I think we are about ready to head out! YAY! We plan to be in Amarillo by 5 p.m. tonight. I'm up early, of course, because for some reason my body tells me "It's 6 a.m. Get up sleepy head!" My two guys are still asleep and will be for another hour, I imagine. It gives me quiet time to complete a couple of tasks for clients and meditate on the upcoming events. I went to Walmart last night and stood in front of the cards crying just from being so overwhelmed with everything. I know we'll make it through this...what choice do we have? I bought us a TON of stuff to help us through the hospital stay, and made a present for Larry quickly. I'm hoping it staves off the boredom of being cooped up in the hospital a bit! We now have a few DVDs to watch on the laptop, a new portable CD player, a new book and a new game to play. I think we'll pack a couple of games so we have something to do as a couple, too. He has new slippers and shorts, too. I'll admit his shorts were looking pretty ratty, so I got him a few new pairs so he can be comfortable and in style. ;-)

I had the thought yesterday that I should post some links to various articles we've read that have helped us, and also our e-mail address so you can e-mail us if you have questions/suggestions/etc on what I should write about. So...here it goes:

Our e-mail address is: themitchells@mwds.net. You can write us there throughout all this and we'll be happy to write you back. We'd love to know someone is reading this thing! LOL

UT Southwestern Epilepsy Center - the spot on the planet we'll be living most of this next week
Epilepsy Surgery.com - This site is written from the doctor's perspective and has incredible information
Epilepsy Foundation's Surgery Page - An incredible FAQ by the Epilepsy Foundation
Epilepsy-L E-mail List - I've been on this list several times and it's wonderful support.

Those are three sites we found incredibly useful.

Well, I suppose I had better get busy. I have a TON to do this morning. We will try to leave the house around 11 this morning so we can have dinner with MawMaw and my mother-in-law and aunt-in-law tonight. Larry and I both desperately need haircuts before we head out, too! Thank you all so much for your support through this. I know it's mainly family and friends reading this, and we appreciate you loving us and praying for us.

What a day and oh, my, how plans have changed! We got a call from my father-in-law this morning that Larry's grandmother isn't doing well and is probably going to be admitted into the hospital in Amarillo. So...we are leaving in the morning to see her and the rest of the family. That also means that my mother-in-law won't be able to go with us to Dallas, so we'll be dropping Alex off at my parents' along our way to Dallas. It's promising to be one wild ride here! I think I have most everything lined out now. My job and my clients know that I'm leaving town...as does the church here. We have the housesitter coming tonight to show him everything and I just finished paying bills. Now to finish getting my computer together and complete a couple of things for iVillage. We will make it through this. It just seems really tough right now with MawMaw being so ill. God is Lord of All, though, and will help us through this. He has a master plan...I'm just not too sure what it is right now!

Well, today I decided to start blogging. I have so many friends doing this, but never had a desire. Who wants to read about my boring life? Well, after the phone call Monday morning, I decided maybe epileptics facing the possiblity of epilepsy surgery might! Here's a bit about him (and me):

My husband, Larry, is 34 years old, and has had epilepsy since he was 9. The doctors have no idea why, but suspect Reye's Syndrome. During his second year in college, he had a grand mal at a circus and has had trouble controlling his seizures ever since. In 2000, we finally found an epileptologist at Texas Tech Health Sciences Center named Dr. Richard Brower. He's incredible. He's listened to us at each appointment, spending upwards of 45 minutes with us during most visits. He's tried medications and tried to get Larry down to only two medications versus the three high doses he was on when we started seeing Dr. Brower. When we started seeing Dr. Brower, Larry was on Tegretol, Depakote and Neurontin. When I read the levels to the nurse, her first question was, "And he's conscious?" That signified to me that we were at the right place! Finally someone listened to us! Dr. Brower has since taken Larry off the Depakote and Neurontin, moved him from Tegretol to Carbatrol, and put him on Topomax. This month he switched from Topomax to Lamictal still aiming for better control. This is the last medication that Larry can try that would be beneficial and that he hasn't been on!

On Monday, we received a call from the University of Texas-Southwestern Epilepsy Center. Dr. Brower's referral to them had gone through and could we be there on July 3rd for Larry to be admitted for three to five days to begin testing??? Are you kidding?! We've been praying for this for NINE YEARS! We'll be there! He's being admitted into Parkland Memorial Hospital where he will be monitored via video and EEG 24 hours a day. As soon as he's admitted, he's heading up to get an MRI before they start the EEG. They've asked/requested/ordered that I be there as his wife and as a family member who has seen 2 or more seizures. His mother is also coming with us so she can relieve me at times and she will be taking care of our three year old son, Alex. We are anxious about the testing as they will be inducing seizures (scary thought since we normally try to PREVENT those things!).

We know this is all in God's hands...and He has really worked this out well. Larry just finished a major project at work and took his first architectural licensing exam on Tuesday. My business is able to be shut down for a week AND as I work part-time for iVillage, we will be on a holiday week, so I will only miss 3 days of work with them! We will be staying at my best friend's house while she and her family travel back here to visit. My mother-in-law is on her summer break from school and so is able to travel with us to help. It's amazing seeing the Lord's hand in all this...and I'll be reporting on that through all this!

The face of epilepsy can be anyone's you see on the street. Epileptics are not mentally-retarded welfare people. They are professionals, builders, workers, people you meet every day. As I've told people at church about Larry's condition, it's constant amazement I receive back..."I had no idea Larry had epilepsy." Larry will be taking his architectural exam this year to become a registered architect in New Mexico. He's professional, kind, loving, a great dad, a terrific husband, and a Christian. Think you don't know someone with epilepsy? Look around you...you just might.