Little Byron was born on his "due date", after a typical pregnancy & uncomplicated delivery.  Much to the delight of his parents and family he was perfect in every way. A long anticipated blessing, Byron has brought so much joy into our lives. Watching his growth we often marvel at the miracles of early human development. Witnessing the firsts: first smile, first laugh, first crawl, first walk, first words, etc. These events have inspired many laughs & tears of joy, not to mention the photos & videos trying desperately to capture these magical moments.  The year of his second birthday, Byron was growing in leaps and bounds! Walking, running, dancing, climbing & digging were just a few of the daily activities of this little adventurer. Visiting Blount Contracting daily, while his mom worked, he surprised her by learning the names of all the heavy equipment! He could recite to you the names and sounds of most animals from the farm to the Savannah. 

These are not just boastful recollections of loving family members.  You see, on January 6th of this year (2011) we experienced a new first: his first seizure. At home, we had just sat down to watch a movie, when Byron fell on the floor in front of us having a "Tonic Clonic"(formerly called "grand mal") seizure.  The 3 minutes of seizure that followed were some of the longest in our lives. We checked his airways, and held him on his side, while his little body seized helplessly. His mother comforted him, while his dad laid hands on him, uttered a prayer of faith on Byron's behalf.  As the quick prayer ended, so did the seizure, & we quickly dialed 911. By the time the paramedics arrived, Byron was coming to.  Scared and shaken, we all went to the emergency room. Fortunately, Byron seemed to regain his personality and his vitals were good. Unfortunately there was not much help given at the hospital. No tests were run, no EEG, no CAT scan (because of his age), no blood work, no answers. They referred us to a neurologist for an EEG. The second seizure came 11 days later, before we could get in to the neurologist. 4 days later he had an EEG and visit with the neurologist. No answers were given, just a diagnosis of epilepsy, with a presciption (which didn't work).  3 days later we realized he was having a second kind of seizure.  The second type, nicknamed "drop attacks" look like he's passed out suddenly, only instead of collapsing to the ground, his body stiffens and he throws his head straight back as fast as he can. There is no warning for a drop attack. You can't stop it, even if you're standing next to him and see it begin, you just end up getting to watch his head slam on the ground. This is the main reason Byron wears a helmet full-time, even though the insurance company will not cover his helmet (they say it's not medically necessary). His seizures continued to get closer together, during that week. By the time we got him admitted to the hospital, he was having them non-stop. He couldn't eat & couldn't talk, he was either having a seizure, or in recovery from one (postictal). After 4 days in that hospital, he was transferred to St. Joseph's hospital in Phoenix, to the care of a pediatric epileptologist from the Barrow Institute.  That night, as soon as they got him into his bed, he had the worst tonic clonic seizure to date. It lasted 11 minutes, until they were able to stop it with Adovan in his IV.