Our Christmas cause this year is named Tripp. But it’s not Tripp Halstead, it’s Tripp Nichols. Two years ago, after being diagnosed with a catastrophic form of childhood epilepsy called Infantile Spasms, his parents Nick and Jessica created a Facebook page to keep friends and family abreast of how he was doing. At the same time Tripp Halsetad followers were noticing “fake” Tripp pages popping up, and in the confusion of multiple pages, Tripp Nichols' page was repeatedly reported and shut down. But his page is real, he’s another adorable Tripp, and he needs the Ride to Give Army.

In September of 2012, at four and a half months old, Tripp had his first seizure. His grandma recognized it right away and told Jessica to call 911. The next day he was diagnosed with Infantile Spasms.

Infantile Spasms is a type of epilepsy that tends to affect infants under the age of 2 years and typically begins between 4 and 8 months of age. It is characterized by clusters of peculiar seizures. These seizures or “spasms" are involuntary and usually consist of a brief interruption of behavior, often with lifting and extension of the arms and bending forward at the waist. In many cases, this behavior is accompanied by a rapid and forceful drop of the head. Each cluster typically lasts a few minutes. There are many variations of this pattern. After individual spasms, children often cry. Clusters of spasms most often occur upon awakening, but can happen at any time of the day. 

Tripp's doctors feel there is an underlying undiagnosed genetic disorder that is causing his Infantile Spasms. He's had many, many rounds of tests done at Children's of Birmingham, as well as Le Bonheur Children's Hospital in Memphis, with no abnormal results. His doctor believes that if they can treat the seizures, he will continue to improve, and he is currently on three medicines that are helping. He's doing things his parents never thought they would see him do and continues to surprise them every day.

After being seizure free for about a year, the spasms returned this past summer. On a typical day Tripp can have as many as 5, but there are some days that they don't see any. Tripp has also been diagnosed with developmental delay, cortical visual impairment, and partial siezures.  He also has feeding and swallowing issues or dysphagia and he is now g-tube fed. He receives physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and vision therapy on a weekly basis. Jessica says her biggest fear now is losing Tripp from SUDEP or Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy. This is when a seemingly healthy person with epilepsy dies unexpectedly and no clear reason for the death can be determined. She is also terrified that one seizure can take away everything that he has worked so hard for the last year and a half because every spasm has the chance to cause irreversible brain damage.

Ride to Give wants to make this a Christmas to remember for the Nichols family. At 2 and a half, Tripp has finally outgrown his crib so we want to purchase a safe and cozy special needs big boy bed for him. Tripp uses apps on an iPad in many of his therapies and we want to get him his own so his parents can continue his therapies at home. Lastly, the Nichols have a $5000 "bill" hanging over them from last year’s insurance deductible. With Nick out of work, they have not been able to pay on this debt since September and it has gone to collections. We want them enjoy the Holidays and go into 2015 without this huge weight on their shoulders, and with the peace of mind a safe bed can bring.

Please follow Tripp at facebook.com/TrippsJourney. Thanks everyone!