Everyday stress is a given for parents. You won't have to think too hard to find something that brings on some degree of stress whether it's financial, work related, being disorganized or worrying about a family member or friend.

There are different levels of stress.  More severe stress can lead to more serious issues such as depression, anxiety and even panic attacks. A lot of people don't recognize the symptoms related to anxiety and panic and will often feel awful and genuinely be convinced that they could be seriously ill.

Genetically Modified (GM) foods pose a danger to the health of children everywhere. Allergies, nutritional problems, toxins and weakened immune systems have all been linked to the consumption of genetically modified foods, and children are at a greater risk of developing these problems than most adults.

What are GM foods?

Added with permission:

The Story of Bauer - a 2 yr old with Severe Food Allergies

My son has had seizures and I have connected them with food allergies! He has now been seizure free for 5-6 months. I wish I could go back to that first allergist and tell him..."you may have MD after your name, but I have MOM and that outweighs you any day. My gut instincts have been right on.

In my last posting I reviewed some of the recent progress in research on the use of the ketogenic diet.  In this posting I’d like to follow up by reviewing an exciting study published this past February by a group of French researchers on the use of the ketogenic diet for patients with focal epilepsy (also called partial epilepsy).

Expressions of Courage, a national contest for people with epilepsy, will be open for entries through Aug. 28. The contest helps showcase the talent and inspiration of people across the country living with epilepsy. A panel of epilepsy advocates, art industry representatives and healthcare experts will serve as contest judges and will announce the winners in November.

Dear Friends,
 
Today kicks off the Helmets for Hope Campaign.  The campaign is intended to bring awareness of severe forms of epilepsy, particularly those affected by atonic seizures, also known as drop attack seizures.
 
The campaign and Gala, scheduled for November 5th in New York is co-hosted by The American Epilepsy Outreach Foundation is working with the Lennox Gastaut Foundation.
 
Please view this latest Public Service Announcement as Mike Yam from ESPN News fights for our cause.
 

Contributed by Shirley Price

Grandparents play a major part in the lives of many children.  There is a wealth of wisdom, and a ton of love that many of these children get in addition to that of their parents. It really is a two way street because as much as the children can benefit from their grandparents, we grandparents gain so much pleasure from our grandkids. Grandchildren also give us a great excuse to do things that we would never otherwise do at this stage of our lives because we think we are too old.

                                            
My parents were both lucky and very blessed.  They had five very healthy children who were easily high achievers in grade school, high school, and college.  It was probably a good thing for them too, because I was raised on a working dairy farm in mid-Michigan and my father worked two farms about 17 miles apart in order to provide for us and his aged parents. He would not have had the time or energy for a special needs child.

A Different Child

The parents of kids with epilepsy in this community might be interested to know that research on the effect of dietary therapy on childhood epilepsy is moving forward  rapidly. The ketogenic diet, if you're not already familiar with it, is a diet that carefully controls and balances nutrients to provide low carbs, adequate protein, and high fat, in order to change the way the body uses nutrients.
 
A Big Year in Ketogenic Diet Research

Diagnosis: a large abdominal mass Prognosis: being a vegetable!

Luckily the good experienced doctors got it all wrong.

My name is Sam and I want to share with you my son Peter's story of epilepsy since 1990. I'll cut this as short as I can. You will note that in my story the fine medical doctors are far from perfect to say the least. Further, medical schools and the drug companies believe or pretend to believe they have all the right answers. Well, they don't!

Please do not be bullied and do not be afraid to question every doctor's statements.