Our Newest Challenge - Matt's Health

A few months ago Matt started experiencing "episodes" where he would lose concentration for a few seconds. He didn't pass out but would just lose his focus or train-of-thought. His doctor referred him to a neurologist. Matt had an MRI and an EEG and they were inconclusive. The neurologist thought he might be having simple partial seizures and wanted Matt to take a low dose seizure medication for 30 days to see if it helped. Matt took the medicine for 30 days and didn't really notice any difference. He ran out of the medicine and hadn't scheduled a follow-up appointment yet.

Well that brings us to a week and a half ago (June 18) when Matt was in Alabama for work. He was working out in the gym at his hotel when he apparently had a seizure and passed out. He came to as he was being loaded into an ambulance. There was a lady in the gym who called 911 and got the hotel manager. Thank goodness Matt didn't injure himself falling and that he wasn't by himself when it happened! The ER doctors put him back on the seizure medication. It was definitely scary and I hated that he was in AL away from his family. He did have another coworker there who picked him up from the hospital and who traveled back with him to Raleigh 2 days later.

Matt saw his neurologist in Raleigh this past Wednesday. Since the seizure in AL and going back on the seizure medication, Matt hasn't been having any of the minor episodes that he was experiencing previously. The neurologist suggested that perhaps the generic medicine he got in AL is slightly different than the generic he had in Raleigh and perhaps putting him on the name brand version would ensure that he continues to do well on it. Apparently even within the same pharmacy they may get different generics and the dosage can vary by 10-20%. We are waiting to see if insurance will approve the name brand medicine. Matt will also have another EEG and wear a heart monitor for 30 days to rule out any heart issues.

Matt is doing well for now but there are still a lot of unknowns with neurological problems. So for now, he isn't driving. He has a co-worker who lives in our neighborhood that is driving him to and from work. We are praying that the doctors will have wisdom and answers, that Matt will not have any more seizures, and logistics while Matt is not driving.

A Tribute to Hallie

My Grandma Hallie, my mom's mom, passed away Memorial Day weekend following a stroke. She was greatly loved and is greatly missed. The family wanted somebody close to Grandma to say a few words at the funeral but none of us could seem to get our thoughts or our words together and knew we certainly couldn't hold it together to speak at the funeral. Well, my dad ended up typing out a "Tribute to Hallie" and Matt read it at the funeral. It brought my mom flying down the stairs in tears to hug my dad when she read it! I think it meant a lot to mom that her mom meant a lot to my dad. 

Here is the tribute that he wrote:

I wanted to share a few thoughts about Miss Hallie from a son-in-Iaw’s perspective.  I love my mother-in-law.  You probably don’t hear these words very often.  But it’s true.  I don’t know if I ever told Miss Hallie, but it’s true and I should have told her.

I first met Miss Hallie over 50 years ago.  Bob and Pam and I would go fishing and come back and clean the fish and then turn them over to Miss Hallie.  Miss Hallie took care of all the details in the kitchen.  She always made me feel welcome and loved.

Miss Hallie was kind, sweet, gentle, compassionate, generous to a fault, funny and amusing.  But she was no pushover.  Bob knew that and her kids knew that.  When Bob would push his opinion a little bit too far Miss Hallie would tell him to kiss a part of her anatomy that wasn’t her lips.  Her kids would get the “kiss it” comment occasionally as well.  I interpreted the “kiss it” comment to mean “I love you, but I don’t care what you think I’m going to do it my way.”  In the hospital the other day Julia was sitting with her face close to the bed and teasing Miss Hallie about something.  You should have seen Miss Hallie try to swat Julia with her right arm that she just couldn’t get to move.

In the earlier years that I was part of the family I remember all the time that Hallie spent taking care of her mother, Mary and then later on her father Esse.  I’m convinced the Lord added extra years to Miss Hallie’s life to make up for all the years she spent taking care of her parents.

Miss Hallie loved her grand children.  She loved to watch them play ball.  I’m sure she holds the unofficial record for the most ball games attended by a grandmother at Lawrence Academy.  At holiday family dinners she made sure she prepared everyone’s favorite food.  Her kitchen counter looked like the K & W cafeteria.  In later years when Pam, Julia and Jackie had to do much of the preparation they tried to get Miss Hallie to pare down the menu but they usually didn’t have much success.

And her grand children loved her.   Julia showed me a comment that Will wrote when he was a little kid.  If he could have one wish come true he wanted to move to Midway to live with grandma Hallie so he could play with his cousins.   We found a short story written by Elizabeth when she was in the second grade called “Casey’s Flower”.  On the title page it was dedicated to Grandma Hallie.   I’ve never known a grown man who loved to visit his grandma as much as Wade loved to visit Miss Hallie.   You could tell he didn’t make the visit because it was an obligation but because he loved her and she was so much fun to be around.

You can tell a lot about a mother by how her children turned out – Pam, Julia and Wood – loving parents, dedicated teachers, a postmaster, fire chief and farmer, all active in their communities and churches.  Great people to know and be around.  And look at the way they took care of Miss Hallie in recent years as her health failed.  Julia leaving her family in Wilmington to come help as much as possible.   Miss Hallie always had a to-do list for Wood.  And Pam stopped by almost daily on her way to and from Lawrence Academy.  Pam will probably never plant another tomato or okra plant again but she sure planted a lot for Miss Hallie.

We are all better off for having Miss Hallie in our lives.  We will miss her but we won’t forget her because of the legacy she leaves us.  I see parts of Miss Hallie in her children and in her grand children.  She may have even rubbed off on me.

Twin Genders!

Two weeks ago we had our 18 week level 2 ultrasound. The ultrasound revealed that both babies are healthy, including their hearts! Praise the Lord. And we also found out that we are having a BOY and a GIRL! We were excited to find out the genders but so very thankful to find out we have two healthy babies. Everybody tends to say that, but believe me, when you have had a child with as many health issues as Graham, you mean it! We are still working on picking names.

Pics of Graham's ankle braces

I finally got some pictures of Graham's braces. He is now walking eagerly while holding our fingers! (Thanks, Casey, for the extra wide shoes to fit the braces!)

Graham's Development

Graham started physical therapy in January (at 15 months old) and has made great progress since then. The physical therapist comes to our home once a week for an hour and we really like her. Graham is usually cooperative until the therapist touches him, at which point we things get dramatic. By 16 months Graham started scooting on his bottom. See the post on scooting here. He can now scoot quite quickly and will easily go from room to room. Most babies wear out the knees of their pants and Graham wears out the bottoms! By 17 months Graham started pulling up. By 18 months he started cruising around the coffee table. Now (at 20 months) he cruises easily and quickly around objects and can go between objects and is becoming more interested in walking while holding on to our fingers. He still refuses to spend any time on his stomach except while sleeping. 

Graham got braces for his ankles (Sure Step SMOs) at 19 months because his feet like to roll in too much. He is still adjusting to wearing the braces. He no longer fusses when we put them on but because the braces have to be worn with big bulky shoes it is more difficult to get his feet under himself and his feet are heavier to move. Supposedly the braces will help strengthen the right muscles and give him better balance to move towards walking.

We have been very pleased to see Graham progress physically in the last few months. I mean he didn't even start sitting up until 1 year old! We are hoping he will be walking soon so he can start keeping up with all his friends!

A couple pictures from when Graham first started standing. (Taken Jan 15)

Graham on his exercise ball used for many physical therapy exercises. (Taken Feb 2)

 We owe a big thanks to these stacking cups for encouraging Graham to do physical therapy exercises.

Graham's beloved play table loaned to us from Aunt Julia.

  

Graham standing at the playground.

Standing outside at the fence.

I haven't gotten a picture of Graham's braces yet but they look like these.