Welcome to Matthew's Blog!

Sleepy Matthew!

2009-04-05T19:34:00.001-05:00

Meet Lucie, our foster Boston Terrier!

2009-04-05T19:19:00.004-05:00

Lucie is a 12 year old Boston Terrier who was found wandering in the middle of a busy Houston street. She was turned over to Boston Terrier Rescue of Greater Houston and she's very happy to be safe and loved now! Can you imagine dumping a 12 year old dog and leaving her to fend for herself? In traffic?? We picked up Lucie right before the holidays and she was supposed to stay with us for about 2 weeks . . . that was about 3 months ago! When she first came to stay with us, we weren't sure if she could see or hear anything. Now we know that she can see and hear a little, but both senses are impaired. She also has mild seizures from time to time, but she doesn't let any of her "issues" slow her down! Lucie is our little ray of sunshine and we're so happy to have her in our lives. Thanks so much to Karen for letting us foster this sweet little angel!!

Meet Matthew's Family!

2008-07-03T14:41:00.003-05:00

Missing Willow

2008-07-03T14:02:00.012-05:00

At the beginning of February we had to say goodbye to our sweet Willow. She was the very best, smartest, most adorable bunny in the world. We found her in a parking lot on Halloween in 2001 and she's been an important part of the family ever since. We miss you Willow - the way you used to dance around when we gave you fresh cilantro, parsley, and carrots; the way you played with your little red car filled with hay; the way you twitched your nose and ran to greet us when we came to your room. We miss you and we will always love you!! Matthew, Claire, Bosco, Jodie, Lucie, and Fay

Check Out My First Year in Pictures!

2008-07-03T14:01:00.002-05:00

My Seizure Record (2009)

2008-03-28T11:54:00.032-05:00

My mom keeps a thorough seizure record at home in my medical records binder. She has a description of each seizure, what I was doing before it happened, and my behavior after each seizure. This is very helpful in emergency situations.

6-13 (4:30 pm) 3 seizures back to back (5-8 minutes total)
4-28 (4:00 am) 5 seizures back to back (8-10 minutes total)
1-28 (7:05 pm) 1 min. 30 sec.

Scroll down for my 2007 - 2008 Seizure Record.

What happens when I have a seizure . . .

2008-03-25T22:54:00.009-05:00

My seizures almost always happen when I'm sleeping or resting. I have grand mal seizures. That means that my whole body gets rigid and I shake all over. I foam at the mouth, lose control of my bladder and occasionally I express my anal glands. When I start to come out of the seizure I cough a lot and it sounds like I have bad congestion. My feet make a paddling motion and sometimes my tongue turns blue. I usually try to stand up before I'm ready and my mom catches me before I fall.

The period after a seizure is called the post-ictal phase. During this time, which can be very short (hours) or very long (days), I pace frantically around the house. I can't settle down. Sometimes I bark and occasionally I get aggressive. In my worst episode I was blind for a few days. My mom sometimes gives me a valium injection after a seizure. This helps to stop the cluster. Since I've been living with my mom I've had 3 cluster episodes: 5/7 (3 seizures), 6/16-6/17 (6 seizures), and the worst one was 8/26-8/28 (8+ seizures).

Good friends are important!

2008-03-24T11:12:00.009-05:00

This is a video clip of me playing with my good friend Buster. I like to play with him because he's very friendly and we always have lots of fun together. He helped me with my wrestling moves and now I can hold my own with my sister Claire. Thanks Buster!!

Flashback!

2007-11-13T11:03:00.001-06:00

This video was shot shortly after I was rescued. As you can see, my waistline and my personality have grown a lot since then! Ha!

Liver Enzymes, PB & KBr Levels

2007-10-07T05:55:00.009-05:00

Liver Enzymes:

ALT - (alanine transferase) 10 - 100 U/L is normal)

4-22-08 16
9-13-07 67

ALKP - (alkaline phosphatase) 23 - 212 U/L is normal)

4-22-08 317
9-13-07 126

PB Levels: (15 - 40 ppm is normal)

3-26-08 23.0
9-13-07 25.2
5-10-07 20.2

KBr Levels: (1.0 - 3.0 mg/ml is normal)

3-26-08 1.24
9-13-07 2.01

My Seizure Record (2007 - 2008)

2007-08-12T22:26:00.024-05:00

My mom keeps a thorough seizure record at home in my medical records binder. She has a description of each seizure, what I was doing before it happened, and my behavior after each seizure. This is very helpful in emergency situations. What follows is a list of my 2007 - 2008 seizures:
2008
12-10 (4:50 pm) 1 min
12-6 (6:44 pm) 45 sec
12-6 (2:55 pm) ?? (did not observe)

8-28 (10:30 pm) 1 min
8-28 (2:10 am) 1 min??
8-28 (2:05 am) 1 min 30 sec

7-14 (7:05 am) 1 min 30 sec

5-28 (7:00 pm) 1 min
5-27 (10:30 pm) ?? 1 min?

4-21 (4:10 am) 1 min 30 sec

3-21 (12:45 am) 40 sec

2-20 (8:30 am) 45 sec

1-6 (7:02 pm) 1 min 15 sec

2007
11-30 (3:00 am) 45 sec
10-21 (3:03 pm) 30 sec

8-28 (3:28 am) 30 sec
8-27 (10:58 pm) 25 sec
8-27 (6:55 pm) 30 sec
8-27 (at work - did not observe)
8-27 (5:58 am) 30 sec
8-27 (3:25 am) 30 sec
8-26 (6:30 pm) 25 sec
8-26 (2:45 pm) 40 sec
- - - - Started KBr on 6/18 - - - -
6-17 (11:15 pm) 30 sec
6-17 (9:15 pm) 45 sec
6-17 (8:05 pm) 45-60 sec
6-17 (6:28 pm) 45 sec
6-17 (1:50 am) 30 sec
6-16 (10:06 pm) 20 sec

5-7 (8:15 pm) 20 sec
5-7 (6:40 pm) 25 sec
5-7 (3:35 am) 20 sec

Prior to being in my mom's care, I had a cluster episode on 3-14-07 (4 or 5 seizures) and was put on Phenobarbital - 32.4 mg BID.