How About These?

This is TOO Funny!

I Just Wanted to Share This...........

(I can't figure out how to link it, so copy and paste it in the top and click on the video to watch!)

http://www.ozville.org/epilepsy/

We Are Diseased

If you happen to be in the neighborhood, don't stop by! Or, at least, don't take a shower here. Don't wear my shoes, or Scott's, and now you'll have to keep your tootsies out of Aidan's. He asked Scott last night "Daddy what's this on my foot?" Yep, my baby has a baby Plantar's Wart. Yeesh! You'd think Comet, Bleach, Clorox Bathroom Cleaner WITH Bleach, and I have to admit even Easy-Off Oven Cleaner (it was suggested - I figured what the heck?) would have killed this nasty junk off of our shower floor. But, hey, we're nice, we share. The doctor told us that since he's completely FREAKED OUT after accompanying me to all of my appointments, we can treat it at home. Whew! I thought I was going to have to hog-tie him to get him near a podiatrist's office! So, if you visit, we really would like it.....and, we won't be offended if you don't take your shoes off, or your coat, or a surgical mask. I promise!

You Get What You Ask For......

If you look at the "Title" of my last post and then read this, it will make a lot of sense!
We went to the brain doctor (as Darby likes to call him) today. Now, I've told you all before how weird (in a goofy kind of way) he is. Well, I've actually forgotten how compassionate and sensitive to Scott's and my beliefs/feelings he is. You all know that Darby started an anticonvulsant in December last year. We've had really good luck in the fact that she's been seizure free, but also migraine free. She had been having some migraines that really knocked her on her hiney and they were starting to happen more frequently. So, that's really exciting but she's picked up two of the side effects that we're not crazy about - weight gain and irritability. We are really watching her with food (trying really hard not to be obvious about it and turn it into a complex - remember I'm already setting my children up for much-needed therapy when they are adults) but the irritability is almost more than we can handle. She's a girl and she's moody, but this is almost like everybody/thing gets on her nerves ALL of the time. We are looking into another medication that could possibly get rid of some of these side effects. (Am I the only one who didn't know that they treat epilepsy and bipolar with all of the same medications?) The yucky news is that Darby may be having a different type of seizures now. When she wakes up in the morning or after a nap the right side of her face is fallen (almost like a stroke). It usually takes less than a half an hour for it to get back to normal. It's not happening all of the time but she was sick this weekend and it was a lot more noticable. She's also having some twitching on the right side of her mouth - another type of seizure. This totally sucks. So, we're going on the 18th to have an EEG done (a study on how the brain of a 7 year old works- ha!). It's a sleep deprived EEG which means that the night before she will go to bed at midnight and we have to wake her up at 4 a.m. and keep her awake until her appointment at 1 that afternoon. She can't even fall asleep in the car on the way there or they may have to reschedule it. And she's not allowed any caffeine so we can't even cheat! I'm collecting ideas on what to do with a 7 year old at 4 o'clock in the morning that will keep her moving. I've started the list with hanging out at anything that starts with "Wal" and is open 24 hours. Who isn't in the mood for shopping at that time of the morning!?!? :)
*Warning: I'm about to get emotional* I was sitting in his office reading some of the literature about epilepsy and I don't think I've ever really sat down and absorbed that Darby is an epileptic. It sucks. To think about the things she may not ever get to do - riding certain rides at amusement parks, attend concerts with strobe lights without having to cover her eyes, all the way to the fact that because of the law - she may not be allowed to drive. I pray so hard that she'll be one of the lucky ones who really does outgrow this. I pray that this next test will go well and that they won't find any new abnormalities. I pray that she remembers her childhood as fun and laughter and not medications and MRI's. I know it could be much worse and I know that compared to the things other people are going through, this may seem like nothing. But, if I could change it for her, I would. Please pray for strength and wisdom for Scott and I as we walk this path. We really, really want to do the right thing for her and some days it feels like we're just not qualified enough.

I'd Like to See a Study on How the 7 Year Old Brain Works

As I was telling my mom this story this morning, she said "Why do I get the feeling this is turning into a blog post?" She's right, it's too funny not to share....
We had to have a serious conversation with Darby last night over dinner. A lot of valid points were raised during our discussion but, I really feel like the matter is settled as of now.
Darby informed us that she wants to join the circus. (We got 3 free tickets last week and so I sent Scott and the kids for some Daddy-bonding time.) Apparently, the allure of the circus was just too much for Darby and she has found her calling. We educated her on all of the pitfalls of joining the circus; lots of road travel, no school, always practicing and performing, you know - the specifics. She told us that she's okay with all of that. She can jump off of things "real good" and besides, she WOULD look "really cute in those outfits." I thought we may be fighting a no-win situation and we'd have to send our daughter off to join the circus. Hey, don't they get paid for that? We COULD use the extra income.
Anyhow, we knew our logical explanations started to sink in when she asked me about going to the bathroom while traveling, you know, would they stop if she needed to go? I told her that probably they would have scheduled bathroom breaks and she would only be able to go when they stopped at those times. She didn't really like the idea of that so much. So, we made a mutual decision that since she's 7 - Mom and Dad would make all of the life-altering decisions for her and that once she's an adult we'll revisit the issue and she can make a decision at that point. I can't wait to revisit this issue like, say, when she's 20 and sitting here with her boyfriend.

A (Not-so) Funny Thing Happened on the Way Home

To all of my (10) faithful blog fans, I have to apologize. You, who have faithfully checked in on our little life have been let down day after day after day. There is a purpose to my madness and I can finally explain......
I try to be very careful what I put out here, what with all of the bad guys running around these days. Not that I think bad guys really have time to sit down and read a blog to figure these things out, but I'm the girl who sleeps with a cell phone in case a bad guy cuts the phone lines in an attempt to get into my humble abode. So, I'm a little bit of wimp - I'm okay with that.
Scott has been out of town for the last 4 weeks. Yep, 4 weeks. He's been in the booming town of Phillipsburg, Kansas. It's about 4 and a half hours north and west of here. He's faithfully traveled before the sun rises every Monday morning and trekked home every Friday afternoon (on top of putting in full days at the office in Topeka on Saturdays.) He's worn out, I'm worn out, and our kids have separation issues now. This really is nothing new to our life, but it is a hardship and I learn a lot about myself during these times. 2 years ago Terri (Scott's mom) arrived to find all three of us on the couch crying. She kicked me out; fed, bathed and put my kiddos to bed (and had my house picked up) by the time I got back. You know what I did? Sat in a grocery store parking lot. In peace and quiet. Some days you need that and I wasn't strong enough to admit that at that time I really, really needed that. The kids really are very well adjusted and for the most part handle these times very well, but this week especially, they've totally freaked out if I have to leave their sides for even a second. Does this mean I'm responsible for their therapy when they are older?
Last Friday Scott was traveling with 2 of his co-workers along I-70 without realizing that a 21 year old man from Fort Riley (a military guy, nonetheless) had robbed a bank in Topeka and taken the cops on a wild chase down I-70, crashed his car, jumped out of the car and shot at officers and then ran into the woods. This created a major speed bump on the interstate and forced Scott and others to navigate small highways the rest of the way home. It took them 4 hours to get 30 miles. So, what normally takes them 4 and a half hours took almost 9 to get home. The man who created this disaster actually ended up shooting himself in the head and died this week.
There have been stumbling blocks in the last month. We've gotten through them, not without a TON of patience and wisdom and strength, but we made it. So, if you've been blessed by my silence, I'm sorry. If you've missed me, you're in luck. As we readjust our family life, I'll have more time to take pictures, to tell you funny stories, or to bore you with my thoughts! Thanks for sticking in there with us!