Diamonds

 

I found this on our deck the other day. Blue bucket, filled with dirt, topped with grass...I asked James what he was doing. He tells me he found some coal, maybe asphalt, at school; he buried it in the dirt and is waiting for them to turn into diamonds. : )

Before Mommy says anything, I thought I should look into what exactly a diamond is and how long does it takes to create one. This is a little bit of what I discovered:

Diamonds are not particularly rare, but "A Diamond is Forever" marketing campaign launched in 1948 by the South Africa-based De Beers, the world's largest diamond producer at that time, created a huge market for them,..."the geological equivalent of a bouquet of red roses" (quoted from a Smithsonian magazine article).

The interest in producing diamonds began in the 1870's with the discovery that diamonds are made out of carbon, but it wasn't until the 1940's that systematic research began to develop processes to "grow" diamonds. Today, synthetic diamond (also known as laboratory-created diamond, laboratory-grown diamond, cultured diamond or cultivated diamond) production is hot! But not for what you may think...for electronics! Almost all electronics utilize semiconductors to transmit electricity, these semiconductors have been made almost exclusively with silicone. Silicone, which is extracted from sand has two significant drawbacks, it is fragile and overheats. Diamond has similar properties as silicone with the added benefits of being more rugged and it does not break down at high temperatures.

Diamonds are already being utilized in many products today: loudspeakers, cosmetic skin exfoliants, and high-end cutting tools for granite and marble. The military is interested in diamond for different applications such as lasers and wearproof coatings. In the realm of scientific research, there is a device called a "diamond anvil cell" scientists use to test what happens to different materials under very high pressure.

Currently, there are laboratories in the US and abroad that are capable of creating a diamond. There are presently four known methods for producing diamonds: HPHT (high pressure high temperature), CVD (chemical vapor deposition), detonation synthesis, and treating graphite with high-power ultrasound. There is a lot of technical information that I do not completely understand, but bottom line is that they are making diamonds and capable of doing so in a day.

I am not blogging about the natural vs. cultivated diamond debate...and the debate is very complicated and heated, as it directly affects the diamond market! I am interested in the belief held by many that the earth is billions of years old.

This is quoted from the same Smithsonian article: "More than one billion years ago, and at least 100 miles below the surface of the earth, a mix of tremendous heat and titanic pressure forged carbon into the diamonds that are mined today. The stones were brought toward the surface of the earth by ancient underground volcanoes. Each volcano left a carrot-shaped pipe of rock called kimberlite, which is studded with diamonds, garnets, and other gems."

Yet, today, man is reproducing similar conditions and producing diamonds...in a day.

 My question is simply, if man can do this, can't God?

"For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day:"

"For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:"

"The researches of the geologist are far from being unworthy of the Christian, or the philosopher: for, while they enlarge the bounds of our knowledge, and present a wide field for intellectual employment and innocent pleasure, they may serve to conduct us to the glorious Being." from 'Geological Survey' (1828) by George Young.

My prayer for my budding geologist is that he would discover the truth of these words:

"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard."

Photos

The Cage is gaining in popularity.
 

One of Ben's favorite spots, outside of "the cage."



It is under the toddler bed we use as a changing table.

Yes, it is very cool!

Moving On

 

"Or whether it were two days, or a month, or a year, that the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle, remaining thereon, the children of Israel abode in their tents, and journeyed not: but when it was taken up, they journeyed."

James and I were just reading Numbers, chp. 9 this morning about how God led His people through the wilderness by a pillar of cloud by day and the appearance of fire by night. I wish I could say something very "spiritual" right now...but when I read this verse I think of having to "move on," and at a moments notice. I think of the work entailed and the leaving of a familiar place to perhaps one which is not so familiar. The truth is I love setting up camp, I have to immediately make "home" whether it be in the wilderness or a hotel room. And I am most comfortable once "home" is in place. When it is time to move on...well, not so much.

Ben's seizures are slowly increasing in frequency, but also in duration and intensity. We have known that we would be making adjustments in his treatment, and now it is time to forge ahead.

Our first step will be to decrease his diet ratio. We are going from 2:1 to 1.75:1. I'll just have to learn new recipes/calculations. We will have labs done after a week to see if his blood ketone level has come down. He is at a very high level, too high and it can make someone feel ill. In some cases, children have had better seizure control with lower ketone levels. Just to give some perspective, Ben's last level check was 7.4, our keto clinic does not like to have levels over 7. Our nurse was telling me that they have some children who at a diet ratio of 4:1 are only getting blood ketone levels of 2. We will stay at this "step" for 2-3 weeks. The challenge in all of this is not to make too many changes at once, therefore making it difficult to determine what is or is not working. The risk is always an increase of seizures thereby making it far more difficult to do one thing at a time. I do believe after this we will be making medication changes. These are the changes that are more challenging because they often are accompanied by disruptions in mood, sleep, alertness...One thing is for certain, the journey continues. Our goal is still seizure freedom for Benjamin.

My prayer is that God's presence and guidance would be as visible to us as it was to the Israelite's during their desert wanderings. I pray that I would not only be willing to move on, but filled with expectation, for though I may not know the territory this journey is leading us through...I do know Who is leading this journey!

And More Photos

Keto Kitchen - Benjamin's Shelf

Our new play yard that James' has dubbed "The Cage"

As you can see it is enjoyed by all.

They really do love it! And so does mom as it keeps Ben safe
from knocking his head and gnawing on furniture!

Photos

Lawn mowing on a summer afternoon.

My beloved boys.

Chet's plan is to "start them early."

Catching some air!

Solitaire is more fun shared.

Benjamin's Story

Tuesday, August 14, 2011

A day at the lake...we were spending at least 2 days a week at the lake that summer. I was nursing Ben, now 4 months old, in our beach cabana when he stiffened, his eyes deviated left and his left hand began to twitch. I tried to "call" him out of it, but could not...gut instinct, something was very wrong.  I left James with a friend, who would also pack up a ton of gear! Ben's seizure had stopped (which is how my mind was describing what had just happened) and he was completely comatose. Limp and lifeless...I thanked God he was still breathing which helped me to keep some level of calm while we drove to the emergency room.

By the time we were being admitted to ER, Ben had woken and he was his normal self. The nurse and later Dr. were beginning to question whether or not I wasn't overreacting in some way. The ER happened to be full, so we were waiting, and waiting and waiting some more to be discharged, during which time Ben had another seizure, this time the Dr. saw it...next thing we knew there is a call being made to the neurologist on call at our city children's hospital and we were being transported there via ambulance.

We were admitted...immediately began blood draws, vitals, an IV is put in, he was given a bolus of Phenobarbital, then Keppra, an EEG was ordered (which came back normal), then a MRI...what can I say...this was all being done to my baby!

An arachnoid cyst was found in his left ventricle, but initially we were told that it wasn't causing any pressure on the brain, we would have to keep an eye on it though. We were sent home three days later, with Keppra and had been told that this was most likely Benign Rolandic Epilepsy, which he would eventually grown out of. At home, his seizures increased in number and intensity, we were back at the children's hospital...more blood draws, vitals, IVs, another EEG, boluses of medication, one bout of roseola. This time we met with the neurosurgeon who told us that there was in fact some slight pressure on the brain and that Ben would need endoscopic surgery to fenestrate the cyst, this would alleviate pressure and more than likely the seizures would cease. We ended up through a series of personal contacts being transferred to a larger city children's hospital for the surgery. The consensus among all the Dr.s was that the surgery would most likely take care of the seizures, which continued unabated even though we were steadily increasing Ben's meds.

Worst part...is that I had been doing my own internet research and I could find cases of arachnoid cysts causing seizures and once removed the seizures ceased. However, they were all located on the outside of the brain itself...I could not find one case of one located within a ventricle that once removed there was seizure improvement...so while we kept hearing "positive" outlooks I had a very nagging suspicion that this was not going to deliver all that was promised. And indeed, it did not.

Ben had brain surgery, 10 days after the lake incident. The next three weeks, Chet and I lived in the hospital taking turns sleeping on the recliner while the other slept on the floor. More blood draws, a whole lot more vitals, more IV's (I learned to guard that site with my life!), more medication boluses and changes, more MRI's, more EEG's, one horrific lumbar puncture, genetic and metabolic testing all coming back normal...and more, much more, seizures.

Chet and I initially wanted seizure control before we left the hospital...but after spending a total of one month between the two hospitals...we wanted to be home, we wanted Benjamin home. The extended time away from mom and dad, spending time with relatives, was taking its toll on James too.

Life did improve once we were home and we were working with a local neurologist, in some ways...because being introduced to epilepsy really sucked! Epilepsy is very broad...and I heard all kinds of stories of someone knowing someone who had seizures, had them controlled with medication and eventually grew out of them. But that is one end of the spectrum, the one where we did not land. We were in that small percentile that once you fail two medications your chances of getting seizure control diminishes quickly!

Failed medications: Phenobarbital, Keppra, Topiramate, Clonazepam, Ativan, Onfi, Trileptal, Zonisamide...Diastat (does work to stop a seizure).

Ben's development pretty much halted at 4 months. And the side effects! from seizures, from the medications and medication changes (the weaning on and off), from the surgery itself, were difficult adjustments that we as a family all had to make.

We still were not getting seizure control, though we did achieve some improvement...going from 150 seizures a month...to 60-70. Our local neurologist suggested the ketogenic diet in December, and we scheduled a consultation back at the big city hospital. I was not ready to go forward with the diet as I had wanted to wean Ben to solid foods and honestly, I knew it was going to be a lot of work and I was still hoping we could find a medication that would stop the seizures. It was when I finally read "Ketogenic Diets" by  Dr.s Kossoff, Freeman, Turner & Rubenstein, that I changed my mind. Meanwhile, we had two followup MRIs that showed the cyst slowly growing back! We chose to have another endoscopic surgery before starting the diet. To take that player out of the game, so to speak.

Ben's second surgery was performed in March of this year. This surgery was better in that we only stayed one night in the hospital and Ben did not have any increase in seizure activity (at this point he was averaging 2 a day)...however, it took almost 2 months for him to completely recover. He had just begun to roll-over before surgery, and he lost that ability or forgot how. A followup MRI in July showed the cyst still decompressed, Yeah! A fenestration doesn't remove the cyst, it perforates it and allows it to drain. We will have another follow up MRI in January, 2014.

Our Ketogenic initiation, which includes a 4-day hospital stay, was scheduled for June. I had just finished reading a great book," The Gaps Diet" by Dr. Natasha McBride and I was using it as a guide to introduce solid foods with Ben, while weaning him. The diet is naturally high in fat and very similar to the Keto diet and though we did not have improvement in seizure frequency, we did notice improvement with his overall alertness. Subsequent bloodwork done showed Ben was making ketones, and I was questioned about what I was feeding him...one thing repeated over and over again in the book "Ketogenic Diets" is: do not attempt this at home! Ben was also getting constipated on a regular basis...so, I backed way off the fat. Ben's seizures started to grow worse in intensity, coincidence? hard to say, but I was now administering diastat on a regular basis. Initiation was only weeks away! The weekend before we were scheduled for our one week stay to initiate the diet, Ben caught a stomach bug that James had had...he was spiking a huge temp., and wouldn't eat...but he had a couple seizure free days! To make a long story short, we went down for their Keto Clinic, blood work showed Ben was deeper in ketosis, we had a quick consult and we were heading home to start the diet! One hospital stay averted.

That brings his story up to date. My pregnancy and his birth were both without complications. Because of my age we had had two high-powered ultrasounds that had shown nothing unusual. In hindsight, we may have been seeing some early signs...the week prior to the lake, I had noticed him staring off in an odd way while nursing, no alarms going off, but I had wanted to mention it to our pediatrician that Friday at a scheduled well-check.

This excerpt leaves out quite a few details and certainly could not contain the volume of tears shed and prayers uttered. But one thing is for certain...GOD IS WITH US! Our Creator, He who knit Benjamin together in my womb, He who knows the end from the beginning, Our Savior, He whose Grace is without measure, is with us!

"And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written."