Epilepsy and the fight for Hannah's Cure

HANNAH IS FREE !!!!!!!!

2009-01-16T15:08:00.002-05:00

It is official...Hannah is wheaning off Kepra! her brain scans came back and our doctors both agreed it was time to take her off the medication that she has grown out of her Epilepsy!

We are so blessed to be in this position...I will keep us in the groups to keep up with all our friends....God Bless.

Hannah & her days

2008-11-11T14:30:00.003-05:00

Well Hannah is having some difficult times lately, she is in a lot of pain, headaches, body pain concentrated in one area, weird pains...we have gone to I bet 10 doctors. pain management, neurologists, even shrinks....just a ton. anyone have any ideas or been through this would be helpful!

But on a great note Hannah is in ballet and made the nutcracker as one of the mice!

Woo hoo she will be performing on the stage at the Pabst for 3 nights...we are so proud.

one other cool thing she has come up with is the fact that she is a huge nut for the food network, she loves Cat Cora....so she had us do a Iron Chef contest...with ....................wait for it.....marshmallows!!!
Hannah made the desert with pastry, filling fruit, marshmallows, pine apple etc...it was great! I mean this 9 year old came up with a great pastry desert!!!!!

Epilepsy walk run

2008-06-16T12:16:00.001-04:00

Hello Family & Friends... Attached is the official web page for the Epilespy Walk we are doing on behalf of Hannah and her journey with epilepsy.

Thank you!
Jen

*** About donating online ***

It's very easy to support Jennifer Carter online - just go to their page at the following web address and click "give now".

Web Address: http://www.firstgiving.com/teamhannahcarter

It takes a matter of minutes, is totally secure and you can leave a message with your donation too.

2008-05-28T13:12:00.000-04:00

Really bad tests but great results

2007-05-24T08:22:00.001-04:00

Poor Hannah, when it rains it pours!

Hannah has been having a lot of infections and bladder issues, as such we have been concerned if it has had something to do with her medication or her situation.

Well the medication was not the issue, as I thought it was a mental state, not a chemical or physical.

That being said I practically cried when I heard what they had to do. Jen was AWESOME in assisting 4 nurses to hold her down so they could insert a catheter to look at her kidney's. At the end of the tests she finally collapsed into Jen's arms exhausted from fighting to get up.
All results were negative which is great, and she has gone 8 straight days with out a night time accident.

Great job Hannah!

Great Day & Dinner

2007-05-08T08:52:00.000-04:00

I had the great fortune of attending dinner at P.F. Chang's with Hannah & her Mother last evening. I had a wonderful time but even more important I got to watch and interact with a soon to be 8 year old who is turning into such a lady.

She was using her manners, she asked for tea! Hot tea from an 8 year old, she tried it and did not like at first, but it is amazing what sugar & lemon can do to the taste!

Oh and for such a skinny girl she ate the whole adult dinner order. She has not lost her appetite!

No seizures today after Sundays issues. Today was a great day for my young lady!

Bad day

2007-05-08T08:49:00.000-04:00

Hannah had a tough day on Sunday. She went to a birthday party for one of her friends, so they go on a ride and it has all these blinking lights and a flat panel monitor her mother did not see inside the ride. 3 trips later and all the lights and Hannah has a headache.

It lasted a little longer then usual this time, not sure if it was from the intensity of the lights or what but I am doing research to see if there is a cause and effect from the stimuli.

4 hours later and a little relax time and she was good to go........

Outburst controlled

2007-03-19T09:08:00.000-04:00

Well Hannah had a outburst this weekend while her mother was in Washington DC. I noticed if I nipped it in the bud ASAP and not let her rant and rave like a crazy girl I am able to control her emotions.

Scenario:
She is standing on her bed yelling at her sister turning red and just screaming.
So I run in see this and "Calmly" say OK I am here you need to sit down and talk to me like a gig girl and not scream like a baby. I am here to deal with Lila (her annoying little sister, as she calls her) if she is being naughty.
So she immediately sat down we calmly talked and the rest of the day went on.
What did I learn, calm rational conversation and the world moves on!

A true Friend

2007-02-20T10:00:00.000-05:00

So as you know I have been writing on and off about my daughters fight and my struggles to understand and to assist her in her fight.
Well I found out this week that a VERY good friend of mine has epilepsy has for over 40 years! WOW, a fountain of knowledge, someone I can trust to ask questions on medications, on seizures etc. And the best part is I can truly call her a friend and she will not sugar coat her answers for me like the doctors have.

As you can see from the picture on the right, Hannah had to get tested in regards to the seizures again. (what a mess to get out of her hair) But we all lived through it, she was so brave, she wore them to school, friends asked questions but to my surprise no one picked on her in regards to them or the headband she wore. She was so scared about the other students, but it did teach us and her a valuable lesson. Strength is from within!

I am proud of you Hannah!

Canadian Drug Prices

2007-01-25T16:46:00.000-05:00

Let me start by saying how much I am against bring in foreign labor into the USA to do jobs that companies can find skilled qualified labor for here in the USA at a good price point but wont use do to a 50% cut in labor cost.

That being said I was told about Canadian on-line pharmacies this week.
Now the above all taken into account the more reading I did the more I thought of getting generic Kepra and saving $$$ off of the monthly bill.

My question is: Is it worth it? Is Generic worth it? is $100 per month worth it?

I ask becaus I seriously do not know, i am not sure the ramifications of going generic and I can find little if no research inregards to generic Kepra.

Backing the fight with more then words

2007-01-05T08:30:00.000-05:00

Ever since Hannah has been diagnosed with this curable disease I have been trying to learn and to understand it, today I am announcing my intentions to match dollar for dollar any donations from family and friends along with my own personal starters check to the fight. At the end of 2007 I & Hannah will hand over a check to the epilepsy center in Hannah's name.

Please join us in helping to learn more and to cure Epilepsy.

Thank you,

A search for understanding

2007-01-04T09:19:00.000-05:00

I went to a site this week, http://www.outoftheshadows.com/
I was very impressed and had a feeling of finally someone knows what I am personally going through with my daughter!

It was unique as I kind of like the ladies band as well. she seems to be a very straight forward woman who has a story to tell and we need to tell the stories we see every day with our loved ones. I look at Hannah everyday and hope and pray that she will be a normal little girl with everything she dreams about being in her reach.

The first step to ending fear and stigma is to learn more about epilepsy and seizures. Learning seizure first aid could help you help a friend. I know Hannah's are VERY mild but she has MANY going on all at the same time one right after another, but what is weird is they will grow and she zones out and then we know.

A long night

2007-01-02T14:50:00.000-05:00

Does it ever seem that when they tell you the medication your child is taking is going to actually make them this, or that, well Kepra is supposed to make them more focused on school work etc. Hannah was a very strong student now she never wants to do her work is more likely to be in front of a TV rather then doing the school work she used to love.

Maybe it is me, maybe it is me seeing something that is not there. But do you see changes in your children as well?

Happy Holidays

2006-12-27T15:04:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays to everyone.
As you know this is a joyus time of the year with all the twinkling lights and all the commotion around us it is easy to forget about the problems in our world, that is until those twinkling lights set your daughter into a blanked stared seizure. It is hard not to see the seizures with all those lights around us.
Be brave be strong and don't take away the lights or the festivities around them but be causcious, let them be kids, let them be the joy you see this time of the year, let them enjoy all the lights, the gifts and the fun of the season, it is for them after all.

Hannahs Cure

2006-12-26T12:31:00.000-05:00

I have the great honor of being the father of Hannah Carter a strong courageous fighter of Epilepsy. Hannah is a bright strong little dancer who along with her sister are the apple of our eyes.
it has been over 1 year since we had the first seizure, WOW.......until you are a part of it it is something you can never believe. The pain and horror that shot through us that Sunday Church morning is nothing you will never know unless you have experienced it.

During the time of this on-going fight, Hannah's mother(Jen) Her Sister (Lila) and I have been through many changes, many growth efforts in our education and to a lot of appointments to maintain a quality of life we once knew with out drugs and needles.

This blog will be a road trip with Hannah, the many members of our family, our company which was begun to assist in finding relief, education and cures for this disease.

We want all epilepsy survivors their families and friends to talk to us and others in this blog. Lets fight for a cure.