Little Drake seeks Seizure Service Dog from 4 Paws for Ability
By Kristen Current. Drake Current, age 24 months (May 2010), has epilepsy. He had his first seizure at nine months of age. We took him to the ER, but by the time we arrived, he had regained all normal function. After listening to what had happened, the ER doc felt it had been a seizure. They did a CT scan, which was normal.
Exactly one month later, he had his second seizure. This time it was a tonic-clonic seizure. My husband called 911 and they worked on him in front of our house for about half an hour trying to stop the seizure and stabilize his oxygen levels. From there, he was taken to the nearest hospital, where he was intubated. He continued having seizures.
They could not get him completely stabilized so he was life flighted to a nearby children’s hospital. He spent the next three weeks in the PICU on ventilator support. Nobody knew why he was so sick. Drake was tested for viral and bacterial infection, immune deficiencies, head trauma, and more. Nothing gave them any clues.
Then he suddenly started getting better. He went home on anticonvulsants, but otherwise seemed healthy. During follow-up visits, we were told that we would likely not see any more seizures, but if we did, we could increase his meds, and that once we had the right dose and he made it two years seizure free, we’d start weaning the meds.
For five months things were great. No more seizures! But we noticed that he was not making any more developmental gains. Before we had a chance to mention that to his doctors, he had yet another status tonic-clonic seizure, but thankfully this time, only a three-day hospital stay. Another EEG and MRI. The MRI was normal. But the EEG showed something this time. He was finally given the official diagnosis of epilepsy.
Since that seizure in September, he has continued having seizures at least once a month, though more recently we have been seeing many other seizure types: as often as 10 in a day. We have only “caught” him seizing during sleep a handful of times, but suspect it happens more frequently. It’s difficult to get a good night’s sleep when you are always fearing what may happen if he has another bad seizure and we aren’t there to get him the help he needs! He’s now on his fourth medication, with little success, and we are beginning to fear it may be Dravet Syndrome.
Since September, Drake has also been tested and determined to have global developmental delays. He did not start walking until he was nearly 19 months old. And five months later, he still frequently stumbles and falls. His language is at about a 12-month level. He has never experienced any sort of separation anxiety or fear of strangers. He will often try to wander away from us and to him, nobody is a stranger. He loves water and would do anything he could to get away from us, and play in any puddle, pond, or pool he sees. As you can imagine, these things combined are a huge cause of anxiety for us.
Drake has terrible mood swings and behavioral issues as well. We have not yet determined if this is due to the epilepsy, a side effect of meds, or some other condition not yet diagnosed. He was tested for autism and it has been ruled out at this time, though many of these things are indicators. He has frequent tantrums, some lasting as long as an hour, that include very loud screaming, hitting, kicking, and banging his head on the floor or wall. If we try to touch him or comfort him, things will only escalate. These tantrums can happen at any time for any reason (or no reason all), making it very difficult to leave the house with him.
He’s happy to go to the park or to play with friends. However, a 10-minute trip to a store is a nightmare every time. We now try to take turns going places, so one parent can stay home with Drake whenever possible. If we both must go somewhere at the same time/together, we do everything we can to find a babysitter to stay with him at home.
Drake currently attends an early intervention program two days a week. He makes the 12 mile drive on a bus - the absolute highlight of his week! He is a charming little boy with the brightest blue eyes you’ve ever seen and the most infectious laugh. Even his teachers and therapists find it difficult to resist his charm. When he smiles, it’s impossible to be upset with him about the objects he was just throwing or the wild tantrum he just had because you didn’t understand what he wanted.
Drake lives with mom (Kristen), dad (DC) and big brother (Kevin - 5). Dad works from home doing computer support and mom is currently unemployed (due to job elimination) and attending school part time for nursing (thanks to Drake’s inspiration!). Kevin also has some developmental delays and attends a special education preschool program four days a week. Kevin tries very hard to be a good big brother, but sometimes between Drake’s seizures and behavioral issues, he starts feeling a bit neglected and acts up too.
We don’t spend much time thinking about the future for Drake. We try to live each day to its fullest, dealing with each day’s victories and challenges as they come. We hope that one day the seizures will stop and he will lead a normal childhood and life. But if the seizures do not stop, and if more problems creep up in the future, our biggest hope is just for him to be happy. We will do all we can each and every day to ensure he knows he is loved and cherished and that we want nothing more than for him to be happy.
I don’t recall how I discovered 4 Paws, since I do a lot of online research, and it was about four to five months before we sent in the application. We would have sent it sooner, but thought perhaps Drake was too young to qualify. We were also starting a new medication around that time and were hopeful that we would gain better seizure control (sadly that hasn’t been the case).
Our biggest hope for the service dog is that it will detect his seizures. That would give Drake the freedom to play in a room without someone else parked right by him, and it would reduce our anxiety (especially at night) greatly. The dog will also be trained in tracking, tethering, and behavior modification techniques. Perhaps someday, our family will once again be able to enjoy family outings without the fear, anxiety and embarrassment caused by unexpected seizures, wandering, and meltdowns!
Our family is partnering as volunteers with 4 Paws for Ability in order to raise funds for Drake’s special service dog. If you donate in his honor your tax-deductible donation will help us qualify to receive that service dog. You can donate online, or make your check payable to 4 Paws for Ability and please be sure to reference “In honor of Drake Current” in the memo portion of the check or in the special instructions box online. Thank you from the Current family.
Note: I highly endorse 4 Paws for Ability as a source for extremely well-trained service dogs. The organization is sound and its goals exceptional. Judy Vorfeld.