Infection and Seizures

As it turns out, Alex's last seizures were caused by a strep throat. He had no throat pain, and no other symptoms except a bit of a headache and stomach ache. At the urgent care facility where we took him once he recuperated from the seizures, the doctor did not even recommend a strep test. But we insisted. We knew something had set off the seizures. Sure enough, he was positive. So, now we know that ear infections and strep will set off Alex's seizures. I suspect that the intensity of the seizure will be determined by how tired and run down he is. So, our best defense is sleep and rest. It also means that this year I will be spending even more time with my kids, because I can't leave Alex with a babysitter for a long period of time when there are so many variables concerning Alex's health. Erik met us last week where I have been training in NH, for a 2 week vacation. We have been altnating our training so that one of us is with the kids at all times. And, as I mentioned in my last blog, I ran many of my miles-40, in fact-in a 2 mile circle. Despite our difficulties, I managed to log my first 100 miles/week. I'll take 3 days to just swim and bike, and then hammer out the miles once again. Then we go home, summer over, training camps concluded, and we are back to preschool and mommy school and training at 4am and on weekends. Hopefully I will have done my homework for the Grindstone 100, which turns out to be a lot tougher than I had first thought. Only 7 women finished in the 38 hour time cutoff last year. Yikes.

Another Series of Seizures

My article for All Tings Healing came out today. The subject is about using running to manage the stress of caring for a child with disabilities. The timing is strange because this morning Alex suffered another series of seizures, a byproduct of his brain damage, and something that we are learning to deal with as a part of our lives. In February this year, Alex had a bad series of seizures that landed us in the ICU at Yale. At That time,the neurologist prescribed rectal Valium which I can administer at home if he had another seizure, or series of small ones, that lasted for more than five minutes. Alex got in bed with me in the middle of the night and said he couldn't sleep. Early this morning we both woke up and I started to stretch to get ready for a 30 hour period of intense training, where I would cover about 60-70 miles in three training sessions, including one night run. Alex suddenly said he had a stomach ache and needed to throw up. After about 5 minutes of standing over the toilet, without actually throwing up, he started to seize. Today's seizures were very mild, and he was able to blink and respond to me between having them. But they continued for about 30 minutes. One right after another. My brother, an ER doctor, was on vacation next door to us, so after some observation and discussion, we administered one dose of the Valium. We were a bit concerned because Valium reduces respitory rate and so we kept a close eye on his breaths, counting how many times he breathed per minute. After 5 minutes, he started to relax and fall asleep. He woke up several times and finally fell asleep for a stretch. He threw up twice while sleeping. He's sleeping now. When he wakes up later this afternoon, we'll see if he needs more medical attention. As we live with Alex's seizures, I believe I am becoming more able to spot when a seizure may be immenent. For a child with brain damage, being overtired and even mildly sick is the perfect storm. I'm not us if a seizure can be prevented once the storm has begun, but getting sleep and eating a high fat and low sugar diet might help. My training will be posoned today, and when I again schedule this intense training, I will likely be running all 60 miles by doing 2 mile loop repeats. Running may reduce my stress but staying close to home is important, just in case I'm needed again.

Training for the Grindstone 100

The Grindstone 100, a grueling 100 miler in the mountains of Virginia, with over 23,000 feet of elevation gain, takes place the first weekend of October this year. My ultra distance partner, and Team Baby Alex Foundation runner, friend and inspiration (he ran across the entire USA last year pushing his stuff in a baby jogger!) and I will have our toes on the starting line. Hopefully, before the 38 hour time limit has clicked past, we will be crossing the finish line. Training has begun in earnest. As always, we will be running for The Baby Alex Foundation, raising money for next year's grants. I've been reading Jeff's book, just published, called Running with God Across America, and I imagine Jeff will be running with prayers for the sick and in need too. His book has inspired me to push myself harder in training, to trust that my feet can take me a lot farther than I might have imagined and to be nicer to people I meet along the way.

Alex's First Triathlon

Alex has been talking about his first triathlon, which took place last weekend, for three months. In Utah, he informed everyone he met that he was there with Mommy to train for his first triathlon. Back at home this summer, he continued to tell everyone that he was in training. When it finally arrived, I was concerned that the build up would lead to a let down. Fortunately, the race went well, he walked away from it without any injuries, and in the end, it was sort of just the start of another amazing summer day. Alex was in excellent company this weekend at his first TRI. This was our Team Baby Alex Foundation triathlon training camp, and we had three amazing kids training with us. All of the kids raced the triathlon and all finished. What brought tears to my eyes was watching the kids, who had just met, come together to cheer and support each other. It was incredible. Little Spencer, who finished before Alex, returned to run a second loop of the race to run by Alex's side. Justin, much older, also ran with Alex and cheered him on the whole way. The kids all ran through the finish area together and were full of hugs and high fives. I was proud of them all. When another team member asked Alex how he did in the race later that day, he said "I won." She said, "Really? You came in first?" And Alex said, "I won because I participated!" Yay, Team.

Graduating to Neighborhood Runs

When Alex and Izzy were old enough to handle running in the neighborhood, we started by going just one block at a time. Running in the neighborhood is one of the few times I crack a (metaphorical) whip, because it can be dangerous. I insisted on two things, and I recommend you do the same: 1) We run together, as a group, and not get spaced out; 2) We all stop, look and listen at every street or busy driveway. It took about a year of this kind of running to finally get my kids to stop, look and listen on their own. Although we still run together these days, I no longer have to remind them to stop, look and listen. I'm sure I sounded like a crazy woman at times when I was first teaching them running practices, and we probably woke up the neighborhood (since we run EARLY), but safety is always first. Teaching your kids to be safe on the sidewalk might save their life, as it did with Izzy. One day when she was two, she started chasing a ball toward the end of our driveway. As the ball rolled into the street, a car swerved around the corner going about 50mph. I don't think I even had time to yell to Izzy to stop, because it all happened so fast. But Izzy put on her brakes right on the edge of the driveway, to stop, look and listen. The car zoomed past. That year of teaching the kids safe running on the sidewalks gave me a few grey hairs and I lost my patience countless times. But, it was all worth it. If you take your kids to run in your neighborhood, set down the rules before you even head out the door. If you are starting from scratch, it will not be fun at first, But keep at it. And don't forget to wear your running shoes to keep up with them!

Taking Kids Running Outside

Summer has finally set in, and as in the past couple of years, it is hot!! My run yesterday in mid-90 degree heat brought our dog to a complete standstill. I had to run him home and then go back out to finish training. I love the heat, but most bodies are not made for it like mine. So, if you are taking your kids outside this summer to run, bring lots of water bottles, run during the cool times of day (morning and evening), take lots of breaks, go for a swim or bath afterward to cool down, and don't overdo it. Once our kids were ready to graduate from running inside, I took them to the local track. The track is great for kids because it is usually mostly enclosed by a fence (we often had to jump over the fence to get in if the gate was locked), which means that your kids can't wander off. They can run freely with YOU around the track or just run sprints back and forth on the football field counting the large numbers on the field. I have no idea if there are rules against these things but no one has ever given me a hard time about it. Can you really ask a Mommy with a 2 and 3 year old to leave the track? As we did in the kitchen, I made a game out of running. We counted laps and I gave away all kinds of "awards", like the Gold Star, which my kids have finally figured out doesn't exist in any physical form, but just means that they did a good job. The very best award of all is to go for an ice cream after your run, or buy containers of ice cream and cones for home and make special treats at home. If it's hot, spray your kids with the water hose when you get home. A run, playing in the water hose, then ice cream...that's a full summer morning and your kids will be ready for some quiet time afterward.

Follow Articles on All Things Healing

The first of my articles has come out on All Things Healing (www.allthingshealing.com). Here is the link: http://www.allthingshealing.com/Exercise-Fitness/Run-for-Your-Brain/11744