I thought for the first "update" I would share a little bit of our backstory for those who may not know. 

Ty and I (Christina) have been married for almost 9 years. We have lived in California, Alaska, Utah, and now Tennessee due to Ty being in the Air Force since we got married. 

Winnie is our second of four kiddos. She has Cerebral Palsy and Epilepsy due to a genetic condition that caused a stroke in-utero. My pregnancy and birth with her went as smooth as could be and the first few weeks of her life raised no concerns. When she was about 6 weeks old, we noticed that she wasn't holding her head up quite like she should at that age. This didn't spark major concern yet, but she did start Physical Therapy to see if she could gain some strength. 

A few months went by and she continued to pass up almost all of the milestones she should've been meeting. Around 4 months old, we were referred to a neurologist. She was simply diagnosed with a Developmental Delay at this point, with no clue of the cause. 

We began down a road of several months of testing, imaging, evaluations, and specialist visits. Eventually she was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy (based off of a list of symptoms- not a test that can be performed). A few months later, they found the genetic cause. A random gene mutation that caused a stroke that left lasting brain damage. It was a relief to finally have an answer, and to know that the gene mutation was unique to Winnie, not something that was carried by my husband or I. This was extra comforting to hear since I was pregnant again at the time. 

At 9 months old, Winnie began experiencing Infantile Spasms, a very subtle but serious type of seizure. The Dr. was able to successfully treat those within a few weeks, but she did go on to develop other types of seizures that she still experiences today despite being on several medications. 

To be continued...