Category: seizures

  • Purple Day—Our Epilepsy Story

    Purple Day—Our Epilepsy Story

    When our daughter was eight months old she was diagnosed with a chromosome 3P deletion/duplication disorder. Doctors told us to expect some devastating things. Some came true, but thankfully most did not. The one thing they didn’t tell us to expect was seizures—those began when Avery turned three. We were caught completely by surprise.  One…

  • Why This Mama Bird Ain’t Happy About Back-To-School

    Why This Mama Bird Ain’t Happy About Back-To-School

    A friend posted a question on Facebook asking, “Are you happy or sad about your kids going back to school?” The majority of responses were something like, “It’s been fun but I want my routine back!”  My sad face emoticon response was in the minority. I am not excited about my kids heading back to…

  • I Like My EEGS Sunnyside Up

    I Like My EEGS Sunnyside Up

      We kept our daughter up for most of the night to deprive her of sleep, on purpose. Consider it payback for all the nights she’s kept us awake. In your face, Avery! Mwah hahaha…   Kidding. She was scheduled for an EEG the next morning.   Having her good and exhausted prevents her from…

  • International Epilepsy Awareness Day

    International Epilepsy Awareness Day

      March 26 is International Epilepsy Awareness Day and Gary Collins, the Executive Director of Epilepsy Canada, will dye his hair purple on that day to raise money for epilepsy research. Our daughter Avery is among the over 300,000 Canadians, including Mr. Collins, who have been diagnosed with epilepsy. Another 15,000 will be diagnosed this…

  • Seizures and Todd’s Paralysis

    Seizures and Todd’s Paralysis

    Our daughter had her first seizure the summer of 2009.  She stopped breathing and her heart raced out of control. There are times, even years later, that I stand in her room reliving that night, imagining all the what ifs in painful detail. What if the ambulance hadn’t made it in time? What if, what…