Port A

Alex and Sophie had a good time at the beach. Yeah Mom and I liked it as well.

Bedtime

Well it is nearing 7 PM and lately Alex has been having seizures close to 8 PM (like yesterday). So we leave the beach with a promise to return tomorrow. Up at the house, Alex once again wants to lead Sophie around on her leash. He enjoys that while we unpack the car and try and get all the sand off us.

After showers Mom fixes Alex sausages, Mac & Cheese and crackers for dinner. He eats it all without us having to force him. I took off and got BBQ for Mom and I. Then we spent the rest of the evening watching Hotel for Dogs. It was fun to see Alex actually watching a video. And even Sophie seemed to enjoy the movie. But about 20 minute into the show Sophie fell asleep.

Hopefully Alex has a good night. This time we switched beds and Alex slept with Mom. The night before I was too hot and Alex would not let me turn on the over head fan. If I turn down the air, Marycke says she hears the fan running and can not sleep. So this time Alex and Mom are together and Neal gets a bed and a fan to himself.

Sunshine

Ah Saturday morning, up at 5 AM and have the house to my self. Make some coffee and fore up the laptop. Still have lots of work to catch up on for PSU. Alex seemed to have a good night after he finally went to bed. 10 PM and the lights were out but come11:24 I find him on the floor talking to me. I ask if he needs to go potty and I get an affirmative nod of the head. First we had to find it as Mom had closed the door to her room (locking Sophie inside) but once found he sat down. But failed to go. So back into bed and somewhere around 1:00 AM I believe he drifted off to sleep.

Around 7:30 Alex is up and saying beach. First we tell him comes breakfast, then medicine and then we go to the beach. He sat out on the deck listening to the ocean while Mom and I made breakfast. He ate well, eggs, bacon, raisin toast and some OJ. As usually Mom or I had to hand him each piece or forkful before he would eat. But he did finish.

Everyone got greased up. Sophie finally went pee so we were good to go. Pull the car up on the beach, Alex has the door open, across the sand into the water he goods. Quickly he and I are at the third sand bar laughing at how the waves are knocking us over. Usually we can last 15 to 20 minutes then it is break time back onshore. He digs a little, filling up the green bucket a time or two, and then he is ready for more waves. By half past noon he nods yes when I ask about going back to the house for lunch.

Back from the beach on a Saturday afternoon. Alex had great fun in the waves and took great interest in leading Sophie around on her lease. Mom and I have had lunch, Sophie too, but Alex look wiped out. I asked if he would like to nap and I got a faint nod of the head for yes. So he has been asleep now for about an hour and a half. We planned on a return to the beach around four but will wait on Alex.

Yeah for Alex, a solid two hours of sleep and no seizures. He stumbles from the bedroom to the front porch and points towards the beach. Guess we are going to get all greased up again and head back to the beach. This time Sophie is much more attuned to going in the water. She is leaping of the waves and wanting to play with all the children. Alex and I spend lots of time at the third breaker getting pounded by the waves. We count them off as then come it. Twice it was wave number nine that is so strong it knocks Alex off his feet. Hey here comes Mom and Sophie. Sophie is actually swimming in the ocean.

Beach

Friday and it is time to leave for the beach. Mom has everything packed. Alex is back from Hill Country Center and is ready for the drive to the beach. As is usual he rides shotgun and Mom and I take turns with the driving. Sophie is not real sure what to do. This is her first road trip and takes nearly two hours to settle down.

The three hour ride went well. We even came across a train for Alex to chase just as we entered Corpus Christi. We venture off the highway and find a Mac Donald’s. Alex eats all his fries, six nuggets and quickly sucks down a 32 ounce Diet Coke. Hmmm… live is good. Mom and I pick up subway and we continue to our friend’s house. As we cross the Padre Island causeway Alex becomes very excited and continues to repeat, ‘beach, beach, beach’. We let him know it will take another 30 minutes.

The house we are in is about 3 blocks from the beach. So even though it is after 7 PM we quickly unpack and get Alex and Dad (Mom can wait till tomorrow) ready for the beach. 8 PM and time for meds but then we are off. Alex is all jazzed up and ready to hit the waves. So we pull up on the sand, pop open the door and out we go. The waves were great. The water is warm about 87 degrees and seaweed clear. We had great fun for about an hour. Then I encouraged Alex to return to the shore for the sun was down the moon was out and we need to get some sleep. After some protesting we headed back to the shore (we were about 80 yards out).

Just 10-12 feet from the shore Alex became unresponsive and had a grand mal seizure, right there in about 2 ½ feet of water. I was able to hold his head above the waves but not able to lift him out. Marycke was down the beach with Sophie but saw what was happening. As she past by a family of four, she remarked Alex was having a seizure but it was not anything we had not dealt with before. But now with Sophie on the leash and pulling at Marycke she could not really help me get him out. So the Dad from the nearby family took off his shoes and came in to help me lift him out to shore. As we lay he down he was on his back and nice Hispanic woman came over and told us to turn his on his side. I told her I knew that as Alex had been having seizures his whole life and it was the new thin I was going to do. Well she offered to call 911 and told us she was a nurse.

Wow, once again we are blessed by the proximity and kindness of told strangers. Two hundred miles from home, late on a Friday night, and nurse and strong arm gentlemen are ready to help. This is too serendipities not to have Providence play a hand in our good fortune. Anyway, we got back to the house safely, Alex is fully recovered and we spend an hour or so of quiet time f=before calling it a night.

Saturday Fun

Alex is back into trains. No more planes. But then when he sees the planes he is excited and wants more. My Saturday tech job got canceled so we had the afternoon to travel all over SA looking and chasing trains.