Our Story
We are a blended family of seven. Jason and I have 5 kids, all within about a 3-year time frame. It gets a little crazy at times, but there is so much happiness and love at our home!
Our family has seen its share of ups and downs, and we are really proud of how we have weathered our storms. Not every day is good, but there are way more great days than bad days. We have been through some really tough seasons, but the beauty and growth that have come from our trials make it all ok.
Our family’s path has not always been a straight path—believe me when I say we have had our share of zigs and zags along the way! We have made some mistakes, we could have made better decisions and we have been dealt some rough cards, but I promise we are better off and stronger because of each of our struggles.
We try to teach our kids to not be ashamed of their mess-ups or their struggles … learn from them!
Help others. Teach others. Inspire others. Be kind and love others. And please, above all, ZigZag with pride!
How The Zig Zag Life Got Started
Our son, Andrew
When our healthy and active son was nine, he had his first visible seizure. Talk about life-changing … the weeks and months and years that followed were a whirlwind, bringing challenge after challenge, shock after shock!
Within a week of that first seizure, we saw his pediatrician and a neurologist. Within that same week, the seizures happened more and more often, they got bigger and lasted longer. Before a few weeks passed our little boy completed EEGs, sleep studies, MRIs, and other assessments. These tests revealed a lesion, and we learned that at the time of birth Andrew had suffered a stroke we had not known about. This lesion was a scar from that stroke.
Our sweet boy was diagnosed with epilepsy.
Life After His Diagnosis
Next came nasty medications with nasty side effects. Still, the seizures got worse. More tests, more hospital stays, and new medicines followed. At last, we discussed surgical intervention.
Two years after his first seizure, Andrew entered the hospital again—this time for a 28-day stay and two brain surgeries. During this stay, he was amazing! He endured so much and handled every day with courage. I am not sure I have ever seen anyone navigate such a tough, unfair situation with such grace and positivity
Thankfully, the surgeries went really well. He came home, took a few days to recuperate, and then jumped right back into the real world. He did not want to miss out on anything, so he pushed himself daily. He started off by taking a little walk every day, then two or three a day, and then tried to throw the football with his brothers. He even went back to school a week later! Six weeks after surgery, he was cleared for sports and he has never looked back. Although epilepsy still is and always will be part of his life, he is thriving and living life to the fullest!
How the Seizures Feel
At night, I always lay down with Andrew for a few minutes before he falls asleep. We have our best talks in those moments. We talk about everything …school, friends, family, sports, and seizures. He tells me what he is happy about, what he is sad about, what scares him, and what he does not understand. One night he asked, “Do you wish you could feel what my seizures are like?” I immediately told him yes, of course, but since that wasn’t possible maybe he could try to tell me how it feels. He thought about it for a little bit and then said that everything just feels “zig-zaggy.” He drew a line in the air in the shape of a lot of Z’s. He told me he feels “zig-zaggy” during a seizure, tired afterward, and then back to normal.
I kept coming back to his explanation. I finally realized that my life, and probably most people’s lives, gets a little zig-zaggy at times! We all have our struggles to push through. We often come out on the other side tired, but we must get up and find our groove again.
My hope for you all is that you wake up every day, find your inner moxie, and keep rockin’ The Zig Zag Life!