Meet a true warrior.

Giovanni Giordan.

Gio has been seizing since birth but his parents, Charlotte & Ron, thought he was just having night terrors when they heard him through the baby monitor every night crying out. Then, he had one of the episodes while he was wide awake. Gio was diagnosed with epilepsy and doctors soon discovered he had an arachnoid cyst where the seizures were thought to be coming from. Brain surgery was the recommendation. At 10-months-old, he underwent a difficult and dangerous brain surgery. While the seizures decreased, they couldn’t be controlled with all the different kinds of medicines. As Gio grew, they noticed things weren’t progressing normally for him. Despite physical and speech therapy, Gio couldn’t walk without falling and wasn’t speaking. Then came two more diagnoses that would send any parent into a tailspin: Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome and PDD/NOS on the Autism Spectrum. Gio’s life has been marked by many different kinds of seizures: partial complex, tonic, atonic, myoclonic, absence. In fact, he would seize everyday; 20 to more than 80 times a day. The very few skills he did have started to vanish as did the life in his eyes. Gio had hypotonia and now had a g-tube. With no end or solution in sight, doctors started to discuss “quality of life” issues. It was then another surgery was discussed. No guarantees, just a hope that maybe the seizure activity would be reduced. The surgery that took place was unique for him and the doctors. Whatever happened last July 6th worked. And it worked well. Gio’s last seizure was an hour before surgery began. He hasn’t had a seizure since! He’s walking again, making noises and the life has returned to his eyes. While there are no guarantees as to how long this will last, it’s a great lesson in living in the moment.

Inspired by their struggle with Gio’s special needs, Ron and Charlotte decided to do something for other kids with special needs. And, while his parents do all they can for him, they are left struggling to find and gain access to basic services. One of those is respite care. After getting wait-listed and discovering they were not alone, they took matters into their own hands and. Gio’s parents found other parents in South Central Wisconsin, hundreds of families, waiting for years for something as simple as a few hours of respite to run errands, take a nap, spend time with their other kids…take a small break from 24 hours of caring for a sick child. So, Gio’s Garden was born from parents of special needs children and caregivers who want to help other families who are struggling. Gio’s Garden’s opened it’s doors in June 2012 in Middleton, Wisconsin. It provides free therapeutic respite care in a safe environment where parents of special needs children (birth to 6) can bring them for a few hours a week so they can have a small break. Please “LIKE” them on Facebbook as well Gios Garden | Growing Futures for Special Needs Children In the Madison Area  https://www.facebook.com/giosgarden

The Mission:  Gio’s Garden’s mission as a non-profit organization is to nurture and strengthen families with special needs children (birth to 6 years) by increasing their access to needed services. To learn more about Gio’s Garden or to donate, go to www.giosgarden.org

A Message from the Founder and President of the Epilepsy Warriors Foundation Susan Noble:

Charlotte & Ron Giordan are two of the most selfless people I am honored to know and call my friends. They exemplify to all of Wisconsin and us here at the Warriors Foundation what it means to have giving hearts and Gio’s Garden was created and became what it is today because of who they are. Children with Special needs are Special because of who they are as individuals not because of their Disabilities. Disability is NOT Inability. Parents of Children with Special Needs need support, they need the love and support of everyone so that they can have the time they need to regroup, recharge, re-energize even if it’s something as little as an hour to run errands that means a lot.  Gio’s Garden will allow so many families in Wisconsin to do just that and I am so inspired by Charlotte who is an amazing and wonderful Wife, Mother  and a very special friend to me personally.

Thank you Charlotte and Ron for allowing me to share Gio with everyone and for featuring him on our website. WE LOVE you and WE ALL LOVE GIO!!!!  I urge everyone to checkout Gio’s Garden on Facebook and their beautiful website and if your ever in South Central Wisconsin stop in and say hello! These Children are our gifts but you are their blessings.