Promised an update on my son after we visited the neurologist. We were told there was nothing physically wrong that had caused the seizures. All physical tests, CT scan, blood work, MRI came back normal. However, his EEG showed "definite abnormal" brain activity from the right front temporal lobe area. We had two options, to medicate or wait and see. The Dr. recommended not medicating at the present time and that is what we decided to do. My son asked him about having another seizure and the Dr. said right now he had a 60% chance he would and a 40% chance he would not have another seizure. If my son goes six months without a seizure his odds go to 70% he will not have another seizure and 30% he will. Every month he goes without a seizure improves his odds of not having another. If he goes a year without another one he will probably not have anymore because it is very rare for someone to go a year and then begin having seizures again. If he has another seizure we will begin medication and if he makes six months without one we will do another EEG and re-evaluate at that time.
Many people around the world are praying for my son and my family greatly appreciates all of the prayers and good thoughts!
Monday, September 29, 2008
High School Reunion
I attended our 30th high school reunion on Saturday. The last reunion I had attended was our 5th year reunion and I had not seen many of my classmates since. As I pulled up to the location and saw people going in my first reaction was "Wow! Who are all these middle-aged people?"
I met a good friend of mine there and the first 30 minutes or so everyone spent in trying to figure out who was who. My friend told me; "We haven't changed a bit but some of them have really aged!" I guess our mirrors show us what we want to see and not what is really there. I do believe though that the guys had changed (aged) more than the women, but maybe they just don't try to cover it up like women do. I was really amused to see that the guys that had the long shoulder-length flowing locks that they were so proud of in high school turned out to be pretty much bald! Actually most of the men were bald or balding and what hair they had was grey. There were very few men that still retained a full head of hair. To me most of the women still looked the same, yes they had aged some and most (including myself) had put on a few pounds since high school but in the face they still looked the same as they did then. The ones I did not recognize were ones that had completely changed their hair color and that made it difficult for me.
I felt kind of out-of-place but I am glad I went. It was nice to see my classmates again, although many of the ones I was close friends with then did not attend the reunion. It was also nice to see that the old "cliques" were no more. The ones that we considered snobby while in high school because they did not associate with us were very friendly and spent a lot of time laughing and talking with us at the reunion. It was good to catch up and share news with each other and see what everyone was up to. Of course jobs, marriages, children and even grand-children were discussed and pictures were shown off. People made jokes about the tough times they had been through and was able to share some laughs about it, and as always when middle-aged (can I really be middle-aged?) people get together their diseases, surgeries, and ailments as well as prescriptions were discussed.
We remembered lost classmates and our class felt very fortunate to have only lost three (that we know of) with one of those in elementary school due to an accident. The other two were lost due to cancer, and news was shared of a classmate that is currently battling that loathsome disease and seems to be losing the battle.
Games were played, laughs and fellowship was shared, friendships renewed, contact information exchanged and promises were made to keep in touch, but most of us will probably get busy with our own lives again until we attend the next reunion where we will all look a little older and go through it all again!
I met a good friend of mine there and the first 30 minutes or so everyone spent in trying to figure out who was who. My friend told me; "We haven't changed a bit but some of them have really aged!" I guess our mirrors show us what we want to see and not what is really there. I do believe though that the guys had changed (aged) more than the women, but maybe they just don't try to cover it up like women do. I was really amused to see that the guys that had the long shoulder-length flowing locks that they were so proud of in high school turned out to be pretty much bald! Actually most of the men were bald or balding and what hair they had was grey. There were very few men that still retained a full head of hair. To me most of the women still looked the same, yes they had aged some and most (including myself) had put on a few pounds since high school but in the face they still looked the same as they did then. The ones I did not recognize were ones that had completely changed their hair color and that made it difficult for me.
I felt kind of out-of-place but I am glad I went. It was nice to see my classmates again, although many of the ones I was close friends with then did not attend the reunion. It was also nice to see that the old "cliques" were no more. The ones that we considered snobby while in high school because they did not associate with us were very friendly and spent a lot of time laughing and talking with us at the reunion. It was good to catch up and share news with each other and see what everyone was up to. Of course jobs, marriages, children and even grand-children were discussed and pictures were shown off. People made jokes about the tough times they had been through and was able to share some laughs about it, and as always when middle-aged (can I really be middle-aged?) people get together their diseases, surgeries, and ailments as well as prescriptions were discussed.
We remembered lost classmates and our class felt very fortunate to have only lost three (that we know of) with one of those in elementary school due to an accident. The other two were lost due to cancer, and news was shared of a classmate that is currently battling that loathsome disease and seems to be losing the battle.
Games were played, laughs and fellowship was shared, friendships renewed, contact information exchanged and promises were made to keep in touch, but most of us will probably get busy with our own lives again until we attend the next reunion where we will all look a little older and go through it all again!
Monday, September 22, 2008
Gas Prices
Friday my family went to the Central Carolina Fair and were extremely surprised to see that the parking lot had so many spaces available. Once we went inside we saw that there were some people walking around but not many appeared to be spending money. The game attendants were extremely aggressive trying to get people to play their games and I quickly found the best thing was to avoid eye contact. I guess they were getting desparate for people to spend money with them.
Saturday as we ran our errands (got groceries and went out to eat), the grocery store parking lot was practically empty and when we went to the restaurant (Mayflower) they had no business as well. A whole section of the restaurant had empty tables when usually you have to wait in line. My husband asked the cashier as he was paying if she thought the gas prices had hurt their business and she said it really had.
Yesterday I took our son to Wal-mart to get some pants for the upcoming cooler weather. As we drove through our small town and stopped at the stop light there was not another car in sight. It was really spooky.
I guess people are really cutting down on their weekend driving and activities. For some families it is very hard to purchase groceries and gasoline for their vehicles to go to work with the high prices and non- necessities have to go. I'll bet the high gas prices have hurt the movies and other leisure activities as well as the restaurants. You can really see how things are a chain and how one link affects another.
Oh, while at the fair I spent $7 playing the lottery at their booth and won $27! That was pretty cool, but then I spent $7 more and didn't win anything. I believe you can win enough in the lottery to keep you playing but in the end you don't get ahead.
We go to the neurologist on Wednesday, will let you know what he says.
Saturday as we ran our errands (got groceries and went out to eat), the grocery store parking lot was practically empty and when we went to the restaurant (Mayflower) they had no business as well. A whole section of the restaurant had empty tables when usually you have to wait in line. My husband asked the cashier as he was paying if she thought the gas prices had hurt their business and she said it really had.
Yesterday I took our son to Wal-mart to get some pants for the upcoming cooler weather. As we drove through our small town and stopped at the stop light there was not another car in sight. It was really spooky.
I guess people are really cutting down on their weekend driving and activities. For some families it is very hard to purchase groceries and gasoline for their vehicles to go to work with the high prices and non- necessities have to go. I'll bet the high gas prices have hurt the movies and other leisure activities as well as the restaurants. You can really see how things are a chain and how one link affects another.
Oh, while at the fair I spent $7 playing the lottery at their booth and won $27! That was pretty cool, but then I spent $7 more and didn't win anything. I believe you can win enough in the lottery to keep you playing but in the end you don't get ahead.
We go to the neurologist on Wednesday, will let you know what he says.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Why I dread September
September seems to be a particularly bad time of year for me. It seems that many bad things happen around that time of year. My mother passed away on September 5th, 2002 unexpectedly. My family purchased and moved into her house and exactly one year to the day of her death our central air conditioning system gave out and had to be replaced. The next year during the month of September we found out we had to replace our heating system (which was separate from our central air) and the next year in September (Labor Day weekend) our well went dry and we were without water until December.
You are probably starting to get the picture now. In 2006 we had to replace a large portion of the roof on the house during September which was expensive and in 2007 my husband had a severe case of bronchitis that he had a time getting rid of also during September.
This year the day after Labor Day as my son was getting ready for school he had a seizure. At the time we were not sure what was going on but we called the paramedics. About 2.5 hours later at the hospital he had another seizure which was what used to be called a grand mal and was apparently what he had at home. All kinds of tests were done and we were told it was not anything physical but so far we don't have a reason. He stayed in the hospital overnight and we were told that if he had another seizure he was going to be transferred to a children's hospital. He was released the next day and we were told he could resume his normal activities. So far so good but it is like waiting for the other shoe to drop. We have an appointment with a neurologist next week and hopefully we will get some answers or have our minds relieved then. Will let you know on that.
So.......... every year I dread September. It just seems to be too many coincidences and many of the happenings take place right around the anniversay of Mom's death. I wonder is she trying to tell me something?
You are probably starting to get the picture now. In 2006 we had to replace a large portion of the roof on the house during September which was expensive and in 2007 my husband had a severe case of bronchitis that he had a time getting rid of also during September.
This year the day after Labor Day as my son was getting ready for school he had a seizure. At the time we were not sure what was going on but we called the paramedics. About 2.5 hours later at the hospital he had another seizure which was what used to be called a grand mal and was apparently what he had at home. All kinds of tests were done and we were told it was not anything physical but so far we don't have a reason. He stayed in the hospital overnight and we were told that if he had another seizure he was going to be transferred to a children's hospital. He was released the next day and we were told he could resume his normal activities. So far so good but it is like waiting for the other shoe to drop. We have an appointment with a neurologist next week and hopefully we will get some answers or have our minds relieved then. Will let you know on that.
So.......... every year I dread September. It just seems to be too many coincidences and many of the happenings take place right around the anniversay of Mom's death. I wonder is she trying to tell me something?
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