Neurologist

As you most likely know, from either talking to us or reading my blog, Morgan has had some health issues lately. Just in case you haven't talked to us in awhile, she had an "episode" as I like to call it, at school back in February which seemed to me to be a whole lot like a seizure. She was taken to the ER by ambulance and there she told us that the same thing happened to her at home just 2 days before. There was some question about a diagnosis right from the start. It looked like seizures, but she remembered them and that goes against what happens with most seizures. There was also some concern that it may be a vessel or brain issue (mini-stroke/tumor) so a Brain MRI and EEG were both ordered, mainly just to rule out the above mentioned diagnoses. The MRI came back clear, but the EEG did not, and we were referred to a Pediatric Neurologist at Children's Hospital for a consultation. Well, that was Tuesday. We have been told that Morgan has a type of Epilepsy called BRE or Benign Rolandic Epilepsy. It is called benign because almost all kids with this type of epilepsy outgrow it and show no lasting effects, but it does cause seizures like the ones Morgan has had and, more frequently, seizures at night. It can cause learning difficulties and behavioral problems that typically disappear when they outgrow the syndrome at around age 15 and so far she hasn't shown any learning difficulty. She has shown big behavioral changes, although I wouldn't say that she's a behavior "problem". She shows all the signs of BRE.....typical onset of symptoms is between the ages of 6-8 (she's 7), the seizure she had at school (now I can call it that) was on just one side of her face and body and she was drooling, just like everything I read says will happen. So, if she were to have any more seizures during the day, they would most likely be like that, or partial seizures. But, the nighttime seizures would most likely be the tonic-clonic or Grand Mal type. As far as we know, she hasn't had any of those, an up until a few days ago she's been sleeping on the floor in our room so we probably would have known if she did. Dr. Hallinan said that she really needs to get more sleep every night as sleep deprivation worsens the condition and makes seizures more likely. So, we're trying to get her on a sleep schedule, which isn't easy since she typically only sleeps 7 hours at night and never takes naps. The doctor really wants her to sleep 8-10. All I can say is we're working on it. Oh, and if that weren't enough.... she's been officially diagnosed with migraines too. So, she's doubly blessed. We now have a medical action plan at school and are keeping a headache diary to see if we can keep them under control without prescription medications. We're holding off on prescription meds for the epilepsy for now as well.... just to see if/how much worse it gets. We'll probably need to put her on something in the future and we've been given information on some meds that are available, but neither her doctor nor we think it's necessary right now. Well, I'm about tapped out...this is giving me a headache and I'm getting bummed just thinking about it all. I'll give updates as they come

A Busy Week

This week is going to be a doozy. Besides all of the normal running we do each week, we have extra things to pick up, plan and coordinate for the party that is Saturday. I'm getting so excited about it. We have some special surprises planned for Katie that I would love to be able to talk about, but since she reads my blog occasionally, I'd better keep quiet about them until after the party. I can say that I went shopping after work yesterday and today to pick up things and I'll have to do some last minute food shopping later this week.
My 365 Photo Project is coming along really well. I especially like the picture I took today. Here it is:



I had an idea to submerge the ball in a bowl of water and freeze it, and I was able to get 2 days worth of photos from that "project", but the end result wasn't as exciting as I'd hoped. Yesterday, I photographed it in a bubble bath with some bath toys and I've taken a picture with Bear too. I'm having fun with it. Every day I think that I'm not going to be able to think of another original idea, and somehow, I do. They're not always great, but ideas just the same.

Reunion

Another exhausting day. Of course, now I feel like I'm getting my second wind. But, when I got home from work all I wanted to do was sit. I spent the best part of 2 hours working on the Reunion. If I haven't mentioned it before, this August is my 20th High School Reunion. I'm on the planning committee and I haven't even thought about any of it in about a month. We're trying to make plans for a second meeting this Saturday and I had a lot of preparation and organizational things that I wanted to accomplish before then. I also did some online searching, made a few phone calls and sent an email to try to locate a few more of our classmates that we have been unable to reach as of yet. I was able to talk to the wife of one, and confirmed the phone number of another through the bar and grill that she owns, but had to leave messages at the others. Oh, and one was a complete dead end. Wrong person all together. I'm not confident that we'll EVER find him.
My photo project is going well........day 4 today. I have an idea for tomorrow too. So far so good. Well, I've got to go pick up dinner. (pizza tonight!)

Pictures

I've been pretty pleased with how my 365 Days Project is going. I had a really cool idea for yesterday, and I really liked how it turned out. This is what I submitted:



I had no idea what I was going to do next. I thought about it last night.....the idea from yesterday came to me when I was in bed the night before, right before I fell asleep. I do a lot of thinking then. Anyway, I was coming up empty last night. But, when I woke up this morning I figured something out. I looked out the kitchen window into the back yard and noticed that there was a ball glove on the trampoline. It had been left there overnight. So, I sent Morgan out to get it, and came up with the idea for today. You can see the whole set (all 3 days worth so far ) here. I've learned that there is also a weekly challenge in which a theme is given to incorporate with your object. Last week's was patterns..... you were supposed to take a picture on a pattern, as part of a pattern, etc. I was still thinking about that one when it changed today. This week's challenge is "Going Green"....environmentally, that is. I've come up with an idea, but since I've already taken my picture today, I have to wait until tomorrow. I still need a few more items to make it complete, but it's just a matter of gathering them. Check that link out tomorrow and you can see the end result.
Today was another hectic one for us. Work was crazy again, but I'm not going into that tonight. When I got home from work, Katie and I began gathering items for the challenge photo while Morgan got ready for softball practice. I let Katie invite a couple of her friends to come along to hang out with her while she waited. So, we picked up John and Andrea and they walked around and talked while Morgan practiced. After practice, we all went to Subway for dinner, then I took the kids home. They all had a good time.
Now, Morgan is finishing up her diorama and dictating her report to Katie who is typing it. It's a little late to be doing this, but that's the way things go around here. They always wait until the last minute. She is presenting this report in class tomorrow, so it can't wait another day. Oh well, many more late nights like this and she'll learn. (hopefully)

Work

Today was extremely busy at work today. Along with the 40 or so new cases we set up and the 50 or so collection kits we sent out, we received samples for 74 cases today! I didn't think we would ever get it finished. And, if we had been able to connect to the server at HSBC today, we would have also had 13 UK cases to make, but those will have to wait until tomorrow. I LOVE Mondays!!!
In my last post I talked a little bit about Flickr and that I was thinking about joining a group. Well, I did......let me tell you how it came about. I had browsed some of the 365 groups. Those are the ones where you take a picture each day for 365 days. There are all kinds......some are self-portraits, some are of kids and some are objects. Yesterday was such a beautiful day that I had to get outside despite the headache. I first replaced the rope and flag in the front yard and then I grabbed the camera and started taking pictures. I came across a pink, spiky ball lying in the grass. It looked interesting to me, so I took a picture of it. Later, while downloading them I thought about the "One Object 365 Days Project". In this group you must take a picture every day for 365 days, and each picture must contain the sme object......the Ball! So, I joined the group and as of now, have submitted my first two photos. You can tell by the frequency (or lack of) of this blog that I'm very good at starting things, but not so good at sticking with them. So, I think this will be a very good exercise for me......and will push me to think more creatively. And, hopefully I'll learn more about photography along the way.
Well, it's almost 10 o'clock and I need to get Morgan into bed. She's been working on her diorama for her report that's due Wednesday. She found a way to make a report about the invention of chewing gum into a diorama. She's going to show how the resin is taken from the spruce tree sap to the factory to be made into chewing gum. And, write a report about the person who invented it and how it's made. Here is her progress so far:

Race Day

Sundays are Race Day at our house. We typically watch the pre-race programs on Speed Channel, the race, then any post-race programs (if anything really exciting happened). Today, is no different. My favorite driver, Dale Jr. won the Pole for this race, and he ran the first part of the race in the lead. Now, he's hovering in the top 5, and hopefully will make it to Victory Lane today.
It's such a beautiful day out today that I think I'm going to take a break from the race and go outside and take some pictures of Morgan and anything else that seems interesting. I set up a Flickr account yesterday and am toying with the idea of joining some of the groups and posting some pictures. I've always been interested in photography and have had the occasional shot that's turned out really good. I'd love to learn more and get really good at it. I've been inspired and am motivated to try it all again by seeing all of the great shots Brook takes. You can see them here . She's awesome....check them out.