Cavan's Seizures

So I thought I would give you a little information as to what types of seizures Cavan has. He has three different types of seizures. 

1. Grand Mal Seizures

These are the scariest in my mind. This is when he falls down and makes this horrible gurgling sound. He starts shaking and jerking and he can hear us but doesn't know what is happening to him. He has even stopped breathing at times with these. It lasts anywhere from 1-4 minutes. Afterwards, he pretty much passes out and is asleep for the rest of the day recovering. He has only had three of these in his little lifetime and I pray he has no more. They are the worst.

2. Absence Seizures

This is what I like to call his zone out or staring spell. He kind of just has a faraway look in his eyes. He doesn't hear us. He doesn't respond and he generally doesn't move. He licks his lips a lot. It generally only lasts about 20 seconds or so. And when he comes out of it, he is weepy or angry.

3. Drop Seizures

If you get to see one of these- that is impressive. This seizure type lasts less than one second. It's like his brain shuts down for a second and then turns back on. He has no idea that it happens. He drops his head. I consider him lucky. Some kids drop to the floor when it happens! Cavan only has a head and shoulder drop. 

You might hear me talk about cluster seizures... This is when his brain can't get back to its baseline. It's when one seizure comes right after another. It's just as bad as a really long grand Mal seizure. 

My boy, Cavan

For those of you who don't know Cavan, let me tell you the kind of kid he was- before Epilepsy. 

He was loving. He was happy. He was a leader. He was funny as shit. He was a jokester. A friend of mine once said to me, "Cavan is the type of kid who will join a fraternity and become the president of that fraternity." Everyone loved him and listened to him and just wanted to be with him. 

Now let me tell you the type of kid Cavan is with Epilepsy and on epilepsy medication. 

He is loving. He is still funny as shit. He is a jokester. He is still happy. Most of the time. But now we have extras... 

He screams 'I am bad' when the meds kick in. He is impulsive. He is aggressive at times. He has major OCD. And because of this, kids are intimidated by him now. They don't always want to play with him. He is loud. 

We knew as parents that if there was any way we could get him off his meds than we would have to explore those options. We cried, a lot. We wanted our normal Cavan back. We wanted the staring spells and the emotional roller coaster to end. We wanted that smiley handsome kid back. And that is how we got here.  After two years of different medications with nothing working we said yes to a treatment that was as Simple as changing a diet. But boy do we have a lot in front of us! With this face though, wouldn't you do anything in the world for him?