Looking back at various photos I never noticed until brought to my attention that he always seemed to be clenching a fist with his right hand. I just thought that maybe he was going to be a boxer and was in early training. My wife and mother showed concern about it and so we took him to see his pediatrician and had him checked out. Well that was the beginning of this roller coaster ride that we have been on ever since.

Kaidhyn was diagnosed as having a stroke. A stroke, I thought, that is crazy are you sure I asked. Yea, we are sure and all of the tests confirm it. At first, I was overwhelmed as most parents are when their bubble is popped that they do not have the perfect child that they had always imaged having. I guess it took me a minute or two to digest and then I said, "Self there are two paths that we can go on here. We can either be Proactive and play the hand we were dealt or we can be reactive and play the blame game and be in denial." I chose to be proactive in my approach to it.

I feel that I am blessed because my educational background kind of prepared me for the path that my family and I have now been traveling for over a year and a half. For those of you that do not know my wife and I are both Special Education teachers. Yes I have to say that our training has helped our son get all of the help that he has needed up to this point. Now by no means is he where he needs to be, but he is doing ok and progressing everyday.

I will have to say that having a special needs child can be very strenuous on all parties in a household. I think that we are learning and growing everyday at our house. The major lesson that we learned this week is that our son is susceptible to seizures. He contracted a virus last week that put him in the hospital for 3 days. Before he went to the hospital, he ran a high fever and had other symptoms that lowered his seizure threshold. Therefore, on last Saturday while he was taking his nap he had his first seizure. Not to be alarmed this was not a Grand Mal, he had an EEG, and he has seen his Neurologist. They are confident that his illness caused this episode.

Therefore, here is another incline on our fabulous roller coaster. Some people probably think that if I had the chance I would change what happened to Kado, but I would not. I feel that Kado's character has been forged by what he has been through and though he cannot tell you due to his delayed speech, you can see it in his looks and body language.

So, if your are a parent of a child who has suffered from a stroke you know what I am talking about. If this whole thing is new to you, do not worry trust yourself and no matter what listen to your gut, if you feel that you are being jerked around by the Doctors, find a new one. Believe me in the 3 and half years that my wife and I have been parents we have fired many doctors because we felt we were getting the run around. Moreover, remember for those of you who are new to this lifestyle do not get discouraged you are not alone.

In closing, I would like to say that the majority of the reason that Kado is doing so well in meeting his goals and making his developmental strides is due to my wife and his mother. My wife has been great during the past two years without her Kado would not be where he is today. In addition, I would like to say that family support is everything and we have had great support from our families over the past two years.

Happy 2nd Birthday Kado!!!!!!

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