From Sara (Everett’s mom): Amidst all the chaos and unknowns in the world we are living in right now, Brandon and I are facing what feels like the unimaginable. As most of you know, our little boy Everett has been battling a rare form of epilepsy known as infantile spasms for the better part of the past year. Our lives were turned upside down last April when he was first diagnosed with IS, they were turned upside down again in September when he had a relapse and were flipped upside down yet again early last week when we began seeing very subtle yet very familiar behaviors that were too unsettling to ignore. After several emails back and forth with our Infantile Spasms specialists down at UCLA, it was determined that we needed to bring him in for an overnight EEG to determine what was going on. We heard words yesterday that we never wanted to hear again, “the EEG confirms your suspicions, the spasms are definitely back.” This news is further complicated by the fact that Everett has now exhausted all the medication options that are available to treat this type of epilepsy, so now we are facing the reality that Everett needs brain surgery. This is obviously not a decision we are taking lightly, it is easily the most difficult and most life altering decision we will ever have to make. However, we cannot allow this horrible disease to continue to wreak havoc on our little boy’s brain. We are so grateful for the care and treatment that Everett initially received at Valley Children’s Hospital and we have full faith and trust in his team at UCLA, they have been wonderful and truly have Everett’s best interest in the forefront of their decision making process.” With this surgery, Sara and Brandon will need to take time off of work in order to be with Everett. Please donate any amount to help fund Everett’s brain surgery and help his parents during this trialing time ❤️