So our beautiful baby boy was born on the 13th June at 15.09. Baby Boy Waddams (as he was officially known for the first few hours of his life) was of course given to Faye at first for a cuddle before he was taken away to be cleaned up. I stayed with Faye to make sure she was ok and that she was getting seen to (I knew that our Baby was in the capable hands of Rosie and his Auntie Dave a.k.a Steph). Once I knew Faye was ok I went over to have a proper look at my Son. He was beautiful. He was still crying, which was re-assuring as it meant that he was breathing properly and was waiting to be dressed. So I dressed him very carefully – I was unbelievably nervous of hurting him, but Faye’s GP Midwife had come over to me and was telling me that I wouldn’t hurt him and that what I was doing was absolutely fine. Once he was dressed and I’d had had a cuddle it was off to inform all our friends and family that our baby boy was here!
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I’m a Dad! I’ll never get bored of saying that! Noah is amazing and he brightens my day, even when it doesn’t need brightening! I’m so unbelievably proud of Faye, she was amazing through all of her labour and she is an amazing Mum to Noah. We are both very lucky to have her.
Epilepsy awards
One of the positives that come following that awful day was Faye had been nominated for a Young Epilepsy award. I think focusing on going to the awards kept Faye sane and gave her something to focus on. It was an amazing night and the stories were so inspirational and it was good to hear others experiences. I was so proud of her for being nominated and then short listed, and although I was disappointed for her that she didn’t win she will always be a winner in my eyes and my champion. Epilepsy affects all
In keeping with the theme that epilepsy affects whole families and not just the person with epilepsy, and I think it is fair to say this trimester has taken its toll on Chris too. This is the first of a two part entry covering the second trimester, lining up with my entries as much as he could. Epilepsy debate I sat down to watch this with Faye and it took us a while to go through it as she was taking notes the whole way through it. I was really pleased that epilepsy was getting some exposure. My first surprise is how much the local governments were failing to meet NICE guidelines, and the variations in care depending on where in the country you were. In part two Chris covers from the 12 week appointment, through to the neurology appointment at 16 weeks. As well as the sickness and his own views on how the first 16 weeks have gone.
Sickness Faye was being sick a lot which wasn’t helping at all. Those who have been pregnant or have been around pregnant women know how awful “Morning sickness” can be. Now throw in the fact that being sick was affecting Faye’s drug levels. AED’s don’t tend to work when they’re in the toilet with this morning’s breakfast. To put it short Sickness + Epilepsy = heightened seizure activity. As for “Morning Sickness”? How about “Every-part-of-the-day Sickness”? That’s more like it. Faye is suffering morning, noon and night. Faye has ended up as a mixture between Bella when pregnant in the Twilight Saga (my man card has just been revoked…) and the girl from The Exorcist. Throw in a high level of absences and my wife is no longer herself. The absences are not nice, they happen randomly and from my point of view there’s no “tell” with them. I can be in a full blown conversation with Faye and she wouldn’t have heard a word. Or Faye can ask me something, I answer and then I get asked the same question seconds later. It’s not fun for either of us. Introduction.
I have asked Chris to write a two part entry covering up to week 16 of the pregnancy, there is too much to cram into one entry! I want people to see the perspective of a Dad-to-be and get an idea of the overall effect epilepsy has on our lives as a couple. The first entry is a quick introduction and covers up to the first Neurology appointment at ten weeks. In the beginning: Hello, I’m Chris (Faye’s husband) and she has asked me to contribute to her brilliant blog. So let’s start at the beginning. When Faye and I first started dating she was very open with the fact she had Epilepsy. I didn’t think it was that big of a deal, I was in a unique position that I had done quite a bit of First Aid training so I knew all about Epilepsy… well at least I thought I did. It soon became apparent that what I thought was epilepsy and what actually WAS epilepsy were two completely different things. But Faye was brilliant and explained fully what the differences between the different type of seizures and what she was affected by. As time went on I managed to get a grip on how epilepsy affected Faye and what I should and shouldn’t do to help her if she had any form of seizure. |
AuthorMy names Faye, mostly known for being a tea addict, swimmer and now Paralegal and part time student. I'm 36, married and I had my 1st (and only) child in June 2015. Oh and I also happen to have epilepsy. This is my story of Pregnancy, Motherhood & Epilepsy and the voice I have become for those with epilepsy. Archives
December 2022
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