Six months.

Owen celebrated his six month birthday on Sunday. It seems as though simultaneously both a mere six weeks and a many six years have gone by. I'm sure all parents feel like this, like time both speeds up and slows down when on the parenting journey. I've included a couple of photos from Owen exploring his thumb. The first one makes me laugh... it seems as though the initial experience was not such a tasty one.




The ACTH wean continues to go as well as can be expected. No spasms but instead LOTS of sleep and quite a bit of vomiting. Our whole experience with the drug was fairly benign, so we see these "coming down" issues as a small price to pay when many babies have much more intense side effects throughout the treatment.

We have transferred Owen's care to Dr. S. at Swedish Hospital's Epilepsy Clinic (part of the Neuroscience Department) and had our first meeting with him on Friday. We want to have a continuity of care that, because it is a teaching hospital, is just not possible at Children's. The latter is an excellent care facility and Owen will still be seen there for various tests and screens. Dr. S., who recently left Children's for a position at Swedish, came highly recommended and our first meeting with him was wonderful. He took an hour and a half to become acquainted with Owen and ended the meeting by reminding Kelsey and I that couples with special needs children face great challenges and that we must always take care of our relationship, the foundation of which supports all three members of our family. We appreciated his willingness to apply both a human and holistic perspective to Owen's care. His experience is impressive, he exhibits both realism and compassion and his bedside manner is quite refreshing. We think he will be a great fit for our needs.

It is a glorious, sunny day here on the Kitsap Peninsula. I was out in the garden a few days ago and was reminded of how early spring arrives here in Western Washington. There are buds on the vine maples and on the red flowering currant, and the crocuses should be poking their heads out soon. We are looking forward to Spring, to getting our hands in the dirt again, and in the next couple of weeks, planting our chard, spinach, lettuce and kale. I am choosing to be positive about this upcoming year and hoping that it will bring much growth and rejuvination.