Faced with

Rebecca and I are faced with the toughest challenge as parents. We have tried every medical treatment available to science to gain control of Claire's epilepsy. In the past, Claire would lose seizure control whenever she was sick. But more recently, Claire has had to come to the hospital and be intubated with no detectable reason other than drug levels becoming unstable. This is a sign that either her brain or liver (or both) gained tolerance to her meds. Last Thursday, after only a 27-hour stretch at home, Claire returned to the ICU and was re-intubated. In a last ditch effort to gain seizure control, we put Claire on Depakote, which in combination with her other anticonvulsants, places her at a high risk of liver failure. Claire has only had a maximum of 2 weeks seizure free on any medication. Having expended every medical option to try to give Claire a good life, we have come to the conclusion that constant seizing and intubating is not giving Claire the quality of life she so deserves. We have decided this will be her last visit to the ICU. We will not resuscitate or re-intubate her moving forward. If her recent patterns hold constant, we suspect that Claire is in her final days of life. We ask for your continued prayers for our strength and peace in this time.