Awakenings

Week One on Felbamate has come and gone, and Michaela has responded like we expected (and hoped) she would:

She's woken up.

2 weeks ago, she was in her wheelchair. 2 weeks ago, she was being fed through her g-tube. 2 weeks ago, she hardly talked, smiled, or played.

Now, all of that has changed.

This morning, she ate her breakfast.

This morning, she was looking at books, playing with Legos, walking around.

This morning, she told me she loved me.

She's so different since we started this med. But, truthfully? This is what she does every time we start a new med. It's been a long time though. She was on the Zarontin (her last medication) for a long time, and it wore off pretty quickly. We tried a different dose, and even added some high-dose valium for a while, just to get some more quality time. But that was a couple of months ago. So, we haven't seen this side of her in a good, long while.

I'm enjoying it. A lot.

She's so alive! Her eyes are so bright and clear. They don't look through me these days. If she's hungry, she tells me. When she wants a drink, she just says so. And that smile.....Oh it's been too long!

And the best part about it all, is that this is just the first step in the medication. It's not up to the full dose for her height and weight. This means that it's not helping as much as it's supposed to.

I repeat: it's NOT helping AS MUCH as it's SUPPOSED to!

Which means it's supposed to help more. At least that's what I would expect. She's doing so great right now, but we're upping the dose again today. Doubling it. It stands to reason that she will only do better. Her mind will be clearer. She'll talk better. She'll feed herself. The few seizures we notice at night should start diminishing. I've already picked up that they're not as strong. And I can tell that some of her seizures aren't spreading to her whole brain like they usually do. It's very encouraging, at the very least.

And that indoor swimming pool? You better not dive in it. It's gettin' pret-ty shallow ;)