August 17, 2015

Sam has been really struggling the past few days. Medicine changes are so hard when it comes to epilepsy. We ended up slowing down the recent medicine change by adding an additional week to the process. Once we got her on the last dosage in the plan, she has been very tired, won't eat and is spiking a temperature on and off. We have had a situation where she has been on a toxic level before and I think we are on that border once again. We are going to watch her close tonight and talk with her doctor in the morning. She doesn't have any room to move up on either of her current meds so if this dose doesn't work we will have to go back to the drawing board with meds. It is kind of a frustrating process. It is hard to see her slo sleepy. She is just waking up from her second nap today which was three hours long. I know I ask for prayers for Sam and or family often, but if you could send some her way tonight I would greatly appreciate it. God has her in His hands and for at I am thankful. 

Summer 2015

What a wild ride it has been this summer! In June our 5th member of the Bode family finally came home. Moose was delivered by the trainers just after Travis has arm surgery. He really has brought many smiles and a whole lot of laughter to our house. He is so sweet with Sam. He doesn't get mad at her when she pats him or pulls at him. Please note that we are constantly watching to make sure she is not rough with him. It is constant work having a service dog. We have to review his commands daily and it is one more living thing to take care of in the house. I can say he is worth it! The biggest obstacle right now is having him bond with Sam more than anyone else.

 I also had the opportunity to spend some one-on-one time with Gwen this summer. It was great to have time just with her but I missed my other three Bodes. Sam overall has had a pretty good summer. She seems to be having smaller seizures while she sleeps and some absent seizures while she is awake. The main problem is issues with her memory. This weekend she has been very off but we are unsure if it is the recent medicine change or a bug. The blessing is that it happened while I am here and not when I was off with Gwen. Gwen is starting her last year in elementary school and Sam is in PreK for her last year. Moose will be going to school for his first year and that should be an experience in itself! 

This past week I finally had my book published that has been a work in progress for 2 years. I couldn't have done it without the help from my good friend Kristi Calton. It is not the type of book I thought I would ever write, but God placed it on my heart one night so I knew I had to do it. I have really struggled with God over the past two years because so many times I put it off. He never left me and now that it is finished I feel such a peace. If it helps one person with their journey than it was all worth it. The book is for parents of children with disabilities to let them know they are not alone. If interested, it can be found at: http://www.amazon.com/Mothers-Path-Samanthas-Journey-Disability-ebook/dp/B013TQU59W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439734622&sr=8-1&keywords=A+mothers+path+in+Samantha 

Now that the book is published, I am going to try to dedicate more time to posts. I also am working on a series of books that is dear to my heart. They are children's books with a main character who is spunky, fun and happens to have a disability or two. So thankful for an amazing friend who is helping me with illustrations since drawing is not something I am blessed with. Overall, life is good. Thankful for life's struggles because they remind me of all of God's blessings. I appreciate all of you so much!