It's 2:15am here and I should be in bed by now, but I just had some thoughts I wanted to get off my chest. I just went in to check on Aidan and give him a good-night kiss. It's absolutely amazing to me that he can sleep so peacefully and look so "normal" when he is asleep.
I stroked his cheek and he stirred a little. He always does this when I touch him when he's asleep, and every it surprises me at how "normal" he acts. He's able to move his head, arms and legs. He stretches just like a normal little kid, but when he is awake he is not able to move as much.
I just don't understand. It is heart-wrenching to see him like this. He looks exactly like a normal 3 year old, sleeping in his bed. The only problem is that when he wakes up, he isn't a normal 3 year old. I just miss him so much! I want to hear him laughing and playing and fighting with Evan. I want to have both of them driving me absolutely batty being normal little boys.
Those of you who have intact children are so lucky. Hold on to your kids and love them. Cherish every moment you have with them, no matter how crazy they make you at times. I'd give anything, I'd endure anything to have my Aidan back.
Sorry to start out with my depressing pity-party, but I couldn't keep it in any more. So now for the results of the EEG. According to Dr. C, the test was unremarkable. I take this to mean that he isn't showing any additional seizure activity or that it is unchanged from the previous test. That leaves us with the question of what is causing the twitching or jerking that we take to be seizures? Is it just Aidan's brain recovering and the parts of his brain that control his movement are "waking up?" Lord, I hope and pray it is.
I know that I am a very impatient person. I want Aidan healed NOW, but I also know that God does His work in His own time and not ours. Since the accident, Aidan has overcome many obstacles. He has made amazing improvements and has grown so much! He is a miracle in progress.
I am so thankful to each and every one of you who have prayed for our family, who have donated any amount to help Aidan, who have passed along our story to others and who have supported us this far. I hope that we are able to touch even more lives as we continue on this path with Aidan. I pray that Aidan's life can become a testament and that one day he will be able to tell others his story.
I hope that everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day, and I hope that you take the time to remember what this day is for. Remember those who have served our country, who have fought for our freedom and those who have died doing so. I have many members of my family who have served in the military, and I want them to know that I appreciate them and I am proud of them for what they do and have done.
God Bless!
~Erin
Monday, May 25, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Hematology update
Aidan had a follow up appointment this morning with the hematologist. Before his appointment though, we went in for some blood to be drawn in the lab. This lab work is to check the level of the seizure medicine in his blood. They also drew blood to test for allergies.
According to the doctor, everything they've tested him for has come back normal so it doesn't look like the cause of his brain bleed is due to a problem with his blood. It's looking like it is more neurological, and my guess is that it is associated to the seizures.
It's all one big huge interconnected circle. It's frustrating. I just want his seizures under control. They were happening less frequently until last week when the fever spiked and he was put in the hospital. I'm sure it's related somehow.
In the morning, Aidan is scheduled for an EEG. It's supposed to be a sleep-deprived study, but I'd love to know how I'm supposed to keep him awake until midnight and then let him sleep for 3 hours and then wake him up and keep him awake until 8am. I'd love to see any of them keep him up, because I've tried it. Aidan can sleep through anything, and quite frankly, I don't care to only get 3 hours of sleep myself. We know he's having seizures already, so I'm not really sure what this EEG will show us. I guess we'll find out when we talk to the doctor.
As far as everything else goes, Aidan seems to be doing okay. His lungs are clear and despite the seizure activity, he's been alert and is smiling a lot more. Yesterday I was taking his picture and every time the flash warning light came on, he would smile for the camera.
For those of you that have purchased entries for this months raffle, I will be returning those funds to you. We have had very few entries, and it isn't even worth the time to do the raffle. Aidan's therapies will just have to be put on hold for a while. While this isn't anyone's problem but our own, we're struggling to keep a roof over our heads and our van needs work. The additional therapies and supplements that Aidan takes are expensive. I don't like asking for donations and I'm not about to beg anyone or ask anyone to feel sorry for us. We thought that by doing a raffle, at least you have a chance to win something. I don't know... maybe I'm wrong.
I greatly appreciate the support that we have had and the continuous prayers for Aidan. Please don't take my last statement as my being ungrateful, because I'm not. Personally, I'm just having a very difficult time with everything.
~Erin
According to the doctor, everything they've tested him for has come back normal so it doesn't look like the cause of his brain bleed is due to a problem with his blood. It's looking like it is more neurological, and my guess is that it is associated to the seizures.
It's all one big huge interconnected circle. It's frustrating. I just want his seizures under control. They were happening less frequently until last week when the fever spiked and he was put in the hospital. I'm sure it's related somehow.
In the morning, Aidan is scheduled for an EEG. It's supposed to be a sleep-deprived study, but I'd love to know how I'm supposed to keep him awake until midnight and then let him sleep for 3 hours and then wake him up and keep him awake until 8am. I'd love to see any of them keep him up, because I've tried it. Aidan can sleep through anything, and quite frankly, I don't care to only get 3 hours of sleep myself. We know he's having seizures already, so I'm not really sure what this EEG will show us. I guess we'll find out when we talk to the doctor.
As far as everything else goes, Aidan seems to be doing okay. His lungs are clear and despite the seizure activity, he's been alert and is smiling a lot more. Yesterday I was taking his picture and every time the flash warning light came on, he would smile for the camera.
For those of you that have purchased entries for this months raffle, I will be returning those funds to you. We have had very few entries, and it isn't even worth the time to do the raffle. Aidan's therapies will just have to be put on hold for a while. While this isn't anyone's problem but our own, we're struggling to keep a roof over our heads and our van needs work. The additional therapies and supplements that Aidan takes are expensive. I don't like asking for donations and I'm not about to beg anyone or ask anyone to feel sorry for us. We thought that by doing a raffle, at least you have a chance to win something. I don't know... maybe I'm wrong.
I greatly appreciate the support that we have had and the continuous prayers for Aidan. Please don't take my last statement as my being ungrateful, because I'm not. Personally, I'm just having a very difficult time with everything.
~Erin
Monday, May 18, 2009
A little "plug" for Erin's new business venture!
I have wanted to start a business creating and selling photocards, announcements, and invitations for some time now. I just recently decided that I really didn't have much to lose if I made some new items and put them out there. I just got the blog/website up yesterday and although it is still very much a work in progress, I'd love some feedback about it.
It's called "From the Heart" (announcements, cards and invitations.) I will be working on the page some more so that there are shopping carts to make placing an order easier. But for now, I'm just working on some new designs.
Check it out and let me know what you think, and please pass it along if you know someone who is expecting, getting married, having a party, or would just like holiday cards done.
Thanks!
~Erin
It's called "From the Heart" (announcements, cards and invitations.) I will be working on the page some more so that there are shopping carts to make placing an order easier. But for now, I'm just working on some new designs.
Check it out and let me know what you think, and please pass it along if you know someone who is expecting, getting married, having a party, or would just like holiday cards done.
Thanks!
~Erin
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Special Request: Need for calling card
If you have looked in our links section, I have mentioned a therapy based out of India called G Therapy. This is a homeopathic therapy that consists of a pill that is given sublingually (under the tongue). The reason I really want to get Aidan in on this therapy is due to the video below. It is almost 6 minutes long, but I ask you watch every second and see the amazing transformation that occurs:
I have communicated via email with the doctor who created this therapy and he wishes to speak with me further; however, this requires an international phone call to India. Unfortunately, Skype does not work for him due to poor audio quality and I do not have international calling on my cell plan (nor do I plan to get it). If anyone out there can help by providing me a pre-paid calling card that can be used for international calling to India, I'd greatly appreciate it. I wish I could tell you how much or how many minutes I would need, but I really have no clue; I would assume between 30 and 60 minutes of talk time.
Again, I greatly appreciate any help you can provide so I can contact this doctor!
-- Russell
I have communicated via email with the doctor who created this therapy and he wishes to speak with me further; however, this requires an international phone call to India. Unfortunately, Skype does not work for him due to poor audio quality and I do not have international calling on my cell plan (nor do I plan to get it). If anyone out there can help by providing me a pre-paid calling card that can be used for international calling to India, I'd greatly appreciate it. I wish I could tell you how much or how many minutes I would need, but I really have no clue; I would assume between 30 and 60 minutes of talk time.
Again, I greatly appreciate any help you can provide so I can contact this doctor!
-- Russell
We're home plus a few other things
Sorry for not posting again yesterday, but we had to get ready to go to a birthday party soon after getting home.
We got home about 1:30 in the afternoon. Aidan's white blood cell count had dropped between 16 and 16.5 (i.e., 16,000-16,500) on his last blood sample. He is on an antibiotic for 3 more days and will have a couple of follow-ups this week with at least our family doctor and maybe the neurologist (more on that later).
Speaking of the party, it went pretty well. Erin once again made a great cake along with some cupcakes. Her step-dad really appreciated the gesture. We really appreciated the 10 gallons of ice cream he made (yes, ten gallons).
Erin is in the process of creating her home business. She has made up her blog (http://from-the-heart-stationary.blogspot.com) and should be posting some things to it soon. Her business will be creating cards (photo cards for holidays, thank you cards, etc.), invitations, and announcements (birth, wedding, engagement, etc.). Once business starts flowing, we'll look into setting up a full-blown online store front, etc.
While at the party yesterday, I had heard that some people wanted to help us with raffles, but were reluctant to do so because we said we didn't want to do them anymore. I would like to take the time to clarify our position.
We personally are not likely to do anymore raffles after this month; however, if you have talked to us or a member of our family about doing a raffle as a benefit, please feel free to do so. We'll be happy to promote it through the blog if you tell us about it and give us ways you can be contacted about purchasing chances.
The same goes with benefit events: let us know and we will mention it on here; we'll also try to make arrangements to make an appearance at the event so you and the people at your benefit will get a chance to meet us live and in person. Also contact us if a non-profit is needed to make a benefit happen for you.
As always, we greatly appreciate all the prayers and support you have given us. I ask that you concentrate a lot of prayer this week on something that started this weekend.
We have noticed that Aidan is moving his arms and legs a lot as well as smiling and laughing more. I know this would normally be cause for celebration and rejoice; however, it started happening after we got home from the hospital. We are afraid it may be something more significant like increased and stronger seizure activity. We contacted the on-call neurologist this evening (Dr. F, not Dr. C) and she recommended we increase his anti-seizure medication again starting this evening. Erin is calling Dr. C in the morning to see about him seeing Aidan ASAP.
Have a good evening! I'll be posting something new in a moment for a personal request I have.
--Russell
We got home about 1:30 in the afternoon. Aidan's white blood cell count had dropped between 16 and 16.5 (i.e., 16,000-16,500) on his last blood sample. He is on an antibiotic for 3 more days and will have a couple of follow-ups this week with at least our family doctor and maybe the neurologist (more on that later).
Speaking of the party, it went pretty well. Erin once again made a great cake along with some cupcakes. Her step-dad really appreciated the gesture. We really appreciated the 10 gallons of ice cream he made (yes, ten gallons).
Erin is in the process of creating her home business. She has made up her blog (http://from-the-heart-stationary.blogspot.com) and should be posting some things to it soon. Her business will be creating cards (photo cards for holidays, thank you cards, etc.), invitations, and announcements (birth, wedding, engagement, etc.). Once business starts flowing, we'll look into setting up a full-blown online store front, etc.
While at the party yesterday, I had heard that some people wanted to help us with raffles, but were reluctant to do so because we said we didn't want to do them anymore. I would like to take the time to clarify our position.
We personally are not likely to do anymore raffles after this month; however, if you have talked to us or a member of our family about doing a raffle as a benefit, please feel free to do so. We'll be happy to promote it through the blog if you tell us about it and give us ways you can be contacted about purchasing chances.
The same goes with benefit events: let us know and we will mention it on here; we'll also try to make arrangements to make an appearance at the event so you and the people at your benefit will get a chance to meet us live and in person. Also contact us if a non-profit is needed to make a benefit happen for you.
As always, we greatly appreciate all the prayers and support you have given us. I ask that you concentrate a lot of prayer this week on something that started this weekend.
We have noticed that Aidan is moving his arms and legs a lot as well as smiling and laughing more. I know this would normally be cause for celebration and rejoice; however, it started happening after we got home from the hospital. We are afraid it may be something more significant like increased and stronger seizure activity. We contacted the on-call neurologist this evening (Dr. F, not Dr. C) and she recommended we increase his anti-seizure medication again starting this evening. Erin is calling Dr. C in the morning to see about him seeing Aidan ASAP.
Have a good evening! I'll be posting something new in a moment for a personal request I have.
--Russell
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