It's almost time for kindergarten...

We continue to be incredibly thankful for Noah's progress on the diet. Candice is daily figuring out new recipes for Noah to have on his diet, as he is getting tired of many of the same items. It is especially difficult since Noah doesn't like his cream in soda anymore and we haven't found a good substitute to replace it.

Thursday Noah starts Kindergarten. Yay! Noah has been looking forward to Kindergarten since the middle of last year. He likes to practice "his work" at home and tells Isaiah about all the writing and projects he gets to do. We are so excited for him especially since a few months ago we were thinking he was not going to be able to go due to his seizures. Praise God that he is doing so well. It would have been heartbreaking to tell him otherwise.

Kindergarten is going to be so good for Noah and at the same time we are sure it is going to be difficult. He will be having snack as well as lunch there along with his other 11 classmates. This means 11 birthdays and 11 birthday cakes that Noah will have to miss out on as well as holiday treats and daily sitting next to his classmates with all of their "non-diet" food. Noah is such a trooper and we know he will do great but seeing other food is really a struggle for him.

We have to daily remind ourselves how amazing Noah is doing on his "miracle diet". It is so easy to get wrapped up in all the hard work and feeling sad for Noah and all the things he ends up missing out on. God is so good and we continually need to count our blessings. We are so thankful this won't be a lifetime diet and we have already made it through our first summer.

Thank you again for all your love, support, and especially prayers!

IT WORKS!!

Noah had his 24hr EEG on the Thursday and on Friday morning Dr Simon was very happy to tell us that Noah isn't having any seizures!!! He had a few discharges while sleeping but no true seizures. I think we are all kind of in shock right now and it hasn't truly set in yet but we are very excited too.

In the hospital they checked all of his levels again and he again is in acidosis so we have been giving him a teaspoon of baking soda a day and his whole personality and energy is back. This is almost as exciting as being seizure free.

We have been telling Noah how proud of him we are and are so excited that he isn't having any seizures and his response is "God did it". He has his ups and downs but overall he is doing amazing on this diet and is truly trying his best. We couldn't be more proud of him.

Thank you so much for all your prayers!!! I can't believe after all Noah has been through for the past 1 1/2 years that we are telling you right now he is seizure free.

If we had the choice for Noah not to have epilepsy we would take it in a flash but God has truly worked in our hearts and family so much during this time and for that we are so grateful.

"When I'm done with my diet, I am going to..."

We are now almost two weeks into the 4:1 ratio and Noah's seizures seem to be lessening! Noah still may be having the absence seizures but visually, to us, the seizures are much improved. Next Thursday, we will be in the hospital for a 24 hour EEG to see if things have indeed been improving.

Noah's response to the 4:1 ratio of foods has been mixed. He has a few favorite meals that he eats without problems, but most meals we have small issues and frustrations. Even though we are thankful for what the diet seems to be doing, we are all already longing for the day (which could still be years away) when Noah is done with this diet. Yesterday we went to a local farmer's market and Noah told us, "When I am done with my diet, I am going to go to the farmers market and get ice cream!" Overall, he seems happy, but we know this lifestyle is taking its toll on Him. Also, Candice spends 2-3 hours in the kitchen each day, making Noah's snacks and meals since every snack and meal takes special attention to get it perfectly right. We long for the days of stopping by McDonald's and paying a small sum of money to have someone else make our food!

Bud and Cassie, Candice's parents, have been incredibly helpful on this journey. Candice and I have enjoyed a few date times and Cassie knows how to make Noah's meals and snacks. It is a very welcome break from the routine, when Noah goes over to Nana's house!

As long as Noah's EEG comes back positive, we will be continuing on Noah's diet for the indefinite future. We will also begin scaling back the two seizure medications that Noah is currently on. Although long term, it will be great to see if Noah can be seizure free without medication, in the short time it will be another season of learning to trust in God as we taper back the meds. Although life has been super crazy since Noah's very first seizure 1.5 years ago, we have so much to be thankful for and God continues to bless us with so much.