Remember the days when we checked blogs everyday to see if they were updated?
Yeah, me too! Now, everything is on social media but I keep my blog around (even though it is rarely updarted) because of all the recorded details of my adoption journey...now nearly 20 years of history!
2023 has been a difficult year for our family. Molly was diagnosed with epilepsy in August of 2023 after a sudden onset of tonic clonic (gran mal) seizures, just our of no where with no history of ever having any health issues.
We had been on a long road trip to Orlando and when we arrived at the hotel, she just fell over and started seizing. It scared me to death. But thankfully the paramedics were there quickly and our Disney vacation was replaced with a night in the ER, a day driving around trying to fill the right prescription in case she seizes again, me on edge every single minute of the day, and the worst of all- no time in the parks!
But we made it home safely and a few days later she had a seizure with my mom while they were at my brothers house one night. Thankfully I had videoed just a few seconds of her seizure in Orlando so I could show the doctors. I also had shown my mom, even though she didn't want to see it. So when it happened just a few days later she knew what was happening, although it was just as scary for her. We spend another night in the ER here at home and were assigned a neurologist to work with. After this second seizure she was officially diagnosed with epilepsy.
Since August, she has started medication and has had several break through seizures. Thankfully, none have lasted as long or been quite as severe as these first 2. She is learning to deal with the side effects of medication, the side effects of epilepsy, and it's been really difficult to navigate it all while she's also starting her Freshman year of High School!
But, Molly is a complete rock star! I know I am biased, but she really does work so hard to do things well. She started High School taking 3 Honors classes and has maintained A averages in all classes. She has had to adjust her studying and homework habits, because she notices quite a difference in her ability to concentrate and remember things. I'm just so proud of her I could burst.
Her favorite hobby is video creating and video editing. She loves to put music behind certain video/movie clips and make a new video. She is interested in making trailers of movies, shorts, or even complete animation one day. She's talented in art, specifically drawing animals. She studies movies (animation/Disney) and can tell you the history of it, the year it was created, if it was a hit or flop in theaters, if there was a spin off, if there was a tv show, etc. She loves it! I really hope she finds a career path that allows her to use all of these talents in the future!