Wednesday, September 29, 2010
"Welcome" Fall...
We welcomed fall by doing "apple-pie-on-a-stick" over a campfire in our back yard over the weekend.
Mineola Nature Preserve...
Just for fun one day and to get out of the house, we went to the Mineola Nature Preserve. We definetly plan on going back...it was beautiful!
I love this picture! Deacon was chasing Braydon like "wait bubba!"
Jacoby swinging on a vine like Tarzan. LOL.
I love this picture! Deacon was chasing Braydon like "wait bubba!"
Jacoby swinging on a vine like Tarzan. LOL.
Fall Funnies...
Just funny pictures I've taken over the last week....Enjoy!
Deacon found an old pacifier somewhere in the house. He hasn't taken one in 6 months, but he tried it out again to see if he liked it. Good thing I took it away when I did, or this might be an actual event...cap'n'gown pics with a paci!!!! YIKES!
Braydon dressed himself one morning and then walked out of his room and said, "I bet you ain't seen a cowboy like this in a while?" LOL. He is right...it's been a while!
And this is just a glimpse into my daily life. I will cherish this picture for years to come! YOU PROBABLY NEED TO CLICK ON THIS ONE TO ENLARGE IT AND GET THE FULL EFFECT!
Deacon found an old pacifier somewhere in the house. He hasn't taken one in 6 months, but he tried it out again to see if he liked it. Good thing I took it away when I did, or this might be an actual event...cap'n'gown pics with a paci!!!! YIKES!
Braydon dressed himself one morning and then walked out of his room and said, "I bet you ain't seen a cowboy like this in a while?" LOL. He is right...it's been a while!
And this is just a glimpse into my daily life. I will cherish this picture for years to come! YOU PROBABLY NEED TO CLICK ON THIS ONE TO ENLARGE IT AND GET THE FULL EFFECT!
Homeschool Day at Cowboy Stadium...
The Dallas Cowboys hosted Homeschool Day last week and we went to get a VIP tour of the new stadium. It was really unbelievable and a little unnecessary if you ask me, but it was fun to see and hear all the facts. For instance...did you know that the stadium has 700 consession stands? 1600 bathrooms! Ford has a small car lot on one of the end zones! Over 3000 tv's!!! See what I mean? A little over the top....but we enjoyed and got some great pictures! The boys favorite part was running all over the field-Braydon threw footballs and Deacon he just ran wide open! Enjoy the pics!
My favorite picture that I took that day
The locker room
There goes Deacon...
The boys sitting in a suite...
These suites rent out for $4000 and HOUR!!!!!!
Braydon in the ESPN press box
My favorite picture that I took that day
The locker room
There goes Deacon...
The boys sitting in a suite...
These suites rent out for $4000 and HOUR!!!!!!
Braydon in the ESPN press box
Friday, September 17, 2010
It's a wrap...
We've tried to spend the last days of summer enjoying being outside and just relishing the simple life...ice cream sandwiches on the porch, catching frogs and butterflies, catching, cleaning, and eating catfish, riding the golf cart, parades, etc. It's helped to take some of the stress off of all of us during these current trials. Enjoy the pics!
CLICK ON PICTURES TO VIEW LARGER
CLICK ON PICTURES TO VIEW LARGER
Monday, September 13, 2010
Update on Braydon...
I hate to come with bad reports but the fact of the matter is Braydon's seizures and side effects from the seizure medication is at an all time high. He is still having, despite being on 825mg of Depakote daily, about 4-8 seizures a day. The medication is causing lots of sadness, frustration and confusion for Braydon. He's not sleeping well, his stomach is upset half the time, he has big dark circles under his eyes. He is an emotional roller coaster and it's causing lots of stress in our home right now. I know he can't help it and this is all just so frustrating.
Because we have tried three different seizure medications and seen only temporary and minor changes in the seizure activity, I talked with the doctors about our next step. They just want to try a new medication and I'm not okay with continuing to put him on meds that make him not himself. I hate how these meds make him feel. He is just not the Braydon we all know and love on these medications. So I started researching and trying to find alternative treatment methods. I've come across something called the Ketogenic Diet (click to see info).
It's a method based solely on diet changes and was discovered in the 1920's it's been used (but not by many doctors) to treat seizures since then. The diet originated at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore Maryland. Of the patients who have tried it 1/3 of them are completely relieved of their seizures. Another 1/3 of the people who try it, see a signifigant decrease in their seizure activity. I say 2/3 chance of at least seeing a decrese are pretty good odds. But because doctors say it hasn't been scientifically proven through double-blind studies-most of them won't touch it and prefer to use mind/mood altering drugs and surgery to correct seizures. There are only 5 doctors in the state of Texas who practice this method. I have found one in Dallas and am working on getting Braydon at appointment as we speak. The first appt. will simply be to get more information and to make sure this is the right thing to do for Braydon. As in favor of doing something "alternative" as I am right now, we still have to make sure this is safe and the best thing for him. I say it's at least worth checking into.
The diet is hard-very hard. In fact, the first week of the diet has to be in a hospital setting for medical monitoring. The first phase of the diet mimics starvation (fasting for two days-water only), hence the reason why he will have to be so closely watched. But after that first few days, the food list increases. But if we choose to do it, we will have to follow this high fat diet that requires constant measuring of specific foods for three years. It's a big committment to make. But if it helps this child-it will be worth it.
While researching this diet, I discovered that there was a movie made (true story) back in 1994 with Meryl Streep. It's about a boy whose life was literally saved by this diet. He did the diet for three years and has never had another seizure or ever been on any seizure medications since. I ordered the movie when i learned about this and watched it the other night. If any of you want to see a good movie, or learn more about this diet, I STRONGLY encourage you to find/check out/ or buy the movie "First Do No Harm".
It was during the watching of that movie that I decided this was DEFINITLY going to be the next treatment option we checked into. I'm sure you can imagine how we've prayed over this last nine months for God to heal him and help us make the right decisions medically and so on. We have looked to Him for all the answers and healing in this situation and still do. During this movie I learned that in Matthew 17, when Jesus healed a man of seizures, He says, "it is through prayer and fasting that you are healed". We just felt like that spoke loudly to us about this being the best next step. We have been doing the prayer and then this diet is the "fasting".
We are hoping that God opens this door for us to do this. If He does, we WILL do it no matter how hard it will be and we will be counting on and claiming the fact that healing WILL come to Braydon through prayer and fasting....
PLEASE be praying with us!
Because we have tried three different seizure medications and seen only temporary and minor changes in the seizure activity, I talked with the doctors about our next step. They just want to try a new medication and I'm not okay with continuing to put him on meds that make him not himself. I hate how these meds make him feel. He is just not the Braydon we all know and love on these medications. So I started researching and trying to find alternative treatment methods. I've come across something called the Ketogenic Diet (click to see info).
It's a method based solely on diet changes and was discovered in the 1920's it's been used (but not by many doctors) to treat seizures since then. The diet originated at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore Maryland. Of the patients who have tried it 1/3 of them are completely relieved of their seizures. Another 1/3 of the people who try it, see a signifigant decrease in their seizure activity. I say 2/3 chance of at least seeing a decrese are pretty good odds. But because doctors say it hasn't been scientifically proven through double-blind studies-most of them won't touch it and prefer to use mind/mood altering drugs and surgery to correct seizures. There are only 5 doctors in the state of Texas who practice this method. I have found one in Dallas and am working on getting Braydon at appointment as we speak. The first appt. will simply be to get more information and to make sure this is the right thing to do for Braydon. As in favor of doing something "alternative" as I am right now, we still have to make sure this is safe and the best thing for him. I say it's at least worth checking into.
The diet is hard-very hard. In fact, the first week of the diet has to be in a hospital setting for medical monitoring. The first phase of the diet mimics starvation (fasting for two days-water only), hence the reason why he will have to be so closely watched. But after that first few days, the food list increases. But if we choose to do it, we will have to follow this high fat diet that requires constant measuring of specific foods for three years. It's a big committment to make. But if it helps this child-it will be worth it.
While researching this diet, I discovered that there was a movie made (true story) back in 1994 with Meryl Streep. It's about a boy whose life was literally saved by this diet. He did the diet for three years and has never had another seizure or ever been on any seizure medications since. I ordered the movie when i learned about this and watched it the other night. If any of you want to see a good movie, or learn more about this diet, I STRONGLY encourage you to find/check out/ or buy the movie "First Do No Harm".
It was during the watching of that movie that I decided this was DEFINITLY going to be the next treatment option we checked into. I'm sure you can imagine how we've prayed over this last nine months for God to heal him and help us make the right decisions medically and so on. We have looked to Him for all the answers and healing in this situation and still do. During this movie I learned that in Matthew 17, when Jesus healed a man of seizures, He says, "it is through prayer and fasting that you are healed". We just felt like that spoke loudly to us about this being the best next step. We have been doing the prayer and then this diet is the "fasting".
We are hoping that God opens this door for us to do this. If He does, we WILL do it no matter how hard it will be and we will be counting on and claiming the fact that healing WILL come to Braydon through prayer and fasting....
PLEASE be praying with us!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Just because...
Just because....
Because I'm a little sad at how fast Deacon is growing up.
Because I'm a little glad he is growing up so fast....he was NOT a good baby.
Because this picture is so darn cute!
Because his attitude actually hasn't changed that much since this picture. He's always been a little sour, it's in his nature.
Because he has the cutest lips ever, even when they are pouty....no, especially when they are pouty!
Because I've got a few minutes to kill while they eat garlic-butter grilled shrimp and watch "Finding Nemo". Enjoy!
Because I'm a little sad at how fast Deacon is growing up.
Because I'm a little glad he is growing up so fast....he was NOT a good baby.
Because this picture is so darn cute!
Because his attitude actually hasn't changed that much since this picture. He's always been a little sour, it's in his nature.
Because he has the cutest lips ever, even when they are pouty....no, especially when they are pouty!
Because I've got a few minutes to kill while they eat garlic-butter grilled shrimp and watch "Finding Nemo". Enjoy!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
I wear gold for Braydon....
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. In honor of Braydon and so many of his friends who have fought the battle against childhood cancer please watch this short video! Click on link below...
I WEAR GOLD FOR...
I WEAR GOLD FOR...
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Christian's Pokemon mural
Jacoby has finished another mural. This was for Christian, Dr. Joe and Monica Valdez's oldest son. The pictures doesn't give a good depiction of it's size. It's about 4 feet tall and 7 feet wide!
A good, good dog....
Today, Braydon's dog and best playmate was hit by a car and died. We are mourning the loss of our first "family pet" that we only got to share 6 short months with. Skippy will be greatly missed. We've already had the funeral. Jacoby took into careful consideration how special this dog was to Braydon and made it beautiful before we got out there.
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