The past nine months have been a whirlwind of change for one family in Albert Lea.

During these months, parents Troy and Kristine Irvine found out that their son Max has epilepsy. Doctors put Max on medication, but that didn’t seem to be enough. Then, in December, came a glimmer of hope that would drastically change the family’s lives for the better.

How it all started

Born on March 2, 2005, Max was a healthy child except for a few ear infections and food allergies.

But then on Sept. 22, 2007, while getting ready for a weekly visit to the Albert Lea Farmers Market, he had his first seizure. Two weeks later, the seizures started getting progressively worse.

“It was a shock,” his mother said. “We didn’t have any idea.”

Doctors diagnosed Max with myoclonic astatic epilepsy — a type of epilepsy that generally shows up in children between the ages of 2 and 5.

“Up to that point we didn’t really know what epilepsy was, and we hadn’t had anything to do with it,” Troy said.

Max would have three different kinds of seizures — tonic-clonic seizures, also known as grand mal seizures, myoclonic seizures and atonic seizures, also known as drop seizures.

He quickly started on medicine for the disorder, but then on Dec. 17, 2007, under the direction of doctors and dietitians at the Mayo Clinic, he started the special ketogenic diet — a high fat, moderate protein and low carbohydrate diet, which has been shown to help two out of three children who have hard-to-control epilepsy.

The hope

The diet was started in the 1920s at the Mayo Clinic and John Hopkins University with major success, but then when seizure medications came along, people started going away from the diet, Troy said.

The couple said when they tell people all that is involved with the ketogenic diet, they usually can’t believe it. But so far it is paying off.

Before Max started it he would have 35 seizures a day. That number went down to five seizures on his second day of the diet and has minimized even more since.

“I remember many days having tears, but the more we did it, the more he came back,” Kristine said. “Yes, he has tough days and he has breakthrough seizures, but it’s probably improved 90 percent. The further into the diet we go, we can tell it’s healing.”

The parents said Max will probably be on the diet for two or three years. The amount of time that a child is on the diet is usually limited to only a few years because of high cholesterol problems that can result from eating so many fats.

“It’s not easy, it’s a lot of work and it takes a lot of time to prepare the meals, but it is so worth all the time and all the effort and all the measuring because you get your child back,” his mother said. “You get that sparkle back. He runs and plays like a real kid again.”

Right now the Max enjoys activities like playing in East Gate Park, going fishing, learning how to swim and playing soccer at the local YMCA. In the fall he will start preschool.

Those are things that even a few months ago the boy wouldn’t have been able to do, his parents said.

Changed for the better

Though following the diet requires spending more time to prepare the food, weighing and measuring the food, and trying to find products that coincide with his other food allergy, Troy and Kristine said the extra effort has been worth it.

Kristine is on a two-year leave from Hawthorne Elementary School to devote extra time to her son.

“We just feel that if it’s our best chance of having him outgrow it, that’s what we want to do,” Troy said. “It’s changed our life for the better.”

They are appreciative of their family and friends who have been supportive during the whole process — whether by helping run errands, cooking meals or taking care of Max.

That support, along with their faith — which is probably the most important factor — has helped pull them through, they said.

“We try and take it one day at a time,” Kristine said. “And we try not to let it run our life.”

On top of everything they’ve had to deal with concerning Max, the couple has also been adjusting to a new addition to their family, a son named Charlie, who was born in April. They said while Charlie’s birth was one of the happiest times of their lives, it was also a time of worry concerning what was happening with Max.

Now, as they look toward the future and Max begins to improve more each day, the family is dedicated to helping to find a cure for epilepsy.

For this cause, they are taking part in the 2008 Stroll For Epilepsy in Rochester on Aug.14. They hope to raise $2,000.

In Minnesota throughout the same day, similar strolls for epilepsy are taking place in Fargo, Duluth, St. Cloud and the Twin Cities. All money raised goes to the Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota.

Anyone interested in making a donation or finding out more about the ketogenic diet can contact the Irvines by phone at 373-8587. Donations can be made online at www.firstgiving.com/maxirvine or by mail at 203 Glenn Road, Albert Lea.