Matthew was born 10/01/2003 at 34 weeks. He was the perfect baby boy, healthy and happy!  A couple of weeks later Matthew became very fussy, we learned he had developed acid reflux.  In December of 2003 we believe Matthew suffered his first seizure. The doctors told us it was because of his reflux and that it would go away.  Later in 2004 Matthew developed severe sleep apnea.  He had a nissen fundoplication along with a G-tube placement in June 2004.  This was procedure was done at Cincinnati Childrens and was to help with his severe case of reflux.  We finally felt that we were on the right track.  His reflux got better, and he was back to being the happy little boy.  We thought he would be OK.

In June of 2005 I picked up Matthew from daycare, and on the way home I looked back at him to find his eyes rolling up, and his face twitching.  My heart told me that he was having a seizure, but I wasn't  sure. Soon after, he had an EEG done at Cincinnati Children’s.

July of 2005 we were finally told that Matthew had a seizure disorder.  He was hospitalized for a week, and started on medictaion right away.  We then later tried the Ketogenic diet,  which in some cases proved to reduce and sometimes even eliminate seizures.  But, for Matthew, he had severe complications. Matthew has had several tests and procedures to try  to find out  why he has a seizure disorder.  We are yet to find an answer.

This past January, Matthew had a Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) device implanted under the skin in his chest.  This implant  appears to be working in the sense that it has cut his seizures down from the 15/20 he was having daily to about 5 a day. When we see him have a seizure we are to swipe his chest with a magnet that we wear on our wrist. Once swiped it helps reduce the length of his siezure, or even stop them. His Neurologist manages the settings on the VNS periodically.  He can change the setting of his VNS to go off every 3-5 minutes.  Matthew's is set to go off every 3 minutes for 5 seconds.  We hope that when he is old enough he can learn to use the magnet himself.  Today Matthew is still not seizure free.  Just in this last year, Matthew has made great strides in his development through the therapies he recieves at the Cincinnati Children's clinics.  All we can do is hope and pray that someday his seizures will eventually go away.

I believe it is important to learn as much about Eplepsy as one can.  I have three children, and spend a lot of time taking care of them, and of course, Matthew’s needs.  However, today I want to help support the Epilepsy Foundation of the Datyon area by sharing my story. 

Now is the time to raise awareness about Epilepsy. 

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Thank you,
Susan Davidson