He's our STAR every day

Last Friday, C Monkey was honored during his school's "Star Student" ceremony. He was named the Star Student in his class for October.

C-Monkey & his teacher accepting his certificate & medal.

We always celebrate every accomplishment or award he receives like a huge deal. To us every. little. thing. he does is a HUGE deal! When you have a child with Special Needs, you don't take much for granted. You learn to celebrate things that most parents would consider an every day occurrence. When a Doctor looks you in the face and tells you that your 8 month old wouldn't ever walk or talk or do much of anything "normal"....you are thankful for what ever you can get. When you are given the worst case scenario, and your child gives the Dr's expectations or predictions the middle finger by pressing forward against the "expected"...that is worthy of celebration!



J & C-Monkey

So, every time C-monkey receives recognition either at school, a baseball game or anywhere: we are always there cheering the loudest and taking the most pictures. We can't let moments like this pass us by. We've all worked hard to get him where he is. In a way those celebrations are an acknowledgment of our work & our devotion to C-Monkey too. The fact that he doesn't give up & we don't either. 



Proud Mommy & C-Monkey



I reflected really hard on this year's Star Student honor. I really know what a struggle everyday tasks are for him. What an internal war is going on in that brain of his. Why we fight so hard to save him from the seizure monster.

The image below is what a "normal" EEG looks like:

The image below is what C-Monkey's EEG looks like AT REST, when he is NOT having a seizure.

Kind of reminds you of the charts that are used to demonstrate an earthquake's pattern doesn't it? The sheer fact that C-Monkey's brain has such a chaotic rhythm to it amazes me that he can learn anything...even slowly. I can understand why he is so cognitively delayed. How can anyone learn when this is happening every minute in your brain? Add in atleast 20 seizures a day....whoa. I only wish I could feel what it feels like to be him for a day. To help me learn how to help him. To save him from this firestorm that is happening in his brain 24 hours a day.

By the way, that EEG was performed in October.....the same month C-Monkey was chosen as a *STAR STUDENT*.

C-Monkey: 1  Seizure monster: 0

Star Student, how about Star Kid? Or just plain ol' ROCKSTAR.