Dear Jude Friend,

Jude had a good month and seemed pretty happy. The weather has been much nicer, so she has been able to have her windows open in her room, which she loves.

Jude did have 8 seizures this month, which is pretty typical for her. Only 2 of those seizures were pretty violent; the others were on the mild side. When I say she had violent seizures, it doesn’t mean she was thrown all over the place. I hold her very tightly during a seizure, so she can’t hurt herself. During violent seizures it is actually hard for me to hold onto her, as her whole body is fighting me, but I don’t let go. During a more mild seizure, it is much easier to keep her still. During a seizure I hold onto her in her playpen, I don’t pick her up and hold her. This is mostly because she always urinates during a seizure, and I would prefer not to be covered in urine, but it is also to keep her very safe during a seizure.

Jude is finally letting me express all of her stool out of her. For so many years she fought me on this and got so angry that I would stop trying because I was scared the stress would cause a seizure. She has always let me express her bladder, but her bowels were a different matter. I’m not sure what changed, but now she is letting me fully express her bowels now. She complains, of course, but it’s only a normal level of grumpiness, nothing too alarming. Since she now letting me express the stool out of her, she needs a lot fewer baths, because she is staying pretty clean (unless she flops into her food bowl). So it’s a win-win situation.

Jude seems to be doing well on the CBD, and I really think it made a huge difference for her. She is calmer and seems happier. She enjoys pets (not too many, but some), and just seems much better overall.

Jude just got a new baby brother the other day, although she hadn’t met him yet. His name is August, but we call him Gus. He is our newest foster, and he is adorable! He can’t walk, and kind of scoots himself around, like Jude. We are not sure what is going on with him yet, but I know we will work it out. I’m sure Jude will love him.

That’s all the Jude news for now. As always, I can’t thank you enough for your continued support of our little girl, as we couldn’t do it without you.

Your correspondent,
Karina