Abhi is a brave fighter! He immediately had seizures following his birth, and for the first couple of years he had hour-long seizures every 3 to 4 weeks. These were life-threatening, and he ended up in the hospital for 2 or 3 days at a time where he was loaded with medications that made him quite drowsy. Abhi experiences delayed milestones including high muscle tone issues, and he needs continuous assistance and monitoring.

After extensive studies in metabolic, genetic, and neurological areas by multiple hospitals in North America, Abhi’s family qualified for the National Institutes of Health Undiagnosed Disease Program (NIH UDP). In March of 2014, Abhi was diagnosed with a genetic variant called SLC13A5.

Abhi and his sister Sanju require multiple medications each day, therapies, and frequent hospitalizations. Their family experienced both Abhi and his sister seizing at once and needed to call EMS on numerous occasions. Despite experiencing crisis after crisis, their family remains resilient and determined to find answers and make connections.

While he is nonverbal, Abhi is very social, happy, and active. He loves being around people! Abhi uses an iPad program (proloquo 2 go) to communicate. He enjoys attention, answering questions, and looking at books.