Mike and Gerry Harris noticed a change in their baby daughter Carson somewhere between two and four months.
“All babies cry, but she would do this high-pitched shriek which didn’t seem normal,” said Mike Harris, the Vice-President and Director of Trading at Campbell & Co. in Baltimore. “We also noticed she was becoming distant.”
When seizures started in January 2007 the Harrises brought her to Johns Hopkins where Carson was diagnosed as having a rare form of Epilepsy called infantile spasms.
The biggest issue with this form of epilepsy, which tends to disappear around age 2, is the effect on development if left untreated. “The seizure problem often leads to development problems,” said Dr. Eric Kossoff, Assistant Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins.
The Harrises had four treatment options. “Three of them were drugs, all with nasty side effects. The fourth option was a specialty at Johns Hopkins called the ketogenic diet. It?s like Atkins to the 100th power,” Mike Harris said.
The diet is 90 percent fat-based and forces the body to burn stored fat by keeping calories low.
“We?ve tried the diet about 15 times, and it works about 60 percent of the time. For Carson it worked in three days. It took a little over a month for her EEG to become normal, and after six months we stopped the diet,” Kossoff said. “She hasn?t had a seizure since.”
The Harrises credit the doctors at the John M. Freeman Pediatric Epilepsy Center with saving their daughter’s life.
“I can communicate with my daughter. She?s there. And she wasn?t before,” Mike said.
Mike and Gerry founded the Carson Harris Foundation to raise funds for the center. Through various connections, they approached Adam Duritz, the lead singer of Counting Crows, to play a benefit acoustic show at Rams Head Live.
“We talked to about 20 people. Adam was the one who said, ?I?m in,? ” Mike said, adding that Duritz is performing for free. “The outpouring of support has been amazing.”
The Harrises are trying to teach Carson how to say “Adam” for the concert. “She?s 100 times better than she was. And she gets better every day. That?s what I have to thank Hopkins for.”
IF YOU GO
Carson?s Feel Good Fest featuring Adam Duritz from Counting Crows
WHERE: Rams Head Live, 20 Market Place, Baltimore
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 1
TICKETS: $125 (All proceeds benefit Johns Hopkins Pediatric Epilepsy)
