Airport Appreciation Day

Only in a small town like Florence would there be such a thing as Airport Appreciation Day. I love it! All morning we toured small airplanes and medical helicopters belonging to the hospital and Coast Guard. The kids ate free hot dogs. And after waiting in a very long line, we even got a free ride in an airplane!

Collin was so brave. He loved it. And I got to steer us over the ocean then turn us back around toward Florence. Wow! What a trip! When we arrived home Collin said, "Mom, I want to be a pilot when I grow up." And that's why I love taking my kids to these things. They get inspired, and I get to watch their little minds awaken to all the possibilities in life.

The Circus Came to Town!

A traveling circus came to town and we were all invited to watch the set up. We went with our new next-door neighbors, Brayden and Camden Linton.

We saw them bathe the elephants and trim their nails to get them ready for the show. We fed the goats and saw a zebra, hippo, ponies, camels and llamas. But the highlight was when they brought out an elephant to help set up the big red circus tent. This was almost as entertaining as the show!

Speaking of the show, Collin loved it; Luke wanted to be in it. He kept trying to run down the bleachers and hop into the ring. So Luke and I ended up outside after intermission. Such is life. But what an exciting event! The circus was gone as fast as they had come--all in one day! Pretty amazing.

Visitors: Miriam, Allan & Josie

Merritt's sister came to visit with her family this last weekend. It was such a delight to have them! We took them to the Pawn trail, Hobbit's beach, Heceta Head lighthouse, Devil's churn, Newport Bay bridge, Yaqiuna lighthouse and the tide pools. We also had fun visiting with family and playing our new favorite game, Bonanza.

We packed a lot of adventure into our four short days together, but I think the best part for me was watching the cousins become friends. Josie (14 mos.) and Luke (22 mos.) played especially well together. It was adorable to watch. I just couldn't get enough of little Josie and her pigtails. Thanks for making the trip out to Oregon. We hope you had as much fun as we did!

Living with Seizures

In February, Luke had 4 seizures while recovering from an illness with fever (see photo above). Last Wednesday Luke again had seizures following an illness with fever, but this time he had 20 of them.

His first seizure occurred around 10 AM Wednesday morning. By 12:30 AM that same night he had had twenty of them. A couple of times he had 3-4 seizures in a row, which is considered somewhat dangerous. The doctors finally found a drug that worked (Dilantin) and he began to improve. His seizures stopped.

Unfortunately, he soon began having a severe side effect from one of the drugs he had been given earlier (Keppra). Beginning at 5:00 AM he began to experience extreme irritability and it lasted for the next 72 hours. He had difficulty sleeping and acted like a caged and frightened animal thrashing around in his padded crib.

To make matters worse, the valiam (Diazepam) causes temporary loss of motor skills. Because Luke had been given so much of it (a shot after almost every seizure), it was three days before he could walk, talk and eat again. I missed my little Lukers. I'm glad to have him back.

He's now been put on a maintenance drug called Depakote. We're watching to see if he develops any side effects from this, and hoping this drug will prevent seizures in the future. So far so good!

My interpretation of what is happening is that Luke is experiencing "complex" febrile seizures. Febrile seizures (seizures caused by fever) are common in young children up to age 5. But having more than one seizure in response to fever is not so common, hence the term "complex".

The extensive nature of his seizure activity puts him in a high risk group for developing chronic epilepsy. But there is no way to predict the outcome. All we can do is wait and see. We thank everyone who has helped us and prayed for us. Let's hope for the best!