A happy ending for boy on anti-seizure diet

Five-year-old Sawyer Malstead had a 50-50 chance that his seizures would return this year.

Since September 2007, the boy has been on a ketogenic diet, a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet for children who do not respond to antiseizure medication.

The plan was to keep him on the diet for two years. At a year and six months, his parents slowly began weaning him off the diet to prepare for his first year in school. As his diet returned to normal, he remained seizure-free without the aid of medication or supplements. His case is considered a medical success story.

Sawyer has a type of childhood-onset epilepsy especially resistant to medication. He started having grand mal seizures when he was 2. On a bad day, the boy would have as many as 30 seizures.

His parents, Stacee and Raymond Malstead, consulted doctors locally and at Children's Hospital and Swedish Medical Center in Seattle. The medications Sawyer tried were either ineffective or came with debilitating side effects, from severe leg cramps to constant fatigue.

Doctors were reluctant to pursue the ketogenic diet because it requires time, discipline and meticulous planning.

"From diagnosis to finding a treatment that worked, it was nine months," Raymond said. "It was frustrating that in this medical system, there were a lot of barriers before we found a treatment that worked. ... Part of me regrets not being even more proactive to get him on a ketogenic diet."

Everything Sawyer ate was weighed and checked for calories, fats, proteins and carbohydrate content. He was allowed exactly 80 percent of a typical calorie intake, at two parts fat to one part carbohydrate and protein. His staples were chicken nuggets, hot dogs, eggs and sour cream.

Now that he can eat what he wants, he resists those foods, Raymond said. Sawyer now prefers salad, chicken soup and spaghetti.

"I can eat any food," Sawyer said. He didn't seem to mind his special diet at the time, but said, "I didn't like the special diet really. I really wanted chips and ice cream."

Last Halloween, he made a deal with his mom to trade all of his candy for a toy Harley. Recently, he proudly showed off his Halloween treats, especially the chocolate. Sawyer also attends sleepovers and climbs over hard surfaces, which used to make his parents nervous.

"It's nice to be back in normalcy," Raymond said. "We were in such stress for a long time."

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Information from: The Wenatchee World, http://www.wenatcheeworld.com