I’d forgotten that I promised the kids we could go to the parish hall to get donuts right after church.  For years, we never got donuts.  While all of their friends skipped over with their families, we’d go straight home.  That’s because either Ronan couldn’t handle it (when he was able to go to Mass with us), or we were racing back to the house to relieve whoever was watching Ronan for us.  I can usually stick around for about 5 minutes before jetting home to say hi to friends and parishioners we know, including that couple.  But that day, I forgot to. 

Of all Sundays to get donuts, I picked the one Sunday I had desperately hoped to talk to that one couple.

The worry I carried around with me last weekend was incredible.  Besides that missed opportunity, we were supposed to have a fun day out and do some Christmas shopping.  I was totally distracted.  The kids were incredibly helpful as usual, even though I was doing a terrible job of being Mom to them.  They understood and also knew I was not dealing with this completely alone.  They were glad that I’d reached out for assistance here and were impressed at how many offered to personally help their brother.  

It would take time, something I was racing against, and other people to help us help Ronan. 

First thing Monday morning, I reached out to the nurses at the neuro clinic again.  I called the manufacturer and got confirmation that yes, the medication is indeed out of stock, and that yes, the expected date of availability of a new batch is on or around February 10^th.  Per a great suggestion, I started calling hospitals to see if they had any of the meds in stock.  None would dispense meds to Ronan, though, because he was not a patient of theirs.  I made calls, friends made calls, complete strangers made calls to local pharmacies in their area.  Like the over 20 I called in my area, dozens of pharmacies across the country shared that they were without the medication as well. 

With each call and each response, my hope was quickly turning into despair. 

We needed a miracle.

And quickly.

God knew I really needed to talk to that couple, the one I’d seen at Mass.  Because on Monday morning, I ran into the wife.  Who was immediately able to put me in touch with a pharmacist.  Whose supplier had 6 boxes of the medicine.  Who could get those boxes to us.  Who personally called me throughout the entire process.  Who hoped along with us that there would be no hiccups in getting the order to us. 

By close of business on Monday, the promised boxes of the medication we needed to keep Ronan’s seizures at bay were ordered!

I’d cried tears of frustration and worry when this all started.  I cried tears of joy when the meds were delivered thanks to forces working with us and for us.   

We have, thanks to prayer and our amazing network of helpers, a partial order on hand (12 more days’ supply).  When that name brand supply runs out, which it will in mid-January, life could be a little hectic.  It could get a little bit scary also.  Anticipating that, I’ve made sure we have extra emergency seizures meds on hand, I’ve cleared things off our normal schedule, and I’ve taken a temporary leave of absence from my job.  Those seizures we’ve been able to minimize could come back. 

When there’s one, there’s a cluster. 

When there’s a cluster, there’s sometimes the potential for a grand mal. 

When there’s one grand mal…

I can’t have Ronan go through that alone, so I’m planning on being home until on or around February 10^th.  The manufacturer can’t promise me that the meds will be available until then, but I can promise Ronan that I will be with him, praying the whole time that I can do whatever he needs me to do.

Cathy Jameson is a Contributing Editor for Age of Autism.

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There are families across the country missing a loved one who died suddenly. Why? Buy the Kindle version of Cause Unknown by Ed Dowd and use the Kindle Quote option to share the sentences that grab you, and will open others' eyes. Sprinkle them all over social media. This is how we educate and remind people of what we have been saying for so long.

Cause Unknown The Epidemic of Sudden Deaths in 2021 & 2022

By Ed Dowd, from Skyhorse Publishing. The CEO of the OneAmerica insurance company publicly disclosed that during the third and fourth quarters of 2021, death in people of working age (18–64) was 40 percent higher than it was before the pandemic.