Tag Archives: Ketogenic Diet

Medical Marijuana, Modified Atkins Diet for Seizures, Parenting, Tuberous Sclerosis

MAD is helping the seizures!

February 25, 2014 Rebecca Gaunt 6 Comments

I have not used our Seizure Tracker app for three days. We have had a few seizure-free days here and there since I started tweaking his diet a couple months ago, but three days in a row isn’t so common and is pretty exciting. I’m not gonna get ahead of myself and say there won’t be future break-though seizures , but I’m so relieved to know diet therapy is truly helping. It does NOT work for everyone, so I’m thrilled that it is working for Connor.

If MAD does do the trick, it saves us from moving on to the more extreme ketogenic diet which would force me to become an organized planner, the absolute antithesis of what I am.

To be honest it hasn’t even been hard due to Connor’s delays. Since Connor is still a bit fickle about textures, he has never developed a taste for a lot of the stuff other two-year-olds have. He doesn’t eat chips and cookies. A good portion of his diet is is still pureed and I rely heavily on baby food portions of meat and vegetables. Since he’s picky about more solid food, I also buy prepackaged portions of chopped carrots and green beans that are soaking in water and softened for him so he can transition to more texture. I also buy boxes of chicken nuggets without breading and meatballs. Basically, everything is already portioned out with all the nutrition info on the side. So it’s easy to keep track of his allotted 10 net carbs a day.

I started tweaking his diet a couple months when we were trying to get in somewhere to start the ketogenic diet–only to discover most hospitals take months to get you in. For a long time I just reduced his carbs, but didn’t stick to a particular limit. I just avoided pastas and gave minimal fruit. It seemed to help a little, but seizures were still almost daily. As I read more about it, I started giving him half and half occasionally instead of milk. Then, a couple weeks ago, after checking in with a nutritionist, I started stirring olive oil into his food, and switched from milk to heavy whipping cream mixed with water. I try to spread his carbs and fat evenly through the day. There is no specific amount of fat required–just “liberal use.” To figure out the 10 grams of carbs, I just look at the nutrition info and subtract the dietary fiber from the carb count because those carbs don’t count. I bought book that goes in my purse listing nutritional content of food for the process of getting him to eat more table food. Then I went to Walgreens and purchased Ketostix. Those are used to periodically check his urine for ketones. If the diet is being done correctly the color of the strip should reflect moderate to large ketones. The first time he had small, so I worked on spacing out his fat intake and his last two checks revealed large ketones in his urine. Ketones are what is left behind when the body starts burning fat for energy instead of the glucose from the carbs most of us run on.

Checking the urine of a kid in diapers is super fun. A book had recommended using cotton balls to soak up urine and squeeze it onto the strip. The writers apparently haven’t had much experience with today’s super absorbent diapers because I have to tear through the lining and stick the strip into…whatever that stuff is that spills out of a torn up diaper. Things that would have made me vomit before a kid.

One of the first changes we saw a few weeks ago was that his random seizures during the day were significantly reduced. But waking up was still a big trigger for him. I knew I would see one almost every morning and after nap. But even those have reduced, and I have seen none for three days. He even woke up twice this afternoon–mid-nap and at the end of the nap. I watched closely. No seizure!

Plus, when he was weighed recently he came in at 30 pounds. Last time any med changes were made, he was 27 pounds. So we are seeing this improvement, even though his meds aren’t calculated at his current weight. It would be so amazing to get him off one, if not both, meds. Fingers crossed.

Here are some photos from Disability Day at the Georgia capitol the other day. Several parents went to represent HB 885, which we hope will pass and move this state toward allowing people to access the medicine they need.

Medical Marijuana, Parenting, Tuberous Sclerosis

Politics and Pinot

January 20, 2014 Rebecca Gaunt 1 Comment

Oh, I have a blog? I should probably update it. I’ve been so busy. I’m starting to get materials together for the D.C. trip with the TS Alliance in March, been filling out paperwork for Connor’s services and looking into starting hippotherapy (horses-yay!), and trying to read the books I bought on the ketogenic diet. I’m a tad bit nervous and anxious to get started. I’ve already tweaked his diet a bit to be low carb and higher in fat, which I think is helping his seizures, but no where near what the diet requires. It’s way too extreme to do without medical oversight. I can’t totally relax though because our appointment in Birmingham is Feb. 4, but that is just to meet with the neurologist. Though I was told he’d be admitted soon after, Connor doesn’t actually get scheduled for the clinic until that appointment. I’m scared they’ll pull some unexpected wait to start out of their pocket. I’d kept our appointment at CHOA just in case they could get us in earlier and save us the travel or in case something went awry with Birmingham. But come to find out, even though Connor’s neurologist has spoken to several people, and I have spoken to several people regarding starting keto, they still have him down for starting modified Atkins diet, even though the plan of action was changed before Christmas. I wish someone could explain to me how I have several conversations with someone about the fact that I’m bring Connor in for one thing and at no point does anyone say, “oh oops. He’s scheduled for something else!” Whatever. It’s the same old thing with CHOA every time, no matter what it’s for.

I’ve also been wrapped up in the sudden and surprising momentum of the medical cannabis movement in Georgia. The parents I’ve been talking to did an amazing job of getting the attention of the media and several legislators. Things are rolling and there’s more to come! I’ve been emailing my state legislators and the governor and we’re really seeing a lot of growing support. Access to medical cannabis has the potential to be life changing for so many suffering people.

Connor’s stubborness is reaching epic proportions. He will be two in March and he still won’t give up the bottle. A couple weeks ago I thought we were rounding a momentous curve. He has a sippy cup with a mouthpiece that can be interchanged with the bottle nipple. We’ve been more focused on cup drinking lately so it had been a while since I tried putting the actual sippy cup mouthpiece on the sippy cup instead of the nipple. I handed it to him and there was 15 seconds of drinking. My hands were on my mouth, trying not to gasp, practically jumping up and down. Then he stopped, pulled it out of his mouth, gave it a careful visual inspection, realized he’d been had and threw it down. The next 30 minutes were a standoff in which he would have no part of it. He had to accept a few sips from his training cup and his straw cup (which he’ll only take when urged and helped) before I relented and gave him the nipple. I like to create the illusion that I’m winning.

In spite of all this, we did have a great night out this weekend with two of our couple friends. Connor spent the night with my parents and we went to a wine tasting, dinner, had some drinks and hung out at a friend’s place. Part of the excitement was that we would be able to sleep in on Sunday, but I was having so much fun that we didn’t head home until four. I don’t think Chris was too pleased — he really treasures his sleep — but he humored me.

This morning I met up with Sara and her two boys for a trip to the Fernbank Natural History Museum. I wasn’t really sure Connor would be into it, but he had a blast. They have a pretty sweet play area.

I’ll close with this open letter written by Aaron Klepinger. I posted previously about his son Hunter.

My son Hunter has had intractable epilepsy for over 8 years and the seizures have severely impacted his development. He was able to do more before his seizures, such as stand unassisted against the couch. After starting to seize, he has regressed to a 1 month old development level. He depends on us for everything (transferring, feeding, diapering, etc.). We have failed 12 pharmaceuticals, often with devastating side effects such as hours of screaming fits, increased seizures, non-stop sleeping, no sleep, etc. We have tried vitamin supplements, chiropractic, intense neuro-developmental therapies, ketogenic diet for 2 years with constant dietary changes, and VNS implanted (https://www.epilepsy.com/epilepsy/vns).

He also has been diagnosed with a movement disorder. He flails his arms and legs and moves his head in all directions usually for hours at a time, sometimes in rapid succession. He moves and kicks so much in bed, we have had to put his mattress on the floor because he has fallen off the mattress. We are considering having to make a custom bed for him to keep him safe. His wheelchair has had to be customized heavily to stop him from hurting himself. We modified our Georgia home for his protection also. His shower there is extra wide so he doesn’t punch and kick the walls as he did when he was bathed in the bath. We also had to buy a ~$2000 bath chair out of pocket to strap him down while we bathe him. The typical chair covered by insurance would not provide enough support.

Since starting medical cannabis treatment, we are seeing way less seizures, more moments of relaxation, more happiness, greater eye contact, and greater awareness of his surroundings. Throughout his life, he has had a lot of GI issues, including constipation. We have noticed better motility with his bowels as we have increased the medical cannabis. He also used to clench his fists so tightly he would cut his hands with his fingernails. He did this fist clenching almost 24/7/365. He no longer does this.

In reviewing the past ~3 months of online seizure data, his seizures have gone from 17% of days without seizures (likely less than 17% if I dig further into paper records sitting on a moving truck now) to 47% of days without seizures after starting treatment (47% is a confirmed, hard number). Seizures that were 5, 10, or 20+ minutes before are now under 2 minutes. His more mild seizures we can’t even tell if they are a seizure now they are so quick and unpronounced. He holds his arms out as if he thinks he’s going to seize and then the seizure never comes. And this is all on a low dose, having just started medicine. Seizure medicines usually take months to tweak to a proper dose and this is the same way.

Haleigh Cox and 150,000 Georgians that have epilepsy should have the medical option of this gift from God. Thank you for helping us come home and share this medical treatment with so many other people suffering.

For your colleagues in the House and Senate, Georgia has a great medical tradition, including Emory, the CDC, and many health oriented companies and non-profits such as the American Cancer Society. We should step to the forefront on this health issue too and lead the way for states like Alabama and Tennessee that are considering legislation. Lets look at the science and put patients first. Medical cannabis is improving my son’s quality of life dramatically. It is our moral obligation to end the suffering of sick people. Lets pass some legislation this session before someone dies from unsafe pharmaceuticals. Compare the 40+ side effects (including death) of the most prescribed seizure medicine (Depakote) to the side effects of cannabis (none, virtually). Add to that the benefits that patients are seeing. It is clear the science supports medical use of this plant. Lets move forward with a bill in 2013 so Haleigh can live and Hunter can come home and stop being a prisoner in the state of Colorado.

Parenting, Tuberous Sclerosis

Merry Christmas! It’s a tonic-clonic seizure!

January 1, 2014 Rebecca Gaunt 8 Comments

I can’t believe Christmas is over already. Seems like it was Halloween a week ago. Connor had a good Christmas, despite some not so fantastic developments beforehand.

I blogged previously about his bout with bronchitis and I mentioned that instead of an increase in seizures, which can happen in times of illness, he had a major decrease. Turns out many other parents have experienced this when illness causes their child to stop eating much. Hopefully, that’s a sign that the ketogenic diet will work for him. Did I say ketogenic and not modified Atkins diet? Yes, you read that correctly and I’ll come back to that.

Turns out, a week and a half almost seizure free wasn’t worth it because once he recovered and started eating again, they came back with a vengeance. They were longer, rougher and he was wobbly for a bit afterwards. His seizures for the last several months have topped out at 30 seconds. Now they were lasting two minutes. And they looked…odd. I sent a video to his neurologist who called me with the %&*# news that Connor’s seizures had morphed into tonic-clonic (grand mal) seizures. Now, I knew they were rougher than the partials we have always dealt with, but you can read descriptions all day long of seizure activity and it still may not look exactly as expected. So they were rougher, but still not as rough as the grand mals I envisioned. I was shocked and not shocked at the same time.

So damn. A new seizure type. Common in TSC, but we had been lucky to go so long without that turn of events considering Connor’s seizures started at birth. Until now, other than partials, his only other confirmed seizure type was infantile spasms. I have sometimes suspected absence seizures, but those are tough to peg.

Shortly before this development, his neuro had changed his mind about the recommended course of action. As I mentioned in another post, we were trying to get him into the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite or Egleston ketogenic diet clinic for consultation regarding modified Atkins and seizure control. They couldn’t get us in until March, four months out from when we sent his records over. It took a month for them to even make the appointment, and our neuro was quite perturbed that after a month of trying to get started we had gotten nowhere and had three more months to wait. He did not say this, but my guess is that he was on board with MAD when he thought we’d be able to test out the efficacy quickly. Now, that we are facing several more weeks of seizures, I suppose he wants to take a more hardline approach. With the appearance of tonic-clinics, I’m very much on board now, whereas before — I was NOT thrilled with the idea of keto.

So we have continued our efforts to get in earlier at CHOA and they also referred us to Johns Hopkins and UAB in Birmingham, which also has a TSC clinic. Johns Hopkins also can’t get us in until March. So far UAB is the winner with a date of Feb. 4. So unless we get a miracle at CHOA, we will drive two hours to Alabama, which is preferable to flying to Baltimore.

In the meantime, we have upped his vigabatrin, something we were trying to avoid. His seizures shortened again and were less severe, though they still leave him wobbly. Most days he’s had one. Until two days ago when he had five. Yesterday he had one that left his right arm almost useless for 30 minutes after.

But on a happier note, Connor sure cleaned up at Christmas. We opened gifts at home in the morning with Chris’ parents who were in town, then headed to my parents for the afternoon and dinner, then stopped by Chris’ brother’s house where Connor went hog wild with his 10-year-old cousin Cody and their dog.

We can now start a family band, hopefully less annoying than Laughing Pizza, with Connor’s new keyboard, drum and xylophone. I continue to live vicariously through him by getting him a tent for his playroom (I can’t wait until he’s old enough for the Power Wheels I never got in the 80s). One of the gifts my parents gave him is the rideable airplane from Cars. He likes it until he accidentally triggers the mechanism that makes it light up and make noise. He takes off like a bat out of hell, so I suppose I will remove the batteries for the time being so he can play with it without fear of being eaten or chopped up or whatever it is he’s afraid of. He otherwise adores spinning the propeller.

The Christmas gift exchange between Chris and me was rather perilous…for me. Chris is not a “stuff” person. If it were up to him, we’d have a lot more bare square footage in this house. He always makes a list, and I always feel compelled to find at least one thing not on the list. However, I’ve completed his collections (that I started) of Chicago sports team Mr. Potato Heads and garden gnomes. I knew he wanted the Lego Rockefeller Center for his office, so score! An off-list item. Except when I got home, I made the mistake of asking for the updated Christmas list since I had only looked at his November birthday list. Guess what he had added? Dammit. So I gave it a shot by picking him up a button-up shirt at Belk. I stuck to his beloved Izod, but veered from his color palette. I knew there was a 95 percent chance of exchange. Mine’s on the left, his exchange is on the right.

The hubs prefers a more subtle earthy hue...unless the Bears are playing. — The hubs prefers a more subtle earthy hue…unless the Bears are playing.

For me he did a good job with three necklaces he picked out on his own, in addition to some Loft clothes I picked. He also got silly with this, which surprised me because my excessive mug collection drives him bonkers.

He also picked up a cow chip clip that moos loudly, as I am obsessed with black and white cows and hold to a belief that if I can get it out of the pantry with no one knowing, the calories don’t count. Massive backfire on his part. The thing is so sensitive, that even after being buried in drawer, open the fridge — MOOOOOOO!. Pour some milk — MOOOOOOOO! Turn on the sink — MOOOOOOOO! Then on New Year’s Eve it went completely batsh** and wouldn’t stop mooing even when we were sitting on the couch partying hard with VH1’s Happy Endings marathon surrounded by laundry (jealous?) I was upstairs when I finally heard Chris lose it and yell, SHUT UP! I heard a drawer being yanked open, so I rushed down to save my cow from possible obliteration.

I’m also thrilled to say we made it through all of 2013 without one hospitalization! Since Connor will be admitted in order to start the keto diet, we will not be able to say that of 2014. 2012 gave us five weeks in NICU, a brain surgery and an in-patient VEEG. Here’s hoping we all have a medically uneventful year.

One last thing — please keep in your thoughts that one of our newer TSC families entered our world of seizures last night and had to welcome 2014 in the ER. I’m hopeful they will quickly find seizure control. He’s doing well I understand.

I was contacted by Dave Terpening Insurance Company to be part of their “I Was Thankful for Insurance When…” post on their blog. I love any opportunity to get the word out on TSC so check it out here.

Clapping with Grandma (Chris's mom) — Clapping with Grandma (Chris’s mom) and remembering Lost back when it was good.

My brother came in from NYC and refused to change a single diaper.

Mommy is so awesome, i even lover her Mii. — Mommy is so awesome, I even love her Mii.

Mommy has lost her mind. I'm not getting in that. — Mommy has lost her mind. I’m not getting in that. Mommy is also questioning why her footwear looks so orthopedic here.

A cool cousin is one that gets down and crawls with you.

Boy who suffered up to 50 epileptic seizures a day enjoys Christmas without fits thanks to fat diet (mirror.co.uk)

Modified Atkins Diet for Seizures, Parenting, Tuberous Sclerosis

Looks like we’re trying the modified Atkins diet.

November 27, 2013 Rebecca Gaunt 2 Comments

Sigh. I really hoped this wouldn’t be necessary, but the last increase in Onfi didn’t make much of a difference and we’re still at 1-4 seizures most days. I e-mailed his neuro and asked if he thought there would be any point to another increase, or should I just bite the bullet and move forward on the diet. I knew when I sent it what the answer would be since he had brought up the possibility of the ketogenic diet a few weeks ago. I was relieved that at least he thought modified Atkins was a reasonable alternative to keto. Not that I think MAD will be easy, but just the thought of keto intensely overwhelms me.

I keep reminding myself that if it works, it’s worth the extra effort, and if it doesn’t, we only do it for a few months. We”ll be meeting with a nutritionist at the CHOA keto clinic to start.

But if it doesn’t work…then what?

We’ve tried seven different medications, and even more effective cocktails only decrease seizures — they don’t stop them altogether. Sure, there are more meds we haven’t tried, but as I shared in my previous post about medical marijuana:

…less than 1% of patients who failed to respond to three anti-seizure drug regimens achieved adequate seizure control on subsequent drug treatments even though some were treated with as many as nine different drugs or drug combinations. -WebMD

I’m going to start this diet fully optimistic that it will work. Because if it doesn’t, the other options are to explore surgery again or live with the seizures. Sure would be nice to have the option of pediatric cannabis in Georgia. Please watch this clip from The Doctors in which Paige Figi explains what a miracle it has been for her daughter with Dravet Syndrome.

I am also seeking guest posts from people who are either legally using medical marijuana to treat their children, or are seeking it’s use — possibly entailing a move to another state. E-mail pin.the.map@gmail.com.

Petition for legalization of medical marijuana in Georgia.

Two weeks into Ketogenic diet update (ourhazy.wordpress.com)
Pennsylvania parents of epileptics pin hopes on medical marijuana bill (triblive.com)
Epilepsy Patients Flocking To Colorado After Medical Pot Gives Them Hope (denver.cbslocal.com)

Parenting, Tuberous Sclerosis

Relieved after talking to the neurologist.

October 11, 2013 Rebecca Gaunt 6 Comments

Feeling much better this morning after an appointment with Connor’s neurologist. We were dismayed to hear about changes on the ERG, but I really freaked out yesterday when his medical assistant mentioned in an e-mail that he wanted to discuss the ketogenic diet. The ketogenic diet is no joke–read here–it involves hospitalization to start it, measuring everything he eats and it’s more extreme than Atkins. I have never wanted to do the keto diet and have always hoped it would never even be a consideration. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not off the table and I understand why people do it, and some have great success, but it just seems like a nightmare to me. I hope to find seizure control another way.

I was really freaked thinking we were going to be told Connor MUST come off the vigabatrin immediately and that the keto diet would be on the immediate horizon. Thankfully, not the case. While a change on the ERG is reason for concern and close monitoring, our doctor said to also take it with a grain of salt. Many parts of the country, people aren’t even doing these because it’s somewhat unreliable at this age. It can’t tell you how much vision is being affected, if at all, only that the retina isn’t responding quite the same way with one of the wavelengths or something–honestly I don’t understand it well enough to explain it. Sometimes, later tests go back to normal and it was just an anomaly, and yes, sometimes the peripheral vision is affected, but the positives of the meds outweigh the negatives. In his experience, most of the time a kid has gone off due to changes on the ERG, they ended up back on it because it was simply the most effective med for them. Unfortunately, keeping the seizures at bay must take precedence over perfect vision. If it was an issue of blindness, I’d be much for freaked out, but hopefully, if he does suffer any loss to peripheral vision, he will learn to compensate.

We do have to decide if we go back for another ERG in a month, or wait the standard three months. He didn’t seem to think it was worth the sedation to go back in a month, though. Obviously, we could have to face decisions over again if we continue to see changes, but hopefully that won’t be the case.

As far as the keto diet goes, he brought that up more as a possibility, and he felt the modified Atkins diet was equally good (and less insane–my words, not his). We will revisit that in a few weeks after we see what happens with the increases in Onfi. We are also finally weaning Keppra- the drug that has been the unchanging constant through all this. We’re not sure it’s really doing anything, so we’ll monitor and see what happens.

He also said down the road, there are other drugs we haven’t tried, though he can’t vouch for them when so many have failed. And we can also revisit surgical options as well as VNS. VNS doesn’t thrill me, as I haven’t seen as much success with that online as I would like for such a major surgical/implant intervention. What is VNS? Read here. That being said, like any treatment, one person’s fail is another’s miracle.

Please cross your fingers for the vigabatrin/Onfi combo and no further change on the ERG!

Last night, we attended a meeting with a Met Life rep regarding financial planning for special needs. The truth is, we don’t know where TSC will have Connor as an adult. Maybe he’ll be doing great and self-supporting, but we just don’t know at this point. So it was time to look into how to plan for the possibility that he may not live entirely independently, possibly because of cognitive issues, or maybe because of health/epilepsy issues. Thank goodness, we did! It’s pretty easy to complicate your child’s situation and have no idea you are doing so. If you have a child receiving any government benefits, such as Katie Beckett or if they are over 18 on SSI, if they inherit anything adding up to over $2,000 they can lose their benefits! Who came up with that number as a cutoff? Seriously? And can so easily happen by accident–savings bonds purchased for them by a relative, naming them directly on a will, putting them as your life insurance beneficiary, or just not having a will and they automatically inherit. Once those assets are spent, they can reapply, but those of us who have applied for such things know how nightmarish it can be. And losing them even temporarily can wreak havoc. The presenter shared a story of a woman in her 50s or 60s living in a group home supported by Medicaid. She had been there for a long time. When her parents passed, they had no will and she inherited what they had, which wasn’t much. She had to move out of the home, and within a few months the assets were spent. She could then reapply, but her spot had been taken. She lost her parents and her home.

We will have to have a special needs lawyer help us with a special needs trust that will protect him from anything like that. Anything that he inherits must go to the trust. That way, if he’s receiving any benefits they won’t be affected. Don’t worry, the government gets theirs. This kind of trust is taxed at one of the highest rates, in case you were worried they’d run out of barricades for our national monuments.

Join us for a meeting with new Atlanta TSC clinic director, Dr. Wolf!
Sunday, November 10, 2013
2 – 4 p.m.
Mount Vernon Baptist Church
850 Mt. Vernon Hwy NW
Sandy Springs, GA 30327

Dr. David Wolf will be spending his afternoon meeting the local TSC individuals and families of the TS Alliance of Atlanta/North Georgia. Join us for this valuable opportunity to meet both Dr. Wolf and other local TSC individuals and families!
There will be light refreshments available.

RSVP to Becky pin.the.map@gmail.com

Current Events, Guest Bloggers For TSC Awareness Month, Parenting, Tuberous Sclerosis

Cole’s TSC Diagnosis

May 3, 2013 Rebecca Gaunt 1 Comment

Day 4 of Guest Blogging for TSC Awareness Month

By guest blogger Lana DenHarder (Grand Rapids, Michigan)

Brian and I had been married for four years. Like most first-time parents we were excited to be expecting a baby and equally excited to have an ultrasound to learn the gender. We had spent weeks talking about names and imagining how the child would look, wondering what personality traits they would have, if they would get my clumsiness gene or Brian’s athletic abilities.

My first ultrasound was around nine weeks to verify dates, and I had another ultrasound around 16 weeks to learn the gender. We were pleased to learn we were having a boy. Brian’s visions of teaching the baby to play ball and coaching little league were starting to become a reality. Shortly after we learned we were having a boy we decided on the name, Cole Ryan.

My prenatal visits went along as planned. I jokingly told my doctor (whom I absolutely love) that I was disappointed that we didn’t get any good pictures of Cole at the first ultrasound and maybe I needed to have another. We both laughed! As my pregnancy moved along, around 30 weeks my doctor said that Cole was measuring small and maybe it was time for another ultrasound just to make sure we had the correct dates and that there was nothing wrong. I was thrilled because that meant I would have more pictures for his baby book. The ultrasound was scheduled a week or two later at our local hospital and I met Brian there…with a full bladder, as instructed. The tech took us back to the room and we were geeked to see Cole on the monitor. We asked goofy questions and the tech quietly answered them and then told us to wait and she would be right back. That should have been our first indication something was wrong. Ten minutes, twenty minutes, she didn’t return. Brian went out to try and find someone because my bladder was still full! The tech said we needed to wait in the room. Ten more minutes had passed and the tech returned with a doctor who looked at the monitor some more. He then said to get dressed and wait in the waiting room. Brian and I looked at each other oddly because after my previous ultrasound we didn’t need to wait around.

Waiting was torture. The doctor walked in and said he had spoken with the radiologist and they found a tuber on Cole’s heart. My heart sank. Brian and I were not expecting this at all. Ten minutes ago we were joking around and now our world was falling apart. That was the first time we heard the words Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC). He told us we needed to follow up with our doctor in the morning. Brian and I walked out to our cars, a million things spinning around in our heads, hugged and said we would talk when we got home. I watched Brian pull away as I sat sobbing while trying to call my mom on the phone.

Our doctor referred us to a high risk OB to assess the situation. They confirmed that it was likely that Cole would have TSC but an official diagnosis had to wait until birth. I had weekly appointments and ultrasounds. At 37 weeks the doctors believed that the tuber was blocking blood flow to the heart and they needed to get Cole out. They tried to mentally prepare us for heart surgery within hours of birth. I was induced on September 4, 2006 (Labor Day that year) and Cole was immediately taken to the NICU. After additional scans, we learned that Cole also had tubers in his brain, too many to count. The next 25 days felt like months. Most nights I would go home and quietly cry myself to sleep, hoping that Brian wouldn’t notice.

Cole was touch and go for a while but didn’t need heart surgery after all. He developed complications and one night we almost lost him. I will never forget the day he turned grey. September 13th. Looking back, at the time we didn’t realize just how sick Cole was. The day before we were supposed to take Cole home he had his first shutter spell (seizure). He left the hospital on a seizure medication.

The first couple of months were normal, or as normal as we thought they would be as first-time parents. Cole was eating well and very snuggly, however he was starting to miss typical milestones. We started Early On Therapy, and eventually physical therapy, to help strengthen his core. Cole started to have infantile spasms at 6 months and the day after his first birthday he had his first grand mal seizure. Within Cole’s first year we had tried various seizure meds and nothing worked. Our one last hope before trying ACTH was the Ketogenic Diet. Brian and I thought about it and it made sense to us. Cole wasn’t eating solid table foods yet, and he hadn’t developed a taste for bad foods that we would have to take away for the diet, so this seemed like a good time. Cole was admitted to the hospital and three days later he went home on the diet. Within a few months we noticed a reduction in his spasms and no more grand mals. He was on the diet for three years. In the end, we decided to stop the diet because he started to fall off the growth chart.

During a routine urology appointment, after the doctor preformed an ultrasound, he had to tell us that multiple tubers had started to grow on both of Cole’s kidneys. Cole was three years old. We are fortune to live in Grand Rapids, Michigan with a fantastic Children’s Hospital, Spectrum Health and DeVos Children’s Hospital. Up until this point, all of Cole’s care could be managed by various specialists locally. After learning of the kidney tubers, we contacted the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance and asked for recommendations for a nephrologist. That is when we found Dr. Bissler at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. We spoke with Dr. Bissler over the phone and made an appointment to get a second option on a care plan. Dr. Bissler was fantastic. He took the time to talk to us and make sure we understood all of the options. We agreed with Dr. Bissler and decided to move forward with kidney surgery to embolize the largest tubers. They were the size of golf balls. During Cole’s six month post op visit with Dr. Bissler, we discussed the benefits of Afinitor for Cole’s kidneys and SEGA. Dr. Bissler had also introduced us to Dr. Franz. Dr. Bissler discussed Cole’s history with Dr. Franz, and they both agreed that Cole could benefit from Afinitor. He started it in February 2011. We have noticed many positive changes in Cole, in addition to the kidney tubers shrinking and a slight decrease of the size of the SEGA.

In addition to the heart and kidney tubers, Cole has tubers on his eye and skin lesions.

Cole is considered globally delayed and is on the autism spectrum. He started attending a special needs preschool when he was two. Watching the bus drive away with my son was scary, but I realize that was one of the best decisions we have made. Cole’s development slowly improved. He learned to crawl when he was 2 1/2, walk when he was 3 ½ years old and his speech continues to improve. Today, he has close to 60 words and phrases. He currently attends a special needs school where he has fabulous teachers and support and continues to make positive strides. I believe the Afinitor has helped him come out of the medical haze he was in and is allowing him to move forward with his development. We have noticed the biggest change in him in the last two years since starting Afinitor. He is making intentional eye contact, attempting to repeat new words, initiating play, self feeding, and demonstrating appropriate responses when asked to do simple tasks.

We often hear people comment and ask how we do it. There are definitely challenges to raising Cole, but he was our first child and we don’t know any different. In our minds, this is normal. We also have a three-year-old daughter, Lauren. Brian and I were tested and we do not have the TS gene. Lauren does not exhibit any characteristics of TS so we decided not to have her tested. Our lives are full of doctors’ appointments, therapy sessions, sleepless nights, stress, worry and wonder. Cole has closed the gap on his physical challenges (walking) and now we struggle with behavioral (biting and scratching) and emotional issues. In spite of these challenges, Cole is a lovable, happy, determined 6 ½ year old little boy who loves to snuggle, sing (in his own way), spin balls, ride his bike, swing and run around the backyard. He is on three different seizures meds and is seizure free. It is difficult to look too far in to the future because we never know what will happen, but I can say that things are starting to calm down and feel a little normal.

Cole’s care continues to be managed locally and with the Cincinnati TS Clinic. We are very fortunate that Brian’s and my family live close and are willing to help with whatever we need. We definitely couldn’t do this alone. Cole is such a joy and we are very blessed to be his parents.

Mixed Up Mommy