Theo and his Deductible

Monday, January 6th:

I was struggling with trying to get all of Theo's equipment attached to his new wheelchair. I finally gave up and we are going with the rolling suitcase! 

[All ready for school in his new chair!]

We got some snow and it was very icy!

Theo had a great first day back at school. He did have a lot of seizures and Jess said he was tired. It's hard to go back to school after a long break!

After school Theo had OT with Ms. Laura. She said that he struggled a bit and didn't even want to play Peak-a-Boo Barn!

The NFL Playoffs are set! Let's go Chargers and Packers!

Theo had 12 observable seizures today including ones that were 60 and 100 seconds long.

Tuesday, January 7th:

It was VERY icy as I took Theo to the bus! I decided that after my facial I would go and find some salt melt for the driveway. The last thing I want is for someone to fall and get hurt on our property!

[It was very cold out there!]

After my facial I found some salt melt, but then I got a message from Ms. Jess. She said Theo was tired and took a nap, but after he woke up he started having a lot of seizures. I decided to go pickup him early from school and bring him home for a proper nap.

During Theo's nap I went outside to put down some salt. Luckily, the sun had come out and melted the ice a little. 

After his nap at home we went to PT with Ms. Cody and then to see Sherman!

Theo had 12 observable seizures today including ones that were 70, 104, and 117 seconds long.

Wednesday, January 8th:

Theo headed off to school while I did somethings around the house. I started a Wall Street finance class, worked out, and finished a really good book called The Distance Between Us. I highly recommend it!

That afternoon Theo had feeding/speech therapy with Ms. Jen. I filled her in on our last month and we made a plan for the next week. Theo was VERY excited to see Ms. Jen and he did really well sitting in his new wheelchair for a full hour.

Theo had eight observable seizures today including one that was 131 seconds long.

Thursday, January 9th:

After I sent Theo off to school I had a long call with his Case Manager at Cigna. We went over all the drama with insurance and toward the end of our call I received two phone calls from Ms. Jess. I ended my call with the Case Manager and then called Ms. Jess back. She said Theo had a three minute long focal seizure and they administered his Valtoco. We decided against calling 911 because the Valtoco brought him out of the seizure right away and Brad and Ms. Jess were monitoring his vitals at school. Plus, flu, COVID, RSV, and other viruses are going around right now and the last thing we want to do is send Theo to the ER if it's not really an emergency.

I went to the school and had a nice chat with Brad, Ms. Jess, and Ms. Kate (Theo's teacher). I decided to send a message to Theo's Epilepsy Specialists about what happened and to ask her to update his seizure action plan. We also decided that I should keep Theo home from school on Friday because the local pharmacy was out of Valtoco refills and we didn't want him at school if he didn't have his emergency meds. 

I took Theo home and he took a nice "Valtoco nap."

Theo only had three seizures today, but one was over three minutes long. 

Friday, January 10th:

What do you do when you are home sick from school?! Watch The Price is Right, of course!

[Theo just living his best life!]

We relaxed all day and then that afternoon I took Theo to PT.

I've been keeping an eye on the fires in LA. It's so sad to see places that you know and recognize just burn to the ground. So far 10 people are confirmed dead and thousands of homes and buildings have burned down. It's just so so sad.

Weekend:

I made some Jell-O Pudding drops for Theo. They are sweet and delicious!

Let's give them a shot!

Theo wasn't happy with me.

I don't know what to do with this kid 🤦‍♀️

On Saturday, we watched my Chargers lose to the Texans. Herbert threw more interceptions in this game than he has ALL SEASON! He also got sacked a lot. It was a sad way to end the season, but we'll be back!

It's snowed a bit Sunday morning, but I shoveled the driveway twice yesterday and put down a ton of salt, so hopefully it'll won't accumulate too much!

Theo and I went for a drive to pick up his meds. Will you look at that? We just hit Theo's out of pocket deductible. 

Tell me you have a Special Needs child without telling me you have a Special Needs child:

Theo's Valtoco was $487 (two doses) and his Epidiolex was $2600 (one month supply). AND we are currently on COBRA so our premium this month was $2100. Good times.

And unfortunately the Packers lost to the Eagles. Bummer. I guess I'll root for the Lions and the Bills. 

While Theo and I have been living life here in Illinois, Josh has been working hard up on the North Slope!

[There is no shortage of food up there!]

[Jupiter and the moon]

[Those are some intense lights from the pads]

No wonder people think they are working for some top secret military operation that is hiding the existence aliens and giants 😬

It was a bit cloudier this week than last week so Josh wasn't able to see the Northern Lights as well. Maybe he'll have better luck this week!