April 15, 2025 "Seizure #21"

Rayden woke this morning around 2am screaming in pain from a severe headache. I ran to his room to find him holding his head rolling back and forth. He was aware enough to tell me his head hurt bad, then he started gagging on excessive saliva. I rolled him to his side while Michael retrieved the rescue medication from the bedside table. By the time he opened it, the attack was over. I'm afraid to think that this could have been 'after' the actual seizure and we slept through it. His watch didn't alarm us. I laid with him the remainder of the morning, of course.

We got up and went on to school. Rayden slept on the sofa in his classroom for 1.5 hours.

I sent his epileptologist a message and she suggested I contact his neurosurgeon because it sounded like a shunt malfunction. I quickly replied that he has gone through 6 shunt malfunctions in his life and they DO NOT present like this at all. Dr. Elton agreed with me.

She then changed her tune and replied that it could be a shorter or milder version of his previous seizures. She suggested continuing to monitor him for now. If it occurs again, we could up his medicaton lacosamide (Vimpat) from 12 to 15 mL.
 
She also suggested thinking about planning a stay in the UNC Children's hospital to record the seizures by decreasing medications slowly. This would be a 3 to 7 day hospital stay.

April 8, 2025 "Hubb's Corn Maze"

Hubb's Corn Maze Field Trip 

Rayden had a great time at Hubb's Farm with his classmates. He played lots of games, climbed a giant chair, slid down an enormous slide, took a train ride, played in bubbles, rode the covered wagon, saw lots of farm animals, and enjoyed lunch with Mom. His favorite thing was panning for gold. He found so many jewels and even got a rope necklace to display his treasures. This was the first time we have taken his track chair to a school event. It was accepted well by his classmates and gave him the freedom to enjoy the farm just like the others. 

April 5, 2025 "Second Turkey"

This was the first time I actually went turkey hunting with the boys. Watching the sun rise from inside the blind was a new experience for me. We used the TideWe blind that Jeff Jones gave Rayden for Christmas. It was amazing being able to see out of the blind all around but the wildlife couldn't see us. It was also very spacious. We had Rayden's track chair and four adults inside. I was able to see aa couple of hen turkeys but no Toms. After breaking for lunch, I went home and Alex joined the hunting in my place. Jeff called two Toms in for a perfect shot. In this video, you can see/hear the excitement. Rayden was thrilled to drive his harvest off into the sunset. 🦃

💥 13.9 lbs. 

💥 10" beard

💥 15" and 16" spurs 

March/April "Fun Times"

Fun Times at School

 

Favorite Team Day with Mrs. Bennett

Western Day