TASTIER TOFU KEBABS
Two- year- old Joshua Piper has up to 15 fits a day – and mum Natasha has not slept properly since his first at just three months old.
After MRIs and other tests drew a blank, Joshua has only recently been diagnosed with Dravet s yndrome, thought to affect around one in every 300 epilepsy sufferers.
Natasha said: “I could see my son suffering but we didn’t know why. But he’s so brave. His face shows how much pain he is in.
“But he doesn’t cry after seizures as much as he used to when he was a baby.
“It’s sickening my two-year-old child has got used to this.”
Natasha, 27, is now trying to raise funds to buy specialist equipment to alert her when a seizure is coming.
She had to take a training course in CPR – cardiopulmonary resuscitation – and has used her skills “too many times”.
She said: “Every time I give him CPR I shake with fear. I worry if I’ve done it right and get scared that I’ve hurt him.
“There’s too many times I thought I lost him.
“I haven’t counted the number of times I’ve saved his life, but it’s well over 50. It’s not something you really want to count – I try to forget it as best I can.”
Describing the fits Joshua goes throughh h many timesi a d day, Natasha said: “You can hear a gargling sound when he’s struggling for breath.
“He just lays there – he can’t move, walk or sit up. He loses every bit of his energy for up to 24 hours.”
Natasha, whose eight-year-old son Mason also has heart problems, said her world “came crashing down” when Joshua first fell limp in her arms as they lay on the sofa at home in Cardiff.
Screaming
He stopped breathing and turned blue – and was saved by a neighbour after Natasha ran into the street screaming.
She said: “I still have nightmares about it. I dream Joshua is having a seizure and I wake up and he’s perfectly fine. Obviously it plays on my mind.”
Dravet syndrome is known to affect children’s development – although there is no sign of any- TOFU KEBABS WITH RICE SALAD LOW calorie but tasty. Serves 4. Ingredients 400g firm tofu; 4 tbsp soy sauce; Juice of 1 lime; 3cm fresh ginger, peeled and grated; 1 red chilli, finely sliced; Mixed veg, such as red pepper, aubergine and courgette, sliced or cubed; Calorie controlled cooking spray. For the rice salad: 500g cooked brown rice; Bunch of spring onions, trimmed and sliced; Handful fresh coriander, chopped; Juice of 1 lime, plus wedges to serve. 4 wooden skewers, soaked for 30 minutes. Method 1 Drain tofu, wrap in kitchen paper, press under chopping board for 15-20 minutes. 2 Cut tofu into 16 cubes, put in shallow bowl and stir in soy sauce, lime juice, ginger and chilli. Cover, marinate in fridge for 2 hours. 3 Thread tofu onto skewers, alternating with the veg. Mist with cooking spray. 4 Cook for 3-4 mins/side on hot barbecue, or in griddle pan on medium-high, until tofu starts to caramelise and veg is cooked. 5 Toss salad ingredients together in bowl, season well. Serve with lime wedges.
Recipe courtesy of WeightWatchers