Emergency and Hard to Believe

Let me first apologize to those who have regularly been checking my blog for an update only to find Lili still standing in a grass skirt and lei. Now I'll explain why I've been in a blogging slump.

Last Friday evening we receive a call from Ryan's group home telling us that he had been having seizures that day and they were giving him some medication to help get them under better control. This medication is typically the "wonder drug" but in this case it didn't do the trick and a few hours later we received another call letting us know that he was still having regular seizures. Dave left to go give him another medication in hopes of getting them under control, but poor Ryan was having seizures every 30-45 minutes so 911 was called and he was taken to the emergency room. The ER doctors were having trouble getting his seizures under control and finally gave him a mega dose of an anti-seizure medication which appeared to do the trick. Since Ryan started seeing a new epilepsy specialist, he had to be transferred to another hospital so his new doctor could monitor him. Although the seizures were now under control, his medication levels were not. When they checked one of his med levels in the ER it came back at 176 and normal is 50. This is considered a critical medication level. As of this morning he had gone seizure free for 5 days and his medication levels were finally normal, so he was released from the hospital this afternoon. It was a rough 5 days for all of us, but especially Ryan who handled it like a champ.

On a much lighter note, 5 months ago today, Lili was placed in our arms forever. It honestly feels like she's been here forever and I constantly have to remind myself that 5 months really isn't a long time. It just amazes me she has made the adjustments she has had to make with so few problems. The only really problem we've had is with sleep which continues to be a challenge, but we are seeing slow and steady improvement there. Although her night doesn't start out in my bed, that is where it ends up for the majority of the night. The good news is that we're starting to see some regular sleep patterns of 10-12 hours per night, which is very good. We had many nights that she slept 8 hours or less and that was tough on everyone, especially her. To see her sleeping longer means that she is feeling more relaxed and that attachment and bonding is continuing to move in a positive direction. Someday I hope to report that she sleeps in her bed throughout the night, but I think that is going to take a little more time and in the meantime I'll continue to cater to her need to lay against mommy during the night.

Our lives were changed in a major way 5 months ago and they changed for the better.