Sam's Story

Long before I started blogging (before anyone had, actually), before I really started working out seriously or training for any sort of competitive event, before I even owned my first house, I started becoming concerned about what I put in my mouth and even more importantly what I fed my kids.  Isaac was just a little baby when I became convinced that I needed to think long and hard about what I let him eat--I became convinced that there is a direct correlation between physical, mental and spiritual health and the food you feed your body (and I'm not just talking about obesity.)  I really believe that you are what you eat.  And as I had kids, I felt that it was my duty, as their mother, to protect them from the bad and provide them with the good. I have been of this opinion (as unpopular as it sometimes made me) for 10 years now.  Almost five years ago I met Sam and he solidified and confirmed without a doubt every single belief I have had about food and health.  Sam is an absolute miracle.  There is no denying it.

If you think that what you feed yourself, or especially what you feed your kids doesn't really matter, you need to read Sam's story.  Even if you believe that there is a profound and undeniable link between health and food as I do, read it anyway just for the inspiration and motivation it brings.

Meet Sam.


We met Sam when he was about three and a half years old--a little younger than my girls at the time--an adorable little blond-haired, blue-eyed typical boy.  I remember one day calling his mom, my friend Rochelle, to ask her a question.  She seemed distracted and then told me that Sam had had a massive seizure the night before and that they had been in the hospital all night. She was stressed and worried, but said that the doctors has said it was a one-time, fluke sort of a thing and that they didn't need to worry about it.  The doctors were, unfortunately, very wrong.

 Sam with a black eye on Easter from having a drop seizure and banging his head on the toilet while trying to go to the bathroom--3 weeks after seizures began--March 2008

Sam had a grand mal seizure every six days for the next three weeks.  With his fourth grand mal seizure came other types of smaller seizures (myoclonic and myoclonic-astatic if you want to get technical). Every visit to the ER was met with doctors telling them it would never happen again.  He was started on some medication which turned what had been a sweet, charming little boy into a monster.  He became emotionally and physically violent to everyone around him.  Not only that, it caused him to hallucinate, which was terrifying. (Can you even imagine having to comfort your 3 1/2 year old who believes he is actually seeing monsters?  I really cannot imagine how heartbreaking and difficult that was for my friends.)   It was hard on the whole family, but they held out hope because the seizures seemed to have stopped.


They had 16 seizure free days and then they came back with a vengeance.  It got to the point where he was seizing every hour, then pretty much constantly, awake and asleep.  He had to wear a helmet at all times because you never knew when he was going to just fall to the ground, and what he was going to hit on the way down.  They tried different medications, but none were able to stop the seizures--he seized every single day and had horrible side effects from the meds.

 Sam playing in the backyard--always with a helmet on to protect his head because the seizures were so violent and unpredictable--May 2008

Finally after 8 months of living through this nightmare, they decided to try curing Sam's disorder (finally diagnosed as Doose's Syndrome) through a strict diet, called the Ketogenic Diet.  It was extremely exact and technical.  He actually had to be hospitalized when they started it so that he and they could be trained on how to do it perfectly under the watchful care of the doctors.  His food had to be weighed and measured.  His calories were limited, as were his food options and even the times of day he could eat.  There was an exact fat to carb to protein ratio.  It was so important that he be exact in this that Rochelle would have to use a rubber spatula to scrape all of his meal off of his plate to make sure he got the right amount allotted by the specific ratio they were on.

Sam with his last birthday cake before he started the diet.--August 2008

 Sam in the hospital during keto initiation--November 2008

As for the foods he could eat--well, not much.  No processed foods of any kind.  Basically no carbs at all.  No starchy fruits or vegetables.  No bread, pasta, rice, cereal.  Most of his meals were heavy cream mixed with canola oil.  Oh, and he could also have eggs.  There is a scientific method behind the madness--Sam was closely monitored at all times.  They started the diet.  They worked with the dietitian.  They tweaked the ratios here and there.  They waited, and waited and waited.  Months went by and Sam was still seizing.  

Sam with his first birthday cake--a keto cheesecake.  Not only was this his birthday 'cake', it was his ENTIRE meal.--August 2009

Sam, little hero that he is, stuck with his "magic diet" as he called it for three and a half years.  Three and a half years!!!  But you know what?  It worked.  It worked!!  Where modern medicine had failed him, his diet didn't.  He had his last seizure on October 9, 2009.  He stayed on the diet a full two and a half years after that.  His last ketogenic day was just a few days ago, April 19, 2012.  He is seizure free! 

Sam having his final EEG before going off the ketogenic diet.--February 2012

He is seizure free.


The food he ate (and didn't eat) for three and a half years literally saved his life!  How can you ever think that what you are eating doesn't have an effect on your health?!   So, think what you want of me.  No, I don't like to give my kids chicken nuggets or fast food or cheese that squirts out of a bottle or store-bought white bread.  Yes, I feel passionately about eating healthy foods.  Because I feel passionately about my own children.  And also, perhaps, because I know a little boy named Sam.

Sam's last ketogenic meal, eaten at Children's Hospital while waiting to hear the news that he could be finished with keto.--April 2012