No news is good news

David has now gone 303 days with no seizures.

Last year at this time he was in the hospital with the probes in, waiting for the third seizure. I was hoping that he would get out in time for graduation night. As we go through this time of year again it's reminding me of all the events of last year really vividly. It was all so intense I feel like I'm just starting to get some perspective. It was hard to go through the surgeries and I'm realizing it was hard to have epilepsy for so long.

Thanks for going through this with us.

David is still planning to leave in August to go to Longview, Texas for college. He has had a roommate chosen for him, a boy from Pennsylvania. I get to fly out with him to get him settled...then leave him there!?!

Some Changes

We just finished (or maybe I should say started!) moving into another house. We were deeply in love with our previous house - after staying five years and all* - but Mom and Dad figured that they would be able to give me and my siblings more financial assistance in college if we downsized. 

Funny thing is, we've upsized for the next six months, inhabiting our first two-story house! By the time this lease is over, we will have gotten rid of enough clutter to downsize, and buy a smaller house. (And it will be closer to the time the market will bottom out, too! More bang for fewer bucks.)

Oh, and by the way, I will also have left the house by then. I am going to college starting in the coming Fall semester, and the choice is pretty much final that I will go to LeTourneau University, a Christian engineering school in Longview, Texas, near the Louisiana border.

Mom was originally encouraging me and Dad to go and visit LeTourneau, but then while we were away for three days she got very lonely for me, and did not want me to go there for school.

It took me a long time to make the decision to go to LeTourneau and not Biola, but after I had decided to go to Biola if I was accepted into Torrey Honors Institute and then was disappointed when I heard that I was, I knew my heart wanted LeTourneau.

Mom was kinda unhappy when she heard that I had chosen LeTourneau, and tried to sob me out of it, but though I had sympathy for her, I knew my mind was made. She was consoled for a while after that when she decided to go with me for my first week of school, but today I heard clues that she is not even satisfied with that. I think she will be happy, though, if we can get stuff set up so that we can have weekly Webcam conversations.

It is so nice having such an affectionate Mom, and I don't want to waste the time I still have her (and Dad), so I will be eager to find out about affordable ways to set up a Webcam.

*By "all" I mostly meant the European Miele dishwasher we had in the other house - powerful to wash, and containing a third rack for utensils, so that the surfaces are not touching each other and obstructing the cleaning. *Sigh*. It's sad how it's hard to appreciate blessings until they're gone.

Two longests

Eight months since David's last seizure!!! Five years in one house!!!

We are about to turn over the house to buyers, so we'll have to start over there.

David learned today that he was accepted into the Torrey Honors program at Biola. We are very happy about that! He has been doing a great job of applying for some scholarships. The essays force him to think through aspects of his life and write about them in an interesting way, which is all rather challenging.

Tomorrow we see Dr. Maleeva to hear her opinion of David going to school out of state.

Eight months

We are almost to eight months!I almost lost count of months now that it's been quite a while.Our house is sold and we close in 11 days and move out in 14. (4/11)David is working on scholarship applications, which is challenging. He is a bit shy about "packaging" himself in essays.

A Near Miss, and a college class

Sunday night David had such a bad aura he thought it was going to turn into a seizure. It lasted a while and finally went away. It was heartbreaking. But he hasn't had any more since.

Two weeks ago we saw Dr Maleeva and he had her turn down the dose of his VNS as it felt a little irritating when it went on. So I blame the lower dose for this aura.

I could have blamed sleep deprivation but I don't. David enrolled at Glendale Community College and the only available section of the math class he wanted begins at 7:00 am. The rest of us have been in shock for the last couple weeks as he has gotten himself up, dressed and out the door at 6:15 every weekday morning. He walks down the hill one mile and catches the bus, then rides the bus back home after class and calls me for a ride back up the hill. He looks so happy to be "moving" -- independent, mobile, and back to doing math again. He is still working through the Foundations of American Thought class and making dinner for the family most nights.

A small Christian engineering/technical college called LeTourneau, in east Texas, accepted him and offered a generous scholarship. (We're not sure about sending him so far away, till we see some more stability re seizures.) He is also hoping to be accepted at Biola, and is applying for some scholarships. These things all have pushed him a lot but he is learning some new things and becoming more organized.

Speaking of moving, we found a buyer for our house and if all goes well we hope to find something in Pasadena or Altadena that is cheaper so we can free up some $ for college tuition.

Thanks for checking in. I'll try to post more often.

Getting moving

David's speech therapist back in August was a funny, loud man who said David needed to Get Moving! Well, David has visited two college campuses in the last few weeks, applied to two junior colleges to pick up classes before fall, worked on scholarships, and is motivated and happy! He also took the SAT and got a really high math score and did pretty well in the verbal too.

We are getting more and more accustomed to no seizures, and to his mind being clearer and clearer.

We have a Dr Maleeva appointment this Friday. Please pray for a good one. Thanks!!!

Six months!!

Six months, six months, six months, SIX MONTHS. It sounds so good. Six months ago today David was in the ICU with brain trauma from the grid that would have diagnosed the source of his epilepsy. Instead it caused swelling and nearly caused a coma. Now David has fully recovered and has had no seizures, anyway! Thank you God!! God has been so good to us!