When my best friend Hannah invited us to go stay a night with them during their week stay on South Manitou Island a lot went through our heads. Initial excitement of course was one, but also concern for Karina and the question of whether we could and should try it.
If you are familiar with our family you probably know about our battle with Karina's epilepsy. Karina has a very unique kind of epilepsy, when she started getting seizures she would get stuck in the seizure and we could not stop it. I will be posting more about Karina's health soon! So watch the blog!
Since march this year the doctors increase her meds to a level that seems to be controlling them well, she was able to get out of two with out her emergency rescue medicine. In May they increase them a little more to try and get her seizure free and she has been doing great! No EMERGENCIES! Its really a change of pace for us as we were getting used to having them every couple months for TEN months (10 months old-20 months old).
We always tried really hard not to forget to still appreciate life and the time we have together because you never know whats going to happen. We make it a family goal to try to live to the fullest, still have adventure and new experiences even if its a little (or a lot) scary! We practice having faith and praying, leaving our worries with God.
So, on that note we decided to do it! The Island has a park ranger who would respond in an emergency and a helicopter that would be there within 15 minutes, worst case this is what we would have to work with.
When we left for the Island we had a 1 1/2 hour ferry ride right in the middle of the time Karina usually naps. and she napped! only about an hour but it was enough she had 1 hour naps before and we knew she did ok with them.
Exploring the Island was great! Showing Karina the lake and all the wildlife closer than you would normally get to see them. She even held a baby TOAD! It was fun since she is just starting to notice more of her surroundings and respond more. Its such a blessing watching her learn! We walked around and road on a golf cart a lot of the time which was a little noisy and windy somewhat overwhelming for Karina, but it was great because it allowed us to see a lot more of the island than what we normally would have in the time we were there if we had been walking. It was a really special time for our family to spend together, and for us to spend with Hannah and Logan (and Maddie Hannah's little sister).
Because of some road obstacles we got back for dinner a little later than expected, so we ended up eating around Karina's bed time. She was having a good time playing around the cabin though so we kept visiting after giving her the medicine. But then...we started to get worried. Often when Karina has a seizure, one side gets weak/limp and she doesn't interact or respond well. The onset is sort of a daze. So when she was crawling around playing and started falling because one arm was giving out that was the first scary moment. We picked her up and she had a very sleepy face (which was either just a sleepy face, or a seizure face). I started to get worried! I tried feeding her milk and putting her to sleep but it wasn't working she wasn't closing her eyes the way she should. I felt desperate to get her to sleep so Noe put her in the baby carrier and started walking with her while i got the bed ready. She fell asleep FAST! PHEW!
These kind of moments happen sometimes when really tired and seizure onset symptoms are some of the same! It sends us in a little bit of a panic, but it reminds us to be grateful everyday!
After a good nights sleep we enjoyed a yummy breakfast (with fresh island blackberries) Karina had her morning nap and we headed to the beach for the day. It was about 2.5 hours to the beach half of which was down a hidden secret trail that was definitely LESS traveled. Branches were swinging at us from every direction and there was the occasional tree in the road. But once we made it, it was so worth it! A beautiful lake Michigan beach with sand and colorful stones along the shore.
Im so happy we decided to take this adventure our whole family with our friends, it gave us memories I will forever love! and who knows we might even try to make it an annual trip!