With progress come new challenges. We are on week 3 of the Modified Atkins Diet (MAD) for seizures and the process has had its ups and downs. On the 'up' side, Dante's motor skills have returned full force, he finally has his typical energy and his communication and attention have been great. His seizures are fewer and much milder, and we have seen very few of the stronger type since on the diet. He may still fall down, however, even after a quick nod. That is where the difficulties remain.
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| Dante works on addition at school |
While on Topamax for his seizures, Dante had no strength. He may have woken up during the night but he would remain on his bed and not move. Now that he's much stronger he may get up from his bed, open the door, turn on his light and go play with his toys. As soon as he's off the bed there is a danger of him hurting himself if he were to fall. Even though his falls have been softer lately (many like in "slow-motion"), he may still fall. Unfortunately we experienced this on two consecutive mornings this past week when Dante happily got up before us. It wasn't long before he fell in his bedroom and we heard him crying softly. That is a super stressful way for anyone to begin their day.
That experience consumed us as we thought of different approaches to keep Dante safe. My husband stressed getting any hard furniture out of the bedroom. I was focused on either some way to warn us he was up, or some way to not allow him to leave his bed. Of course the brainstorming in my head was happening between 4 and 5am in the morning, well before Dante awoke. Necessity is the father of invention, indeed. I am so proud to present the solution to Dante's bedroom safety concerns:
