Lincoln Post

Well. It has been a couple of months since I have really written a post all about Lincoln.

He started the Ketogenic diet on 2/26/11. We saw a few behavioral changes after a couple of weeks, took him off of one medication around the same time, so it was difficult to tell if the changes were due to that or not. Then right around the time my mom came to visit, we all got the stomach flu. Typically Lincoln has had reduced seizure activity during illness, and this flu was no different. Well, after several days of sickness we all got better. Lincoln's Infantile Spasms dissapeared on 3/25/11. We have not seen any of them since that evening.

I really hesitate to post this because I feel like it will jinx things, but I know that that is just superstition. Now, just because we haven't seen these seizures, doesn't mean that they are not going on inside his brain, and we are just not seeing any physical evidence. Also, he is still having the foot seizures, which seem to be decreased from before the diet, but still occur occasionally during the night or just after waking. There is also something else bothering him, but it is difficult to say what is causing it. He will sometimes start crying randomly for no apparent reason. It is most likely seizure related, but it is not clear to us.

The benefits of getting some control of the spasms themselves are numerous. Like the fact that his brain isn't being wiped clean and stimulated to the point of exhaustion every couple of hours, and he is no longer getting injured by his physical response to the siezures, and he is finally on a schedule (one nap per day, normal meal times, bed times and wake up times)! All of this has made a world of difference to me and the ease of parenting & planning. I had no idea how nice it could be to be on a schedule (having never been on one before as a parent). It is heaven! And not needing to constantly worry when Lincoln is quiet, if he is hurt or seizing (although I still do, because it hasn't been that long, and could very well happen again).

Lincoln is still set to start school in August. This will be exciting & heartbreaking at the same time. I cannot believe that he is old enough to start schhol. And I know I will constantly be worrying about him. He has never ever been without me, or someone that I trust wholeheartedly (family or therapists) taking care of him. I know he will do great & thrive, I just hope that he also has a lot of fun while he is there, and that no one picks on him or takes advantage of his sweet passive nature.

Here are some pictures of Lincoln over the past few months.