure-are they are uncomfortable? are they scared? do they need to be distracted?
5. If another adult is present have them take other children in another room in a calm manner asking them to show them where an item is, or to go read a book, or have a dance party
6. Have older children help time a seizure or feel like they are helping you or the person having a seizure
7. The priority is on the person seizing, however, if seizures are routine and the person is stable, make sure to remain calm (always good regardless) and try not to scare the other children who are around

NEXT UP: Be sure to check out the next post tomorrow by Sarah Collard at livingwellwithepilepsy.com for more on epilepsy awareness. For the full schedule of bloggers visit livingwellwithepilepsy.com.

Don’t miss your chance to connect with bloggers on the #LivingWellChat on June 30 at 7PM ET.

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....life with CDKL5

It has been 13 days since my last blog post.  It is not that I have not wanted to write anything, it is more I just do not feel like I have anything new and/or worthwhile to share.  Things are what they are.  Neither great, nor bad, just what they are.  I suppose overall that is a good thing, but it does not support writing a blog post.  I feel like in the two years I have been blogging, I have already written about most of the same topics that are now on my mind.  The same things happen repeatedly.  There is not much new in the world of CDKL5 and how it has affected Sonzee, and so I feel like I have no new insights to share.  

Life with CDKL5 for me is a life on repeat.  There is the same heartache of CDKL5 sibling losses, lack of milestones achieved, and obstacles to overcome.  There is the same amount of joy felt for the Sonzee-stones accomplished and wishes for her future.  There is honestly a little less emphasis placed on hope, but that is probably due to me being a pessimistic/realist in general and not so much due to the events of the last two years.  Although the past two years have definitely stolen some positivity from my general outlook and beaten me to the core.  Sonzee's health is stable and so we are thankful for that, but that does not hide the pain she experiences daily or the seizures/spasms that come and go as they please.  

I have been spending a good majority of my time these past couple of weeks living in the land of denial and excuse making in terms of Sonzee's seizures and pain.  To be honest, sometimes that place is a comforting place to be.  I will probably do as I usually do when I enter this zone and hide out here until I enter the good old panic mode of desperation that this will inevitably lead to.  Until then I will just carry on, praying things remain calm while we are in New York, and praying for the families who have children with CDKL5 who are in the hospital, just being discharged, or who sadly just gained their wings...because this is life with CDKL5.

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Becoming aware

I prefer to do positive style posts because that is how it's best for me to deal with all things CDKL5.  The past week and a half I have spent each morning deciding which fact I would be sharing about life with CDKL5.  My goal is always trying to balance shedding light on some of our hardships while also putting a semi positive spin.  However, almost two weeks into this CDKL5 awareness month and it's safe to say it makes me more aware of just how tough life with CDKL5 is.

Over the weekend I wanted to share a fun fact or two about CDKL5.  I wanted to capture little bear completing some challenging task that requires her a bit more effort, or her sitting and being happy/content like a lot of other children with CDKL5 mutations.  I just wanted to share a picture of her adorable little smile, or maybe even capture a laugh...but none of those things happened.  So I skipped posting.  It's one thing to go on with our days experiencing each one of them as they come, but it's another to realize that things aren't so great.  I guess I don't give it much thought as a whole, but wanting to write a post makes me have to "accept" what exactly is going on.  

Sadly a typical day for Sonzee begins around 6:30am with her crying.  It takes Sam and I multiple guesses and attempts to calm her before she calms for a bit either in her bouncer, chair, or with some cuddles.  The calmness only last temporarily and then she's back to her cries and screams.  The rest of the day is a gamble of how much she will cry or be miserable.  The majority of days she spends clearly uncomfortable and so we spend the majority of our time trying to figure out what she is telling us so we can fix it.  We usually fail miserably and eventually we give up.  We change her position all day, give her cuddles, the kids attempt to play with her and entertain her- it's usually a major fail.  Eventually it's bedtime and thankfully she sleeps at night or occupies herself quietly in her crib.  Then we get to experience our own real life Groundhog Day on repeat...every day.

It's been challenging to adequately represent CDKL5 for Sonzee and be respectful of what I would think she would want me sharing as far as pictures and her day goes.  I guess this is the whole part of spreading awareness.  Letting others know they aren't alone if their child who has a CDKL5 mutation isn't always smiling and happy and reminding me that it's okay to be angry about the fact that this is the life of our two year old.

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Pause

In approximately 12 days we leave the oven we call Phoenix and head east for the summer.  I am pretty sure the timing couldn't be any better as I am beyond ready for a break.  It is different than needing a Starbucks run or getting a manicure or pedicure.  It isn't the same as wanting to go away from the kids for a night or two.  No matter what we would just be relocating to different scenery, we can't really escape the life we are living, and to be honest I don't want that either.  The way I look at our summer break is that we get to press the pause button.

I am ready to spend two months with limited distractions from the kids.  No (planned) doctors appointments, no therapy appointments, no waiting on hold to nag a distributor because we have been waiting a ridiculous amount of time to receive an item that we were assured we were getting weeks earlier.  I am ready to not have to sync calendars and organize a schedule.  I am ready to not have to wonder what creative rejection Aetna will send us in the mail for an item they have been covering for months on end, but randomly decided they just aren't in the mood to cover it any longer.  I am ready for an actual real life distraction.

I am ready to reconnect with those friends who I follow on facebook and see their adorable family pictures, but whom there wasn't enough time to actually talk to over the past 10ish moths. I am excited to see how our decision (okay, it was really just mine) to drive this year with four children seven and under pans out (this really should be some fantastic fun (sarcasm and honesty included).  I am ready to be surrounded by greenery, mountains, and farms that are tucked away from the hustle and bustle.  I am ready to not have time commitments other than times to drop off and pick the kids up from camp (which Sonzee and I can walk to to achieve and hopefully be on time too).

The last 10 months have been tiring, chaotic, daunting, and waring.  I am ready to get some renewed strength, some umph, and refill my energy tank to full to make it through the 10 months that will follow our homecoming in August.  I am so grateful that we are able to relocate for the summer and get away because I am so beyond ready to hit pause.


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Never ending with GI....

If you have been following Sonzee’s journey for a while now then you are probably aware that her biggest battle has always been her gastrointestinal system.  Since she was six months old she has battled with gaining weight and from trying to solve that issue we found ourselves on a downward spiral in the land of GI.  We started by having a gtube placed, thinking that would solve the problem, but we all know that did nothing to help.  From that point onward it has been a constant battle of trying to keep her health and keep her comfortable, lately, both I feel we are failing with.

When she hit rock bottom last May we had no choice but to start her on TPN (Total parenteral nutrition: Intravenous feeding that provides patients with all the fluid and the essential nutrients they need when they are unable to tolerate anything into their stomach/gut).  We transitioned from TPN to intestinal feeds that went through an NJ (naso-jejunum-from her nose into her intestines).  A lot of people assumed her tube in her nose was going into her stomach, but it was actually bypassing her stomach and going into the 2^nd part of her intestines.  The thought or hope (if you will) was that her stomach would miraculously turn back on and we could get her off the intestinal feeds.  A year later and this has proven to not be the case (I am honestly not the least bit surprised).  When she was finally big enough, we had the NJ removed and they added in an extension to her stomach tube, which is what she has now, and it is a GJ tube (goes to both stomach and intestine).  We only use her intestinal port except to open the stomach side to let out excessive air in the hopes it will make her more comfortable.

She has had various tests performed on her GI system, besides showing she has extremely slow motility (movement of her stomach and intestines as far as processing food and moving it through the system), they all always come back “normal”.  She has spent most her days over the last year miserable, in pain, and uncomfortable from her feeds.  We cannot turn them off because she needs to keep hydration, we cannot run them any slower because she needs to keep hydration.  We are stuck, grid locked by the way her body interprets typical bodily functions such as gas, digestion, and bowel movements.  She was diagnosed back in November with visceral hyperalgesia, which is the term used to describe the experience of pain within the inner organs (viscera) at a level that is more intense than normal.  A diagnosis that gets her nowhere but to take another medication that does nothing to relieve her symptoms. 

I have reached my breaking point with these GI issues.  Her doctors tell me they have done everything they can do.  I agree that they have tested plenty, but I do not agree that there is not some option out there that would be a better answer for her.  We have an appointment with her palliative care doctor next week because her quality of life is far more important to me than the quantity.  She CANNOT be this miserable any longer.  It is beyond disheartening to watch her suffer daily.  There must be some solution besides “dealing with it” and another medication that only appears to be a solution but in reality, does nothing long term.  I am hanging onto a small thin thread of hope that we will reach some sort of resolve next week, whatever it may be…but let me tell you, after the past two years it’s really challenging to believe we will find a winning solution.

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Missed out moments

For those of you who I know personally and were able to view Sonzee's (as of 8 hours and 59 minutes ago) now four year old sister slather lotion all over herself and her bedroom, I hope it provided you a decent bedtime laugh.  For those of you who were unable to view the video, it went something like this.  I went to get a t-shirt out of Sonzee's sister's dresser and noticed she was not in her bed, but instead there was a lotion container extremely messy along with her pillow, sheets, and blanket.  I summoned for her and she came back into the bedroom from the hall bathroom, which I had just walked by, but somehow missed seeing her.  I asked her why lotion was all over bed, and then I noticed it was all over her body, her clothing, her hair, the floor in footsteps...it was EVERYWHERE.  The only thing I did besides ask her what she was doing was call for Sam to come to her room.

While she burst into tears explaining she was extremely itchy all over her body (she has bad eczema) she noticed Sam and I were "holding back" our laughter and so she calmed down.  We of course had to document this moment to look back on as the years pass by as her final hoo-ra of an event as a three year old, and so we recorded the outcome of lathering her body in Eucerin cream to combat her itchiness.  The video goes onto to show her telling Sam it was in fact me who put the lotion all over her and then she gave her signature "get out of jail free card" grin indicating that maybe that really was not the case, but never fully admitting it was in fact her who placed the lotion on her body and the contents of her bedroom.  The video ends with her saying next time she will ask for me or Sam to come and put the lotion on.

After giving her another shower, changing her sheets, and rubbing the lotion off of her furniture and the floor I became a bit sad thinking about the fact that Sonzee won't be able to pull off these types of shenanigans.  These are the moments that unfortunately don't permit themselves in the special needs world, at least not the one Sonzee is in.  Even if she has the desire to do so, she lacks the motor planning and actual physical capabilities of pulling off such a fete.  She is unable to climb out of her crib, grab a lotion container, sit back on her bed and attempt to relieve her itchiness or whatever else a toddler is thinking in their mind.  She cannot rip out pages of a book, get construction paper and attempt to write her own book using the spine of the original.  She cannot sneak into the kitchen grab candy and "drop itself into the stomach without tasting it".  These are just childhood achievements she won't ever get to participate in.

It is moments like this one that are bitter sweet.  Maybe I only appreciate the joy, creativity, and overall fantastic humor of these events because we have a Sonzee.  There was honestly no getting mad or even annoyed, there was definitely an element of surprise and shock, but I was more in awe of her desire to handle the situation on her own and choosing to do so in that manner.  One of my most commonly thought and uttered parenting phrase is "what were you thinking?" and my favorite part is hearing each of my children's replies. However, without their specific replies the event in and of itself is usually momentous and does not require an explanation, so it just sucks we won't get these types of moments with Sonzee.

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Keeping the faith....

Lately I have been really struggling with the whole concept of having faith.  It is hard for me to keep hope and be optimistic when I feel surrounded by not only Sonzee, but other little children trying to battle incurable disorders and diseases.  I realize it is during these types of times that I should feel the magnetic pull to G-d to place my fears, frustrations, and questions on him...but for some reason, I just cannot.  I am unsure if it is because I secretly believe I have some sort of control of how anything in my life is supposed to go and "having faith" admits that I am relying on something other than myself, or am I afraid that having faith puts me in a vulnerable position to be extremely disappointed with the outcome?  

The biggest challenge with my ability to keep faith is that I feel like for the past two years I have been relying on my faith to get me through and I continuously feel "let down".  Maybe that is not necessarily fair considering how many times in the past two years Sonzee has scarcely made it out of various situations; but truthfully, it just feels like it prolongs the war and has not really gotten us completely out of the trenches.  I do not even believe being told we are "in the all clear" is at all possible with a diagnosis like CDKL5, but it just continuously feels like we are being lifted up to crash back down.  Am I feeling this solely because my faith is wavering?  

When we have been faced with situations I try to look, focus, and believe in what the best-case scenario might turn out to be...and the majority (if not every time) that is never how our reality turns out.  It becomes an arduous task to continuously set myself up for the potential disappointment, which to be honest in our case is typically not potential but actually, more likely.  If there is a "rare" complication/side effect, you can bet money that it has Sonzee's name on it; complications that are even rare to other children who have CDKL5 mutations.  27 months of watching my baby girl suffer has drained a lot of my faith and I am desperately trying to not lose it all, but every day it is becoming increasingly difficult. 

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The evolving role of Mother's Day

From the time I was a little girl I have wanted to be a mom.  I couldn't wait to grow up, get married, and have a baby of my own.  When Sam and I first got married I (naively) thought that it would happen just as I had dreamt.  The first 9 months of our marriage turned out differently than I anticipated as month after month I cried never seeing one positive pregnancy test.  In May 2009 when Mother's Day came around I was so overwhelmingly excited for my friends who had been or would shortly be blessed with their new titles of mom, but equally heartbroken it wasn't my turn.  Sam bought me my first Mother's Day card with words of encouragement, but my heart was shattered.  Within weeks of that "first" Mother's Day I found out that my dream would be coming true.

In 2010 I was beyond fortunate to celebrate Mother's Day as a mom of a beautiful baby girl, my dream finally complete.  In 2011, I was not only a mom to Laeya, but I was pregnant with our second child.  I was so beyond excited to celebrate that day, but my heart broke for those who were still struggling to build their families.  I felt so fortunate to be where I was.  By 2014 I would celebrate Mother's Day as a mom of three, and by 2015, a mom of four.  The day always amazing,  but that year was my first time with the title of "special needs mom".  At the time that specific title was new and had little meaning to me, but as the years continue on the uniqueness of that title plays a bigger role.

By the end of the summer of 2016 Sam and I were surprised when we found out we were expecting baby #5.  We were surrounded by fear and uncertainty rather than the typical burst of excitement.  We were scared and unsure. What if the baby wasn't typical? What if the baby had special needs?  What would people think that we were chancing fate?  By the beginning of October those fears were unnecessary as we didn't see or hear a heartbeat, we experienced our first miscarriage.  We were both "at peace" not being faced with needing to make challenging testing decisions or playing the "what would we do if" game, and we felt thankful that G-d intervened how he felt necessary.

Today is Mother's Day 2017.  I am so honored to celebrate being a mom to four amazing children I have been fortunate to meet, yet today is the first day my heart hurts in a different way.  Based on my previous pregnancy experiences and my due dates, I would be holding or about to be holding baby #5.  I wonder if my son would have a brother or if he would still be the prince of the castle.  I wonder how I would manage being a mom to Sonzee and a baby, and I wonder how amazing it would be for Laeya to be the biggest sister of four.  I think about how fortunate I am that today I can snuggle my four awesome children because there are so many beautiful mom's I know who are unable to do that, but today is the first day I have given this topic enough thought to be sad the number isn't five.

Mother's Day to me isn't about being spoiled or wanting to be appreciated more than any other day.  It isn't about what gifts I get or if Sam was able to get to the store last minute to pick me up a card (that I honestly could live without).  For me, Mother's Day is about honoring what it is to be a mom and learning how to adapt to the various titles, curve balls, and ever changing roles that come with being a mother.  Today is one of those reminders of how mothering can be done in so many different and beautiful ways.  So if you are a pregnant mom, a mom to a child you didn't birth, or one you had to or have to share with someone else, a physically living child, a healthy child, a sick child, a child you never got to hold in your arms, or to a child you are no longer able to hold in your arms, today and every day you should be honored to be a mother, and I wish you the happiest of Mother's Days.

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it will be...

I feel like there used to be a time when I could undoubtedly say to someone "things will be fine".  I do not remember second guessing the words or ever really giving it an extra thought of whether the outcome would actually be "fine", because of course it would be.  Everything works out...until it does not, and then you realize saying "everything will be fine" may not actually set a person at ease, because no, things may not be.  There used to be a time that my neurotic parenting fears were based off reading blogs of parents going through horrific battles, or having a friend of a friend experience something rare and challenging with their child.  Then one day, two years ago I am the one who began blogging.

I wish I could back to a time when my fears were completely irrational instead of them being because I am parenting a medically complex child who has changed the way I parent all my children.  I wish I could go back to a time when my brain would interpret ailments for what they were instead of everything turning into a code red/worst case scenario.  I wish I had not let this life get me so jaded.  I know there is always hope for the best, but I struggle believing the outcome will be "fine". 

It is a hard place to be stuck in between wanting to believe "things will be fine", reality, and things actually turning out to be fine.  I find myself holding back telling others things will work out and then I wonder if that is helpful or not.  I know people have to have hope, but I feel like it isn't my place to reassure someone when I honestly do not know...will things be fine?

I do believe everything will be the way it is meant to be, but no, I do not always feel things will always be fine.  I do however believe no matter what it is, you will be able to handle it.

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No longer a baby...

We got up and went to the airport yesterday like we have done many times with Sonzee in tow.  We even managed to get there early (yes, even we are capable of doing that on occasion- we just try not to make a habit of it).  We got through security in our usual amount of time with the typical pat-down and analysis of all the supplies we bring for her.  TSA at Phoenix Sky Harbor is always amazing to deal with and we never have any problems, things just take time.  The truth is, no matter how prepared we are, how accommodating everyone is, or how smoothly the process goes, traeveling with a medically complex child is still extremely hard.

Yesterday was the first time we flew with Sonzee in her convertible carseat, in the past she has been in the infant carseat, so of course, there will be a new learning curve.  We were the third in line for preboarding (Sam and the kids came with us) and we were the reason the plane was four minutes late departing.  I will let that sink in with you for a bit.  It took us the entire time of the boarding process to get her carseat installed correctly and we ended up having to forward face her because the distance between the seats would not allow for the proper recline with her seat facing rear.  Yes, Sonzee's one famous skill is her head/neck control, but it is nowhere near what a typical two year old's ability is or should be.  No matter the various supports I tried, her poor neck was flopping forward.  This was not ideal.

When we finally got her situated, the plane pulled back from the gate.  During the chaos of boarding, the pilot (who actually helped carry our bags onto the plane) placed Sonzee's medical bag in the overhead bin while we organized to make things easier and I never had a chance to grab her VNS magnets in all the chaos.  Naturally, it made sense that during our exact pull back from the gate she would have a seizure and her magnets would be out of my reach.  Again, thankful for being with amazing care, we pressed the call button and the flight attendant more than happily grabbed her magnets and checked up on us multiple times within the 6 minutes it took for us to get to the runway to ask if we were okay to take off.

Thank G-d for the amazing staff at Southwest who never once said anything negative, did anything to insinuate we had to rush and were overwhelmingly supportive during our entire experience.  Like I mentioned previously, this all helps, but the fact is this traveling gig is not what pleasant dreams are made of.  We have medical bags complete with essentially a portable hospital; a pulse oximeter, portable oxygen concentrator, feeding pump and supplies, medications and supplemental supplies that go along with her VNS, not to mention the various other supplies that come with having a toddler who is essentially still a baby.

I guess I had not really considered that traveling on a plane as she got older would be significantly more challenging.  Even with her being in the 2% for weight and height I didn't even bother changing her in the small little fold out table in the bathroom because she is too long.  I think the reality is setting in that we are no longer traveling with a baby, we are traveling with a child who has special needs.


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