Recycle

     We have all gotten used to recycling at this point. Some dinosaurs like my husband still put stuff in the wrong bin but we always seem to catch it and make it right. Our older daughter deals with the garbage and recycling as part of her chores at home and she does a great job. In the past she's accumulated bottles and cans through friends and family and she and I have sorted them, brought them in and she has received the cash.             

     Since we moved we connected with some of our neighbours through the neighbourhood's Facebook page and discovered that there were folks who were happy to let our daughter bring their bottles and cans to the recycling depot. They understand how hard it is for a disabled person to make money and though our daughter is usually employed she will never make the amount of money that most of us take for granted. Typically disabled people make minimum wage and if they are fortunate enough to have a job, they often work only part-time. During a COVID layoff this little job has been a life-saver, not only for the cash that it brought in but more importantly for the connections our elder daughter made in the neighbourhood and the sense of purpose it gave her. 

     The recycling depot now offers a service whereby they sort and count the bottles and cans and credit the individual with the appropriate amount. I for one, really appreciate this as I am allergic to stinging insects and the wasps that used to hang around us at the depot as we sorted made it a very stressful activity. Anyway, suffice it to say that we are big fans of the Return-it Express program and would recommend it to anyone. Our daughter has made a few more friends in the neighbourhood, a little pocket money and the feeling that she is doing a good thing. You can't put a price on that! 

Breakthrough

    

     For three and a half years our older daughter was seizure free. During that time she got used to a certain level of independence that seems usual for most young adults. She got to go places with friends, went on dates and was even able to be home on her own. Since the breakthrough seizures that occurred in July and again in December we are back to our old ways: hypervigilance, unlocked doors and so many other precautions.           

     Breakthrough seizures are those that break through the anti-epileptic medications. Sometimes they occur because meds are skipped or because of provoking factors such as emotional stress, sleep deprivation, alcohol or other recreational drugs and TV or video games according to the NCBI.  In our case, last year's seizures happened on the eve of our daughter's twenty-first birthday and on Boxing Day morning. Over the years our daughter's seizures have often occurred at times of excitement or when daily routines are changed, for example at times of celebration or when travelling. 

     There are different schools of thought on whether medications should be adjusted after a breakthrough seizure but of course as parents, we look to the medical expertise of others to know what to do. We dislike the fact of pharmaceuticals being a daily part of our daughter's life but in the case of epilepsy, they are a life saver. Our daughter spent most of her high school years trying different medications at different doses to find that level where both types of her seizures would be controlled and the side effects were bearable. One medication that she took for a while made her terribly depressed. And while depression is common in teens with Nonverbal Learning Disorder and epilepsy, this medication was a mistake for our daughter. Fortunately her pediatric neurologist was responsive to emails and we quickly got her off that one and on to something else.

     We had hoped that anti-epileptic drugs or AEDs might be a temporary measure for our daughter. More and more they are looking like a permanent aspect of her life. They keep her mostly seizure free and mostly herself. We all can live with that!