Observations

All three boys have the same speech therapist.  At first this made me nervous because they have very similar issues with speech, but they're needs are very different.  It's been interesting to watch her form relationships which each boy that works to bring out their potential.

She made some observations about them the other day that though are very familiar to me, I realized I probably don't have them recorded here.

Aidan is a mini adult.  He's very smart, but the epilepsy interrupts much of it.  He knows peers don't have patience to wait for his words - and he doesn't have the patience for their silliness.  Jace annoys him.  But he's still very protective of him.  He adores Damon.  On particularly hard days, he chooses to keep to himself, but he will still sit with Damon.

Jace is the jealous dude in the middle.  Won't sit still for anything... his nickname is now Dash.  (If you saw all the blurred photos I have of him, you'd call him Dash too.)  Thinks Aidan is too serious, too much like mom.  But is enjoying Damon's new found independence- he has a partner in crime now... and he's happy about it as long as he can control all of it.

Damon so wants to do everything and have everything his older brothers do and have.  He idolizes both of them.  Yet he deliberately antagonizes Jace... only to eventually be clobbered, but he still takes full advantage of that few seconds of, "Haha, I've got it!"  He has a soft spot for Aidan but loves getting into mischief with Jace.

Aidan's new med has already made a noticeable difference.
His sleep is more restful, so I can tell it's already helping with his myoclonic seizures.  His brain isn't scattering things as much either.  This is a very visual example-

 The picture above, Aidan colored a week ago.  It took him quite a while to do it, because he doesn't have the strength to do that much all in one sitting.
Below, this the one he colored just minutes ago, after two doses of the new med.

Don't misunderstand.  We've been through this before.  When he started Banzel, this was the effect it had.  Help and lots of it.  But then it fades.
So I'm incredibly grateful for the positive reaction I'm seeing with this med.
But I also know it won't last long term.

Last night as I gave Aidan his first dose, I had this little feeling I should check for interactions between all his meds again.  I do this any time there is a new med added and had already done it, so I felt silly.  But I did it again anyway.  Suddenly a new warning for a major reaction between two meds Aidan's been taking together for over a month now was listed.  One of his anti-seizure meds and the anti-abdominal migraine med... together they create a situation where the body doesn't regulate electrolytes correctly... the reason for his being dehydrated!  Heat is even more critically dangerous, just as the weather temps are ready to climb.  He needs both meds.  Of course, getting more electrolytes down him is difficult.  The idea of electrolyte strips was suggested.  Brilliant.  One problem though.  I can't get them.  Either they don't carry it, or it's out of stock.  But even if I could get them, a change to his meds still has to be made.