We mentioned in February that our new family member is a dog named Justice. We knew he'd be special and mentioned then that he'd be helpful with Jake. Jake has a feeder seat that allows him to scoot around the house. Jen tied a rope to it and taught Justice to "grab Jake". Whenever Jake is getting into something he shouldn't in his feeder seat or we want him, Jen just says "grab Jake" and Justice goes and grabs the rope and pulls him to us. One little downfall to this brilliant plan. Justice wants a cookie as a reward immediately upon delivery of Jake, so you have to get up anyway and get him one, hehe! If you click on the picture, you'll see a video of Justice getting Jake.

We owe a special thank you to Eddie. We've had technical issues that almost made this newsletter late. Our friend understands how important Jake is to us and helped us out tremendously. It's because of him you're reading this newsletter today.

Jake's intellectual skills are developing quite rapidly. He loves to swim and has now correlated that Mom wearing a swimsuit equals Jake in the pool. He saw Mom in her swimsuit the other day and ran to her in his feeder seat with arms wide open. We haven't witnessed this level of brain power before from him. Before this month, if a toy had fallen on the floor, Jake would move on to the next toy. Now he will pick up the toy that fell and continue playing. This action proves that he is able to think through his obstacles and solve problems. We’ve also had some input from friends and family that have picked up on actions that we have missed. When his aunt asked him if he loved her, he hugged her tight and smiled. We are amazed at his mental progression this month and pray that he only continues to become more aware of his surroundings.

We are still working on his ramp down schedule for Topamax. Jake is now on less than half of the originally prescribed dosage. The ramp down is scary for all of us but so far has been a big success. He has been able to sweat and has not had any seizure activity. They are scheduled to be finished this month. We did take precautionary methods just in case. We purchased Diastat (a form of Valium used to stop seizures instantly) for seizures that last longer than 5 minutes. This medication goes everywhere Jake goes and was purchased with the help of JakeJunction.com. It's very expensive even with insurance and hopefully won't be used, but it's too important to not have. Thank you all for providing us with the funds to provide these types of necessary items for Jake.

We look forward to attending the Family Café for our 4th year in a row. The mission of the Family Café is to provide individuals with disabilities and their families an opportunity for collaboration, advocacy, friendship and empowerment by serving as a facilitator of communication, a space for dialogue, and a source of information. We always come home with great info and we always have a great time and make new friends.

This month will be a defining moment in Jake's life. We thank you greatly for supporting us and following along on his journey!