365 Days

 So it has been a year since Dominic had his first seizure. I can't believe it! I never thought we'd be where we are now a year ago, let alone 6 months ago. I am thrilled that the biggest issue we're dealing with right now is ear infections. That's so NORMAL! Speaking of them, we saw the ENT on Monday and he is scheduled for tube surgery next Tuesday (11/29). Hopefully all goes well and we can get rid of these pesky ear infections for good. Hopefully this will also help his speech/language (or babbling). He's had fluid in his ears for 3 months and the doc said his ears have probably felt clogged and based on his audiology tests, his hearing has been impaired. So, we'll see!


It's hard to believe that it has been 365 days since Dominic had his first seizure. That first seizure would lead to a long, hard road and year ahead. At times, it felt like our world was spiraling out of control and we would never have a normal life again. So much has happened that it's hard to believe it's only been one year. Dominic, let's see how far you've come, baby!

Back Home

Well, I survived my first trip with the boys flying solo. The boys did great. Not going to lie, flying with two young kiddos alone is stressful and I'm not sure I want to do it ever again, but it went as best as it possibly could. We had a blast with my folks and Mitchell and I got to spend some quality time hunting for turtles, driving the golf cart, collecting shells and swimming. I also got a little down time thanks to my parents. I even got my butt kicked by my dad in tennis! Dominic loved the island as well. He LOVED the pool. He was kicking like a mad man and actually moved himself across the pool by kicking. Below is a cute video of him "swimming". I was also thrilled to have my good friend Tami and her little guy, Donovan, come stay for a night. Mitchell and Donovan are only a few months apart so they had a blast chasing each other up and down the beach. The only issue during our trip was that Dominic got ANOTHER ear infection. So, his doctor had to call in a prescription while we were down there. Overall, great trip and I did not want to leave the 80 degree sunshine. But it felt good to come. The only thing that would have made the trip better was if Mike could have been with us. Here are a few pics from the trip.

Such a happy little guy

Thanks to Grammy and Gramps for the great trip

Captain Mitchell

Sunset cruise

Cute boys :o)

Fun with friends Tami and Donovan

Turtle!

Playtime on the deck

My sweet boys

Life's a beach :o)

Since we got in really late Thursday night I took Dominic in on Friday to get his ears checked. Infection is gone but he still has fluid in his ears. So, I'm expecting a call from the ENT this week and hopefully we'll get in there and figure out if/when he's getting tubes. The poor kid has been congested and had ear infections for the past 8 weeks. I assume just get it over with so we can move on with our lives...

Mike was sweet to let me sleep in till 9:00 on Friday. Despite the fact that we were on vacation, the boys were up at 6:30 every day, except for Sunday with the time change - they were up at 5:15! Is it weird that I felt the need to recover this weekend from vacation? I was pretty worn out, so we laid low this weekend and just relaxed. Then this afternoon Mitchell came down with the stomach flu. Always fun. I am praying I don't get sick. I can handle taking care of sick kids but if I get sick it's impossible to take care of the boys. And Mike does not have any more days off. So, let's hope I get through this unscathed and we can put the stomach flu behind us for the rest of the winter.

Back to reality this week and a busy week it is. We are supposed to have OT tomorrow, but I guess that depends on if I'm still cleaning up puke. Tuesday, Mike's dad is having major open heart surgery. We were planning on going to the hospital for the day, but I guess that all depends on how we're all feeling. We're saying lots of prayers for our sweet Bampa as he undergoes this big operation. The rest of the week is filled with PT and more OT and hopefully Mike and I will get the date night we're planning for Friday. Oh, I forgot to mention that Dominic hit a pretty big goal of his while we were in Florida. He's standing! Well, sort of. Not on his own, but until just recently he really didn't bear much weight on his legs. Now he can't stop! He can stand with only holding onto my hands, which is huge for him!

Dominic Standing!!

Tricks and Treats

The last couple weeks have been a little nuts around here. Dominic is on his third ear infection in 6 weeks. He is on an injection antibiotic and we're hoping this gets rid of it since we are are flying to Florida on Friday morning. We are all sort of assuming the antibiotics haven't been working because he's built up such a tolerance from being on so many during and after his surgeries. We went back today to get his ears checked. There is still fluid but the redness is gone. So, we'll probably be heading to the ENT when we get back to talk tubes.

Despite the ear infections, Dominic is a pretty happy guy. We started weaning the Clonazepam yesterday and already I can see he has more energy. This will be a long process. The weaning schedule will take about four months because they don't want to risk any withdrawal symptoms. But he's on his way to being on one less med!

Still happy, despite ANOTHER ear infection

We had a really fun Halloween this year. Mitchell gets the concept and we had several Halloween parties and events to attend. The whole family also ran the Alger Heights Halloween 5K last weekend. I ran with the two boys in the double jogger, Mike ran a pretty decent race placing 9th in his age group, and Mitchell was so excited and proud of himself for running the kids fun run. He got a t-shirt, his own number and a ribbon when he finished. It's such a fun run because everyone comes in costume, plus it was a gorgeous day for a run.

Good day for a run!

Mitchell getting ready for his race

Tigger liked the race too

 So, this week has been busy with laundry and errands as I prepare for a week in Florida. I'm having some anxiety about the flight since I'm on my own with both boys, we have a layover and Dominic has a double ear infection. I'm praying the antibiotics work and he does okay in a couple days. I am really excited to have a week on the beach and I'm looking forward to having my parents there to help so I can spend some quality time with Mitchell.

Carving pumpkins

Pooh and Tigger!

Trick-or-Treating

Dominic can finally sit unassisted and if he starts to fall to one side, he can catch himself, even with his right arm. Yesterday I had him up on all fours without his arm brace! His right arm and shoulder are finally strong enough to support himself, if only for a few seconds. It's progress! All the paperwork is in for his AmTryke, so hopefully we'll be getting that in a few weeks.

Sitting!

It's ironic that November is National Epilepsy Awareness month and it's the same month Dominic was diagnosed. It's been nearly a year since this journey began and I feel incredibly grateful that I am already at the point that I can look back and see how much he's changed and progressed. It's been a crazy year, but to think that everything has happened in less than a year is insane. Let's hope and pray the next year is a little less eventful :o)

Seeing that it is Epilepsy awareness month, Mike and I are attending the Epilepsy Foundations 'Toasting Hope' event tomorrow night. Live and silent auction, good food and drinks and of course the night would not be complete without a private performance by Brian VanderArk (the lead singer of the Verve Pipe). Dr. Arndt is on the committee, so it will be fun to see him too. But most of all it is a great fundraiser for The Epilepsy Foundation and all of the proceeds will go to help those still suffer on a daily basis with epilepsy.