Is this thing working?

Ryan and I are terrible at social media and even worse at blogging, so it's been an age since we've shared any updates on Otis. We know we have a ton of catching up to do, but for now we just want to briefly share the latest.

This Wednesday, Otis will be going up to Children's in Highlands Ranch for an outpatient procedure to swap out his old, dying VNS (vagus nerve stimulator--sort of like a pace maker that quells abnormal brain activity that leads to seizures) for a new one. The existing VNS battery, which was originally placed at Children's Mercy in Kansas City in March of 2013 when Otis was just 21 months old, started fizzling out back in February--nearly a year past its projected end-of-life. Because we had never noticed the VNS doing much of anything to help reduce Otis's seizures, our plan has always just been to let the old battery die. Over the past few months, however, we've realized that it may have been helping quite a bit more behind the scenes than we realized, so we decided to go ahead with the procedure to upgrade to the newer model of VNS.

Please think of Otis Wednesday morning and send him whatever healthy, happy, healing vibes you've got to spare. The procedure is outpatient, but it still requires that he be placed under general anesthesia, which is always a little nerve-wracking for anxious parents! We're hoping that the new VNS will help pull him out of the seizure rut he's been in for the past couple of months so that he can get back to his happy, energetic, smiling self in time to enjoy his summer. 

21-month-old O Recovering from VNS surgery, March 2013

Mother's Day 2019 at Mueller State Park