Welcome to M.A.D. About Childhood Epilepsy

Please explore the different pages to get to know us and our story.  My vision is for this to be a place where other parents can find some comfort in knowing they are not alone.  A place where curiosity is encouraged.  A place of sharing.  But not just for parents!  I also hope people who want to know more about our journey, about childhood epilepsy, or M.A.D. are curious enough to explore here.  Really, anyone!  No exclusions!  I am by NO means an expert on epilepsy.  I am not a doctor or neurologist or nutritionist.  I am simply a mom trying to be an expert on my son's epilepsy and on what helps him best, but I am constantly learning, tweaking, adjusting.

Evan was 2 1/2 when he was diagnosed with Epilepsy.  He is now 6 1/2.  He is lively, growing, learning, and doing pretty darn well if I do say so myself (but I may be biased).

Evan in Nov. 2010 when diagnosed.

A couple years ago we became curious about the different Ketogenic diets after not being satisfied with the seizure "control" (rather a lack of!) with the meds he had been on.  After seeing how affected he was by the first medication (learning was definitely stunted and affected...see "Our Epilepsy Story"), we were NOT interested in introducing more medications if not absolutely necessary.  You can read more about our M.A.D. journey in the above tab, "Our M.A.D. Story".  We have come to a place of relative balance with his medication, the Modified Atkins Diet (for seizure control), and naturopathic medicine.  He does still have seizures, but they are not nearly as severe as they once were.  AND he is healthy, happy, and developing like crazy...which all mommies love to see!  He enjoys riding his bike, taking swimming lessons, and being as normal of a kid as he can be.  Of course, our rule for both our kids has always been, "if you are playing on or riding something with wheels...HELMET!", and we have taken some precautions with his swimming lessons as well.  We are fortunate in the fact that (so far!) he has some pretty tell-tale signs when going into a seizure, and he does not (so far!) experience drop seizures.

A happy (ok, cheesy!) 6 year old Evan

Comments and questions are ALWAYS welcome!
If you are new to this journey...please know, you are NOT alone!

Stay strong, stay curious, stay informed, stay connected, and stay supported.