Translate This Page To: Spanish German French Italian Portuguese Norwegian Brought to you From FreeTranslation.com Give a gift in honor of this child. Daniel M. ANY HAPPY MAIL FOR DANIEL CAN BE SENT TO P.O. BOX 551 BURLEY,WA.98322. Sign Daniel's Guestbook      Daniel's Photo Album Current Page Page One Page Two Page Three UPDATE: 11-19-08 Hello friends,Well once again it has been forever since an update,but I guess that's a good thing,it means life is looking more normal these days.I am putting on this journal a few more of our Disney pics as well as a few new ones.The kids are doing well.We are just busy doing school and getting ready for the holidays.Grandma & Grandpa M will be coming for Thanksgiving and staying for about 10 days.The kids always love that.We are busy preparing,cleaning and getting all of our groceries and supplies for our Thanksgiving meal and trying to stay out of the doctors office.Daniel finally got his boot off on Wednesday after 8 long weeks of having it on.The Orthopedist said go back to normal walking and everything,I'm thinking that was a big mistake,which I will tell you about in a minute UPDATE: 10-3-08 Hello friends,Well we are busy as bees getting ready for our Disney trip.We leave Friday and we are so excited.Now it's just all the prep that's involved.I need to get the boys haircuts,pick up meds,pack suitcases and gather our mountain of essentials,not to mention picking up the rental car.This week has been busy caring for the injured patient.We had an appointment on Monday with Daniel's doctor.I get there and sign in and they said they couldn't find him on the list.Then told me that he was on the list for some P.A.,I said oh no you don't.I'm not going to pay a co pay,plus a 10 percent doctor fee for some P.A. I don't know.After having an argument with the receptionist they put us back on with his doctor.Anyway we met with the doctor and he took more x-rays.We also met with an Ortho who said he will have to wear the boot for 6 weeks.As he has a very obvious break in the ankle.We managed to get him a wheelchair for the trip and that will help,since the parks are so large. Tomorrow,we go to the doctors for Michael's sleepiness and hopefully figure out what's going on with him as to why he's so run down and sleepy all the time.Daniel's pain is much less than it was,although it's still pretty swollen.He gets really pooped out so quick on the crutches with the 10 lb. boot,so the doctor thought the wheelchair was a good idea. Ariel's feeling pretty good lately and we will finish up this week of school and then off we go.This is our yearly let the kids be kids retreat,since so much of their lives are taken up with medical woes.We have a cabin in the mountains on the 1st day and then off to grandpa's the 2nd day and then we are going to Knott's,Disney and The San Diego Zoo.We are also doing a couple of character meals.The one good thing is that we will get to go to the front of the lines with Daniel's ankle injury,although swimming will be definately out.Please pray for our safety during our drive down there.God bless,Linn UPDATE: 9-4-08 Hello friends,Well it's September 2nd and even though it isn't officially Fall, in Western Wa once Sept 1 rolls around the weather takes a dramatic turn.The days are cooler and the nights are downright cold.Fall is my most favorite time of year.I love starting school,picking apples,going to pumpkin farms,grandma and grandpa coming for 2 weeks for Thanksgiving,getting ready for Christmas,just everything about it. We cleaned out and folded up our pool and put it away for next year.We also went to our last baseball game of the season.We always love that.We actually prefer the little stadium with the AAA team over going to The Mariners in Seattle.Not that we don't love The Mariners,but the crowds and traffic in Seattle are a mess.We love to go with our cracker jacks in hand.They had a wonderful fireworks show at the end of the game,although it was quite chilly. We had a wonderful Summer with lots of fun,not too many doctors appointments,but lots of dental visits,as it had been awhile since we went last.We went to several movies,baseball games and bowling several times,not to mention lots of barbecues,making s'mores in the firepit and swimming in our pool.The kids have been feeling pretty good all Summer with very few medical issues,other than Daniel's blood pressure,which we are diligently working at lowering.We started school last week and the kids are doing great.Today we have a Genetics appointment and a few other medical appointments this week and next week Michael goes in hospital for testing for 2 days.After that I'm hoping for very few doctors visits for this school year. We have some fun times coming up.Our annual Cast for kids ,where the kids get to go on a fishing derby and get new poles,tackle and t-shirts,our annual homeschool picnic is always lots of fun and then probably our last Disney trip for a while.It's just too spendy anymore to go.We are hoping for some real fun times ahead.We are leaving the beginning of October and driving down staying with grandpa for a few days and then going to Disney for 4 days.Well I better get going to our appointment.Thanks for the support and encouragement.God bless,Linn UPDATE: 8-04-08 On the doctors side Daniel has been doing great seizure wise anyway,although his bllod pressure has been the main concern and he needs to get an Echocardiagram and a renal ultrasound.Ariel has also been doing very well seizure wise,although school is her main challenge.She's so severely cognitively impaired and because she looks so normal a lot of people including family just don't get it.We are really focusing on her reading this year and hoping to get her to a good level.Michael's been having these weird spells again and just looks unwell to me.He had a thorough blood work up and the only thing that consistantly comes out is elevated blood sugar,but not quite diabetic range,although to be 105 fasting when your as thin as Michael and eat very little sugar does have me concerned a bit.Anyway his Neuro wants him to have a VEEG in hospital for 2 days to see what's going on.Unfortunatley we couldn't get any sooner than September 8th.I'm planning on making a phone appointment with his regular doc and see about a sleep study as well,since he has these spells and just falls asleep on the floor. We also went to some very much delayed Dentist appointments.Our insurance isn't so great and so we had put it off and we all needed work and so that has been pretty expensive. Michael and Daniel are having their birthday party on the 11th which is Daniel's official birthday.They are going to be 17 & 16.They are having a Kung Fu Panda party and camping outside with a fire pit and smores.Gilbert and I are celebrating our Anniversary this weekend and will go out somewhere.Nicholas passed his test to get into The Shipyard and hopefully that will happen soon and Bret is doing great in Hawaii driving around in his police car.Have a great weekend.God bless,Linn UPDATE: 7-12-08 Hello sorry I've been gone for so long,we've been busy having summer fun.My darling son is in Honolulu having a good time.Hopefully we can visit him next year.Healthwise everyone has been well,although we are still having to keep heads up on Daniel's blood pressure.Other than that seizure wise everyone is doing fine.A few blips here and there,but nothing major. We have been having such a great time thus far this summer.The sun finally came out and it's starting to get warm.For almost all of June it was in the 50-60's.We so far have gone to Portland were it was a scorching 105 degrees to see Mad Science.We have also been bowlingthe zoo and have just been having fun at home playing croquet and swimming in our pool. Our 4th was fun it was just us.We barbecued,played games and did fireworks.This coming week we will go to the zoo in Seattle,get a special showing at the airshow and get to be the special guests of the AAA team in Portland.Starlight has really been a blessing to us in providing tickets to do so many fun things for us.They are well aware that parents of kids with medical issues pay out most of their money on medical expenses.We are also busy buying curriculum and planning our school year as well as our Disney trip in October.Have a great week everyone and enjoy your summer.God bless,Linn UPDATE: 5-29-08 Hello friends,I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend remembering those who have given so much for our freedom.The week before we went to the new Nephrologist.Daniel does indeed need to be on blood pressure meds.His numbers were still running pretty high and so we added those.The new doctor is wonderful.She personally calls me at home quite frequently to check on him.That's definately a plus.I have to take him for labs today.We are trying to get everything done for our trip. This weekend was very nice.The kids and I went to see Indiana Jones on Thursday.It was fun to watch,but kind of corny.Gilbert took the day off Friday and he and I went to Indiana Jones and Prince Caspian,which I liked better of the two.Saturday was the big day.Ariel and I went to High School Musical it was wonderful.This was the Broadway Disney version.We had so much fun and now she has played that movie about 50 times since then.I'm starting to get very sick of it.The boys went to a church barbecue and then church Sunday and we just barbecued and played croquet on Monday.Bret called and is done with all of his testing and everything. We leave next week for Missouri.I'm getting excited.It will be so much fun.My grandparents have some wonderful outings planned and so that should be neat.The most difficult part has been planning since I've had so little information to plan with.We will be going to a banquet for Bret and his platoon on Wednesday and then graduation on Thursday.We plan on going to this really neat mall with a Nascar speedway,Worlds of fun and Science World.anyway I need to get busy with my day.God bless,Linn UPDATE: 5-20-08 Prayers for Daniel please.I had to take Daniel to the E.R. tonight.His blood pressure has been extremely high and he was feeling very dizzy and had a migraine.Anyway after 5 hours in the E.R. some pretty good docs and some lousy ones,including nurses who don't have a clue how painful a migraine is as they keep turning the light on and making a bunch of noise we finally got it figured that he needs to get back with Nephrology and has got some kind of virus or something.I'm supposed to call tomorrow.He's feeling pretty crummy tonight.Please pray he gets better and that I can regain control of my temper as the head of the department so she said tells me his blood pressures up probably due to his weight,and when asking his pain,which he said 10 she basically said she didn't believe him.I told the nurse how ticked I was.We are working on the weight issue,but they have no idea how difficult it is when you have a child that can't handle heat at all and does not sweat and is on strict seizure precautions.Anyways prayers are appreciated.Linn UPDATE: 4-8-08 Boy I think I have a record going here for me for the most journal entries in a month.Anyway first I'd like to ask for prayers for my stepdad Ron.Boy another medical incompetence story,unfortunately.He went to the doctor complaining of chest pain and pain in his arm.The doctor didn't even do an EKG on him and said he had reflux.My mom said boloney and took him to the hospital where they found 90lockage to one artery and 60n another.He just had a stent put in and will have another placed sometime in the future.Please pray for him. On my end we finally have some good news and some not so great news.I called the nurse this morning and told her all that went on this weekend and boy was she hot.She said to call for an appointment with her ped and if they didn't get her in she would call.They got her an appointment at 1:50.She went in and was looking so much better rash wise.I showed him the rash pics on the camera and he said do not give her anymore of that med.He's like gee they couldn't figure out that 30 min after meds she's getting rashes and such.He said if this is what's going on,on the outside then what's going on,on the inside.She's still pretty itchy,but I'm sure that will fade once it's completely out of her system.Her face looks like it was sunburned and is now peeling.Some nurses don't seem to understand that some anti-epileptic meds can give you a life threatening rash.We are to go a week with no new meds. Then call again Friday to see where we go from here.Before we went to the doctors I stopped by the mail and got a letter from The Neuro addressed to Her ped,obviously a copy sent to me.Anyway after reading the letter where he discussed things from her birth there was a diagnosis.I couldn't believe it after 4 long years of fighting and a bajillion doctors appointments,clinics,tests,scans we finally have a diagnosis for Ariel,not a great diagnosis as if there ever is a good one,but one none the less.Anyway her diagnosis is Static Encephalopathy.The more I read about this the more I found that everything about it fit her to a tee.All the other times with any other possible diagnosis there was always something that didn't quite fit.Everything about this one fits,including the fact that kids with this often have several other diabilities,including Sensory Integration Disorder.She's actually going for testing for this tomorrow.Well it's been a long day and I have to leave at 6:00am tomorrow for Daniel's and Ariel's appointments in Seattle.God bless and thanks for the prayers and support.Linn ============== GRRRRR! I am so ready to pull my hair out dealing with ignorant people in the medical community I could scream!Wednesday afternoon Ariel told me her face was burning.I didn't see anything until that night when she developed a round red circle on her cheek.At first glance I thought she might be getting shingles.Bret's started out burning and on one side of the neck.I just kept my eye on it.By the next day it had spread to her other cheek and looked sort of like Fifth Disease I figured it was probably some viral thing and just kept watching it.By Friday it was looking pretty red on both cheeks and scabby almost like a Lupus butterfly rash.I decided to call Neuro since we are messing around with new meds.After talking with them they told me to take her to urgent care to make sure this wasn't a med reaction and if it wasn't to up her Zonegran.I take her there the doctor says it could be viral and it could be med related.Thanks for nothing! There was $50.00 flushed down the drain.The Neuro's nurse I spoke with that afternoon told me that after we went to urgent care if there was any question to if it was med related to call the nurse on call and have them page the Neuro on call.I did that and she was very irritating kept belittling me and talking down to me like I was stupid or something.I was ticked.I said look this is what they told me to do page the Neuro on call.She refused.When we gave Ariel her bedtime dose I noticed about 30 min later her face looked redder,which had me believing this whole thing is med related.The next day her face looked better it was still red,but not as bad.Again I gave her,her meds and her face got bright red again.I called again talked to another nurse who again refused to call Neuro on call.I repeatedly told her that I had specific instructions that they were to page her.They said well I don't see them here take her to urgent care again.I said "no way!" I'm not going there spending another $50.00 so they can tell me they don't know whether it's viral or med related.My blood was boiling at this point.Ariel was telling me she was feeling real bad all day.Gee kind of reminds me when she had a fever for a month from Lamictal and no one could figure that one out.Anyway I was trying to figure out waht to do as she was due for her bedtime meds again. At the brilliant advice from my friend Denae I decided to go down some on her Zonegran and gave it to her not only did her face get bright red again ,but now she developed hives.That was it for me I have officially pulled her Zonegran.She is still on her Topamax and a pretty hefty dose,but I'm not going to wait until my child gets Steven Johnson Syndrome for these guys to get their act together.I will call Neuro first thing tomorrow morning and inform them of how the after hours folks kept refusing to call the Neuro on call.I know if he saw her face he would be livid.He's very conservative with meds,because he's seen kids get horrid side effects.He also knows my kids tend to get the unusual.I hate it when you get problems on the weekends we had this a couple times before when Daniel's Grand Mals were really bad and the poor staff almost killed my son with their negligent care.The consulting nurses are about worthless,well I take that back I've had some good ones,but These ones just keep telling you to come in so they can charge you a bunch of money and not diagnose you,no thanks.We will see what happens next.Most likely we will just have to put her on a higher dose of Topamax,since that seems to be the only med she can handle.On another note Daniel's doing much better and gets his stitches out Tuesday.Today daddy is taking him our for a special day at Cabelas.He's been cooped up in the house for over a week,but he's ready to blow this popsicle stand.Thanks for all your support.Sorry for ranting.God bless,Linn UPDATE: 3-28-08 Well we are back from a pretty unpleasant surgical experience.In my last update I told you all how this hospital would not give us the time of arrival until 12-4 the day before surgery.Real easy to plan that way(NOT!),well anyway I call at noon yesterday and I get an answering machine and I keep calling for about an hour and my blood was starting to boil,but that was just the beginning with this whole socialized medicine feeling experience.Anyway finally they call me back at about 2:00pm to tell me his procedure will be at 6:15am,boy was I hot.I had already explained I live an hour and a half away and with commuter traffic it could take me 3 hours to get there,so that would put us leaving at 3:00 am.Real nice when you have a child that has seizures when sleep deprived.Their whole heck with you attitude through this whole experience was really ticking me off.We decided that for Daniel's sake we wouldn't gripe anymore about it and get a hotel and just deal with it.I did manage to find a decent rate,which was shocking because it was so last minute.Anyway this hotel was next to the fun center,so we decided to take Daniel there for a bit of fun and had pizza and played games and then went swimming at the hotel.It was a good thing too,because last night it started to snow and snowed some more today and there were quite a few accidents. Today we arrived at 6:15 and everything was going okay,except their immediate demand for money.We pay it and they take Daniel back.We met the surgeon and he seemed pretty okay.Our previous phone conversation gave me doubts,however we did complain when we once again noticed that his orders said replacement of battery.We told them about 25 times that it was removal of the whole VNS device,except the wires wrapped around the Vagus Nerve,because it can cause so many problems with swallowing and other things.We wanted to make sure they weren't just going in there replacing the battery and sticking it back in. Once we got that straightened out he got his gown,which strangely resembled a vacuum cleaner bag including a place to stick an air hose.We teased saying is this how you guys recycle the vacuum cleaner bags? Anyway he was in the OR for about two hours and the doctor came out and gave me his VNS to bring home.He ended up being a pretty nice guy and most important seemingly very skilled.Anyway we waited another two hours for him to get through recovery.After this was another part that has me saying I will never take my child to this awful place again.Apparently they made Daniel walk from recovery 1-2 under heavy sedation.Asked him what his pain level felt like and when he said it felt like 10 they said they didn't believe him,even though they had to give him 5 shots of pain meds.The nurse was very snotty.I asked about his pain meds and she said they would be bringing them and to immediately go to pharmacy and pay for them,to which we said tough bill us.She then was being real pushy about Daniel getting dressed and out even though he was pretty out of it.She then expected him to walk down 4 stories and around this huge campus.We said oh no you don't give us a wheelchair.We got him in the wheelchair and said audios to this pathetic excuse for a hospital.They supposedly will be calling tomorrow to check on Daniel to which I will give them a few choice words as well as writing some complaints. Daniel has done pretty well today and is happy it is out.He is pretty sore and I think he did too much today,but right now is resting comfortably.Thanks for all your prayers. God bless,Linn UPDATE: 3-26-08 Hello friends,I hope you all had a very blessed Easter.We've been very busy the past couple of weeks getting things ready for Daniel's surgery,doing school and quite a bit of doctoring.It seems there's something in the air.Almost everyone I know right now with seizure kiddo's has been having a lot of seizure issues.Daniel has had a few small ones,but not much considering what he used to have.Michael's back on meds due to spells and Miss Ariel has been keeping us on our toes.She's been having several different kinds and we are once again upping meds.I have been going through her records in hopes of coming across something that will shed some more information on her disability and where it's all coming from.I've gotten a few pieces of the puzzle,but will have to discuss the findings with the Neuro to see if they are significant or not. Tomorrow we finally get the time for Daniel's surgery on Thursday.Is that not the most ridiculous thing to not know until the day before between 12 and 4.I complained today and said you know that is crazy how do you guys expect people to arrange transportation and where to stay if you're coming from several hours away? They basically told me tough.I'm really getting fed up of doctors and clinics and there arrogant attitudes.I'm just hoping it's not super early in the morning,because the traffic is bad going to Seattle and it can take like 3 hours to get there.Anyway please keep Daniel in your prayers that surgery goes well and no complications. UPDATE: 3-19-08 Hello friends,I hope you all have had a great weekend.We haven't done too much.Usually our weekend consists of cleaning the house and going to church.It seems to be the only time I have to get things together for the week.I am going to try and get my appointments arranged as close together as possible from now on,because the gas prices are killing us.We are up to about $3.60 over here and it's just ridiculous. Anyway on to our last week,things have not been too pleasant as far as finding out more info regarding Ariel.As I told you before the specialist refuses to see her because he's too busy and that was a definate balloon buster.I called them again to see what I could possibly do and the gal said maybe have my Neuro call him.I'm sure he would if I asked and so I'll talk to him about it in April when Daniel has his appointment,but if this guy is going to have a major attitude I don't think I want to go to him anyway.We also went to the eye doctor,which was a definite waste of my time and gas.He's all the way on Capitol Hill in Seattle,which is atleast an hour and 20 minutes away if the traffic is good.Most times it can take you up to three hours.Anyway we go and he does nothing more than a regular eye exam.Talk about disappointing.I could have had that done over here.He said her eyes are fine,just tracking a bit off and that was it.I was under the impression he was going to do other things on her,but I guess not.Her speech therapist was definately disappointed by that.She said she would call Neuro this week.I'm beginning to think we are never going to find out why she has such severe cognitive impairment,when she used to be totally normal.It's so very frustrating. Now on to Mr.Daniel he's doing well.He went to his pre op physical and everything was looking well on that end.His EKG showed a sinus bradycardia and sinus arrhythmia,but the doctor told me that is pretty normal in children.I was a bit disturbed when he told me that from the notes he was reading it looked like the people were having a fit about him getting his VNS out.I was livid.First off it's been off for almost 3 years and has been useless since 3 months after he got it.It bothers him greatly and he has repeatedly told them that.The surgeon told him the risks and Daniel told him I want it out.I think it's mainly the VNS company,because they don't want to have to mark it off as another failure.I'm a bit irritated with them,because they were less than helpful when Daniel was having problems and now they just seem to be all about money.I've heard of more kids having problems with their VNS or it being basically worthless.For some it really does help a lot,but for us it made Daniel's seizures way worse.Anyway his surgery is on the 27th please pray for him for quick recovery and no infection.Our ped is totally supporting our decision to have it removed.He said why have it in there if it's not doing anything.They cannot take the leads out of the neck,because it would mess with the Vagus Nerve that deals with swallowing and such and we don't want that messed with.Unfortunately we don't get to call until the day before to get the appointment time,which I think is pretty lousy since we are coming from so far away and the traffic can be so backed up.If we knew a little ahead we could have atleast booked a room,but we don't want to if the surgery is for the afternoon.By the time we knew if we booked something and cancelled we would be charged for it.I just think it's a really dumb policy and not too convenient for the patient. This next week we have no appointments thankfully and we are going to be getting ready for Resurrection Day.We do baskets and things like that on Saturday and Sunday is spent going to church,having a big dinner and remembering the extreme sacrifice Christ made for us in going to the cross.I hope you all have a blessed Easter.God bless,Linn UPDATE: 3-5-08 We had a wonderful weekend in Portland.The suite was beautiful and thanks to Starlight we got it at a fraction of the cost.Starlight had the bellboys bring us a bucket of popcorn that had movies,cookies and candy in it.The room came with free pizza and soda and we got to go to the managers reception with the Starlight folks.It was a lot of fun and then the kids got to play games and swim in the pool.The next morning we had breakfast and went to the sparkling sundae event.The kids made crafts,got tattoos and had lots of goodies.We had a great time and it was a nice break,although too short. When Monday came it was back too reality and all of our medical stuff.I unfortunately found out Friday that the specialist we were referred to refuses to see Ariel,because he's too busy.I was so upset hoping this guy would finally figure out what's wrong with her and he won't even give us a moment of his time.I was devastated.Monday I saw our regular Neuro and he's changing her meds giving her an MRI and then talked of Mito testing,but only if our insurance covers it.I'm getting quite sick of that conversation.They make us pay more and more and cover less and less.Hopefully something will be figured out soon for her.Daniel will be getting his physical for surgery next week and Ariel will be seeing the eye doctor.Michael started back on anti-epileptic meds and we are trying to get school accomplished.With the chicken pox and everything putting us a bit behind we will be schooling through the summer.I hope you all have a wonderful week.God bless,Linn UPDATE: 2-29-08 Hello friends,I hope you are all well.Things have been a little hectic here,unfortunately that seems to be our new norm,so I guess I just need to learn to adjust.This past weekend we didn't do much just hung out around the house.Monday we saw the Neurosurgeon and Daniel will be getting his VNS removed on the 27th of March.I ask that you all send prayers his way for quick recovery and no infection.The surgeon told us the risks and infection was the main one.He said they couldn't remove the leads in his neck,but would just remove the device and since the vagus nerve controls issues like swallowing we don't want him to mess with it.Supposedly this will be out patient,but it depends on how well he does.Unfortunately the hospital doesn't tell you until the day before what time surgery is.That's not too convenient if you are coming from far away and need a place to stay. Michael is going back on meds the doctor said he believes he's having simple partials and so he needs to be back on them.I went to get the prescription today and it turns out to be a non-formulary and so that will be $50.00 I wasn't too happy,because you see earlier this week we found out our wonderful HMO has decided we just weren't paying enough money with our monthly premium and co-payment,but that we also need to pay 10f all doctor visits.I was so ticked about this.As families of kids with medical issues most of us are already paying a fortune between prescriptions,co-pays,hospital stays and ambulance bills and now they want us to pay more? It's sickening when you have to decide which appointment you will skip because you can't afford it. Now onto miss Ariel boy that's a toughie.We went to Neuro for Michael actually her appointment is Monday and he told me the results of her EEG.She had been having these weird spells where at first she couldn't move her arms and then it was mainly one arm and she was having swallowing issues again,well her EEG has changed and she's now having complex partials in the temporal lobe,so he says that explains a lot.He wants to change her meds and said all of her weird symptoms reminds him of someone with Mitochondrial disease.So she will be getting tested for that now.We got a referral to go to the specialist in Seattle,but they have to review it first and then may put us on the waiting list for an appointment,ridiculous.I have always disliked that place,but this particular epi is very good at finding the unusual.I'm hoping they will take Ariel and finally find out what's causing her cognitive decline.She's also getting an MRI.Please pray for answers for her. On a brighter note I heard from Bret today and it was such a sweet letter.I sure do miss him.He said he misses us all and he really likes his drill sergeants,go figure? This weekend we will go to Portland for another wonderful Starlight event.I'm so glad,because this week was very draining for me and we could all use a break.Thanks for listening. God bless,Linn UPDATE: 2-25-08 I don't know what it is,but my computer is not loading up my photo card,so unfortunately no new pictures.Well it's feeling like spring over here and I'm so glad.I was so tired of all of the snow we've been having.The kids have been having a great time riding their bikes and using their go Kart that their grandparents bought them several Christmases ago. Medical wise we're still having crazy days.Daniel's doing great! He is going for a surgical consult Monday to see about having his VNS removed.There's no reason for him to have it it's been off since 3 months after he got it.It actually made his seizures worse.Ariel's been having lots of seizure issues as well as a few other things that required her to get a not so pleasant scope.It turned out she had a tear inside and a bacterial infection.She had a VEEG done a week ago and so we are waiting for results.We upped her meds and she went to see an occupational therapist.It turns out she has major issues with visual perception problems,so she will be seeing a special opthamologist to have her vision checked next week.Always something with this poor girl,not to mention speech therapy has pretty much told me there's not much else they can do for her. On another subject I've gotten a few phone calls and letters from Bret.The phone calls have been extremely poor quality and very hard to hear,but he said he's doing great.It's very cold over there like 4 degrees.We have our airline tickets to go to his graduation in June and so we are looking forward to that. Nick is doing great with his job and he's a big help to me with the kids.Michael's having issues with spells again and will be going to Neuro on Tuesday.He'll probably be put on anti-epileptic meds again.I'll let you all know how Daniel's appointment goes. Thanks for everyone's support and please forgive my absences lately.God bless,Linn UPDATE: 2-6-08 Hello friends,Sorry I have been gone so long once again.We've had a lot of sickness here with various flu bugs and such and unfortunately the kids immune systems are so poor right now.We've had some good times as well though celebrating Gilbert's birthday and Nick's 21st.We are still in our never ending search for a diagnosis on Ariel.She goes to the O.T. this week and so we'll see if we learn anything new.Daniel's still doing well,even though he is still fighting the flu bug.Michael is having dizzy spells again and so he sees the Neuro again and will probably be put back on anti-epileptic drugs again,and unfortunately Ariel has been sick for months. I have heard from Bret twice the first time was about a week after he left and then he called last Friday and I unfortunately missed his call.I was so bummed.This week we are just trying to get schoolwork done and keeping the house picked up.We will have a little valentine's party as we always do and get heart shaped pepperoni pizza and make cupcakes.In June Bret should be graduating and so we will head down to Missouri for that and go see the sites across the country.Well gotta get on with the day.God bless,Linn UPDATE: 12-14-07 Hello friends,Once again another busy week.We've been busy baking,wrapping and shopping.We had a few more snow flurries,but nothing that really stuck. The kids and I have been having a good time.We've been running around doing Christmas type activities only 13 days left.I love this time of season it's my most favorite time of the year.We've been to the movies quite a few times.Ariel and I went to The Nutcracker,but unfortunately it was kind of ruined by some boys behind us who were being rude and loud and kicking our seats throughout the whole ballet.We also went to Port Gambles country christmas that was wonderful.They had a tree lighting and even some amazing fireworks.We still need to do a couple of zoolights shows and take the kids to National Treasure 2.Unfortunately Ariel is sick right now and hopefully she'll be better soon.We also have quite a lot of baking to do and cleaning. On another note the kiddo's all went to The Neuro and I'm more confused then ever.Everything he told me 3 months ago has changed.Now he says yes he believes something else is wrong with Ariel he just doesn't know what.He said certain things remind him of Lennox Gasteau,but nothing confirmed.Daniel's doing great and Michael's off meds for now.If he has any more spells he needs to be right back on the meds.Well I need to get my day started.God bless,Linn UPDATE: 10-29-07 Hello friends,Well slowly things are getting back to normal and I'm so glad!We had been in and out of doctors offices and the E.R. so many times it was ridiculous.Also a week ago Thursday we had a bad wind storm and when we got to the doctors office the power was out and so the wonderful doctor did his exam in my car.Thankfully our power didn't go out. And thankfully the kids are all finally feeling better,although they still sleep a lot and need frequent naps.Michael lost about 10 lbs during his bought,which he didn't have to lose.I've been giving him Ensure to put the weight back on him.He's still on antibiotics for the staph infection he got that seems to be healing nicely.We went out Friday they were finally scabbed over from almost two weeks of chicken pox and bought all sorts of goodies to celebrate the end of the pox.We had mexican food and made cupcakes,cookies and carmel corn and watched movies.Now hopefully we'll get some school done. Tomorrow Ariel is getting an ultrasound of her gallbladder.Mainly just precautionary as she sometimes complains of her upper right hurting.Also my mom is very sick right now.She has pancreatitis,just had her gall bladder removed and has a blockage in her liver.Please pray for her.As far as things coming up the kids grandparents are coming on the 18th for Thanksgiving and I know they will be thrilled to have them again.Ariel and I will be going to Disney Princesses on ice and The Nutcracker.Not too many things that the boys want to do so far.And I've been doing a bit of Christmas shopping I can't believe how quickly this year has gone.I hope everyone has a great week.God bless,Linn UPDATE: 10-19-07 Well the fun never ends here at camp chaos.Daniel and Michael are both so ill.Michael has been running 103 temps and ended up in the E.R. yesterday.Turns out that he now has cellulitus a nasty skin infection associated with the pox,and after all the news about staph infections and such we are definately staying on top of it.Daniel's face is now all swollen and he's got enormous lymph nodes.He goes to the doctor this afternoon.He was in the E.R. a couple of days ago because of a wobbly walk and just acting weird.We wanted to make sure he didn't have encephalitis.Please keep praying for the boys.God bless,Linn UPDATE: 10-15-07 Hello friends,Well another busy week,but thankfully Ariel is feeling so much better.She is pretty badly scarred from the pox and so I am going to be putting some vitamin E oil on her and hope that helps.She had such a bad case of them.We think it's because she already had such a weakened immune system from the med reaction and sickness that it just reaked havoc on her body.Michael's got full blown chicken pox now and Daniel has some red spots on him and so he may also have them just the beginning stages.What a difference between Michael and Ariel with the pox.Ariel was violently ill with a 102.4 fever and sick as anything screaming her head off.Michael is not sick at all no fever or anything.He says he feels just fine,but the pox themselves hurt.That may change in time and so far he doesn't have nearly as many as Ariel she must have had about 500.He only has about 20 so far. We went to our mother daughter tea yesterday.The speaking was good and it was in a very pretty and elegant room,but our group was really ripped off by the caterer.I think in total we each got 1 finger sandwich,2 pieces of fruit like a piece of strawberry or melon a small little cube,1 teensy,tiny scone and a one bite piece of dessert.They were even chincy on the tea.Our board was not happy in the least.Poor Ariel was starving.We had not had breakfast,because we were running late and it was over an hour away.If we ever go again we'll make sure we eat first. Gilbert took Daniel fishing for the last time of the season yesterday.Daniel has been doing so wonderfully seizure wise.9 months since his last grand mal and that is a record for him,so hopefully he'll continue to do so well.We got a bit behind on our schooling with all of this sickness,but atleast they will all be immune from the chicken pox.One last thing Ariel got her beautiful quilt from Love Quilts on Friday.Hers is in a jungle animal them and it's just beautiful.Thanks to everyone who did it for her.God bless,Linn UPDATE: 10-5-07 Hello friends,Sorry it has again taken me so long to write,but it has been absolute chaos at my house.Poor Ariel has been so sick.After 3 weeks of fevers and nausea and vomiting I'd had enough and took her to urgent care.She also had a dizzy spell and fell to the floor that morning.At urgent care they were quite concerned with her having fevers for such a long period of time.She was orthostatic at this time.That means when she went from sitting to standing her blood pressure dropped like 30 points and that's why she fell.They gave her an I.V. took a mountain of blood and told us to push the issue about the fevers. By Sunday night she was running 102.4 and had a bloody nose and bloody lips.The next morning she had a few blisters,which I thought were chicken pox,but wanted to be sure since Steven Johnson Syndrome is associated with her meds. We spent a glorious 7 hours in the E.R.("Not")thankfully we were in a room 10 minutes after we got there,which was no small feat considering they have construction going on and parking is unheard of.She had mountains and mountains of blood done and even scrapings of her blisters to see what they were.Thankfully we had our favorite E.R. doc and he was quite concerned about her having fevers for 3 weeks.Her labs finally started looking a bit funny white count low and liver numbers elevated.The conclusion was that she has chicken pox and was having a severe reaction to Lamictal.When reading the side effects it had listed fevers,flu like symptoms,nausea and vomiting and rash.So they pulled her med and sent us on our way with no real treatment plan. By Tuesday night she was screaming bloody murder,because the pox were everywhere in her ears,around her eyes and she has some pretty bad ones down her throat.Gilbert took her to the doctor again on Tuesday and he gave her lidocain for pain in her throat and codeine.She's still popping out with new ones and running fevers.Hopefully they'll finish and she will start feeling better. Daniel was vomiting yesterday,so we will see if he gets them.As much as Ariel worries me he tends to worry me a bit more because any little thing will cause a grand mal with him and any little thing causes his Asthma to flare.Please send prayers their way.As far as anything else going on not much has been happening.I still can't believe it's October already.The year is flying by so fast.We have a few fun events coming up,but I'm not getting to set for them with the way sickness has been at my house.If you all could sign Ariel's guestbook it would really cheer her up,thanks.God bless,Linn UPDATE: 9-29-07 Hello friends,Sorry for the long break between updates I've been swamped.Daniel's doing much better right now and we have a plan all laid out in case he has a non-convulsive status episode again.But so far so good and no grand mals for 8 months,that's a record.He's also doing very well in school. We went to our annual homeschool picnic in Puyallup and had a great time despite Ariel not feeling too well.Bret's finally over his shingles and no ones gotten the chicken pox yet and we are celebrating his 19th birthday this week. Ariel has been another story she's just not been doing well.She's been sick for two months and we can't figure out what's going on.She's had sinusitus for about 4 weeks and then started feeling nauseous and throwing up.She did a course of antibiotics,but that didn't do any good.She looks quite pale and has been running temps for weeks.The doctor did a mountain of blood work and everything looks normal.She also had been having seizures like crazy.We're upping meds and it does seem to be helping a bit seizure wise,but our Neuro thinks she may be following in Daniel's footsteps. On top of all this we had grandparents here for 5 days.We had a wonderful visit and it was nice to see Gilbert's dad doing so well since he was in the hospital for 4 months recently and we were quite worried about him.So as you see we've been quite busy plus Nicholas is working,so I've been driving him to work a lot.I can't believe it's almost October boy time sure flies.I hope you all have a wonderful week.God bless,Linn UPDATE: 9-13-07 Hello friends,sorry I have been away so long.Things have been crazier than ever at my house.First we have had a flu bug that just didn't want to go away.Miss Ariel seemed to get the worst of it and I wonder if something isn't wacky with her immune system right now.She seems to keep catching everything under the sun and it stays around forever.She was sick for 4 weeks with this bronchial type stuff and was finally put on antibiotics.She finished those and then got a stomach bug and was throwing up.She's been running temps off and on the entire time she's been sick.We went to the Neuro on Monday and I asked him to do some blood work on her and we are going to do that,but we have to wait until she's up to a certain amount of anti epileptic medication to do it.She's also been having seizures like crazy since she's been sick.More on that in a bit.Daniel's doing much better than he was and is back to himself again praise God! We have had some fun times through all of this.We went to Portland between illnesses and Starlight took us to The Barnum & Bailey Circus.It was amazing and the kids had a blast.They have never been to a circus before.We also stayed in a hotel and they got to swim in the pool,which they really liked.We had company over and played croquet and had a barbecue and have just enjoyed the few days of sun we've had.August has felt like Fall around here.This past Saturday despite Ariel not feeling the best we went on our annual Cast For Kids outing and went with the same family as last year.Thanks Dan & Kira for such a special time.We didn't catch anything but seaweed,but we still had a blast.I came home and Bret our 2nd to the oldest said he had something on his neck that felt like a scratch.I looked and it looked bumpy and like some kind of childhood illness.Well after some internet research I thought he might have shingles.We went to urgent care and it was confirmed he definately has shingles,so now Michael,Daniel & Ariel may be getting the chicken pox.Another umpteen weeks of illness what fun.But I'd rather have them get them when they are young and be done with them. Monday we went to the Neurologist and had a good conversation with some news I wasn't too thrilled to hear.He told me the reason they were so non chala`nt about Daniel is because he's intractable and so they basically see he has a bad seizure disorder and figure they've already done everything they can for him.I was outraged and disgusted that the medical community would treat my son this way.I appreciated his honesty though.I know he doesn't feel that way.He also said they should have done an EEG on him then and there and that was unacceptable that they made us wait so long.He pretty much said there aren't a whole lot of options left to treat Daniel except what we are already doing.Then we went on to miss Ariel and I told him how she has been having mountains of seizures.She's constantly dropping things,walking into things,hurting herself and the meds aren't doing squat even though she's on a therapeutic level.We are upping meds again and he wants to do some more blood work on her.He said she had elevated accylcarnitine on the last one and if she has that again he's going to send her to the Mitochondrial expert in Seattle.He also told me he thinks she is following her brothers footsteps and may soon be diagnosed intractable.I was pretty devastated by that.We will see what the future holds for her.Anyway we are all started with school and things are well despite the illness.I hope you all have a great week.God bless,Linn (p.s. No recent pictures due to the fact my camera card got lost somehow.) UPDATE: 8-20-07 Hello friends,Sorry I left you hanging about what was going on with Daniel.I was a bit miffed that our first thing in the morning EEG was bumped until 2:30pm.By that time he was almost back to himself,not totally,but maybe we'll get some residual stuff showing on his EEG.Did I mention how much I hate it when this stuff happens and his regular Neuro is out of town.I know he would have immediately put him in an EEG monitoring unit and been watching him all night.The other Neuro's just seem to have a non chalant attitude about it.Our Neuro has always told me this kind of thing is very bad for the brain,and to top it off the EEG techs tell me that it takes two weeks to read it,well what good is that going to do us? Anyway he is doing better,but he still seems a bit quirky like he's 95imself,but 5f seizure stuff going on still.Yesterday he had to lay down because he was feeling seizurey.I just hope he's not getting into that phase again.What I mean by that is that Daniel for the past 5 years that he's been Epileptic has had this pattern of doing well for a bit and then the seizures come back with a vengence.Hopefully not and on the illness front we are all still sick with this flu bug,despite all the vitamin C and garlic we've been taking.It seems to be one tough little bug and we seem to keep passing it back and forth.Daniel is going for a father son day out with dad today,please pray for no seizure stuff during his special time.God bless,Linn UPDATE: 4-28-07 Hello friends,I'm sitting here at my in-laws house in Los Banos and is it ever hot!I'm not used to this kind of heat in April.My FIL is doing better,but he has a long road ahead.He will be in hospital for at least another month.Please be in prayers for him.Daniel's having a tough time with this heat,hopefully it will be cooler at Disney.His meds make him retain his body heat and we have to really watch for sunstroke with him.That's why summers are no fun for him he pretty much has to live in the house.Tomorrow we head to Anaheim and the do Disney Sunday -Thursday and Sea World on Friday.Well I'll sign off until then.God bless,Linn UPDATE: 4-20-07 Well I may have spoke too soon,but we will see.The kids Neuro called me on the phone today,which is always shocking to get a call from a doc.He said yes Michael is definately having eliptiform activity on the EEG,but he doesn't want to say they are seizures just yet.He wants to do an EKG and make sure nothing is going on with his heart and he wants to do an ambulatory EEG or VEEG in hospital.He did say his EEG looked a lot like Ariel's and we know she has diagnosed Epilepsy.We are going for the outside one if insurance will cover it.He said it is very possible these spells he's having are seizures,especially since my kids don't seem to follow the textbook.We didn't even know Ariel was having them,except that she was losing cognitive ability.We are probably heading out Wednesday for California,so we can spend more time with Gilbert's dad.So we will have to do the EEG when we come back.He did say he wants Michael on seizure precautions.I'm a bit bugged at our regular doctors office because they were supposed to send him reports and the MRI a month ago and of course they never did.Anyway hopefully we will get some answers about Michael soon UPDATE: 4-19-07 Hello friends,First off I'd like to say our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the students at Virginia Tech.We have had our typical week appointments and such nothing too exciting.Saturday I went to a wonderful homeschool convention with about 2000 other people it was great.I really needed the encouragement and feel very blessed I went.Sunday we went down to Oregon again to another great Starlight event.The kids made planters,key chains and photo albums.They played lots of games and had just a wonderful time. Monday we went to the Neuro about Michael and he thought his spells were possibly seizure related.Today we went for his EEG and guess what?Like I said before Murphy seems to be my name as well he is also having seizures,ugh!!!!!!!I guess I'll find out more in the next few days after talking with the Neuro.On the up side only 9 more days until our Disney trip! Disney is our happy place it's our place to be rid of all dr's appointments and our hectic life and to just have fun.We definately need some of that.Also Gilbert's dad is in intensive care so prayers for him would be appreciated.God bless,Linn UPDATE: 3-26-07 Hello friends,I hope you're all having a good weekend.It's rainy and ugly here.That's pretty typical in Washington this time of year though.Well thank you all for prayers my mom did really well with her surgery and is feeling pretty peppy.Ariel had her hearing test this week and her hearing is fine.The gal was really wonderful with her,so that was definately a plus.Even though the hearing center was over an hour and a half away it was a nice facility.Michael had his MRI this week and it was totally normal praise God,but Neurology felt he needed a work up.I am waiting to see if his pediatrician will put in a referral for him.He would see the other kids Neuro's partner,because ours is so booked up.So we will see he's had a few more spells this week.Hopefully he's not having seizures.Ariel's been having quite a few more petit mals,but I think that's because we've been messing with her meds upping one and lowering the other. I felt so bad for her yesterday she had made a beautiful cake for her daddy and had a petit mal and dropped it on the floor.She cried and cried.We ended up getting more cake mix and she made another one.This week we are going up to Oregon again.The kids are so excited we get to have lunch with 2 of the Nasa Astronauts,(no not the crazy one)that should be pretty interesting.Well I need to get on with my day 35 days until Disneyland here we come.God bless,Linn UPDATE: 3-19-07 Hello friends,I hope you all had a wonderful St.Patty's Day.We had a great one,but I'll let you know what else is going on before telling you about that.My mom is finally having her surgery tomorrow,so please say prayers for her.Michael has a Dr's appointment,because something funny is going on with him.He had a concussion back in October and has been having dizzy spells since,but they've gotten to be quite frequent in the last month,also I have noticed that he's been very tired and falling asleep in unusual places.Like out in the woods and after having these spells he's been nauseous and then goes in his bed and sleeps for hours.The latest one was Friday we stayed at a hotel and swam in the pool and he all the sudden got really tired and said he was feeling really weak and was laying on the lounge chairs falling asleep.That is just not normal Michael is usually a little ball of energy.I'm going to ask her to draw some blood and check his counts.I know he's not going to like that at all,but I'm a bit concerned for him.Ariel's getting her second hearing test,hopefully it goes better than her first.I would also like you all to pray for my friends little boy Sean.He's 3years old and totally yellow because something's wrong with his liver.They think it may be autoimmune,so please pray for quick answers.Unfortunately her first set of Dr's said it was from the flu and so now it's been amonth that they've played around with this and he's very sick. Friday night we headed down to Portland Oregon about 3 hours away and stayed at a hotel.Saturday we got up bright and early and went to The Portland Zoo for The Starlight event.It was wonderful.They had the kids all wear green for their green contest as you can see mine really got into the part.We went on a scavenger hunt and then they took us into a classroom and we had a private showing with an owl and a hedgehog.They also bought us lunch,took us on a train ride and gave the kids prizes.It was a wonderful day and the kids are looking forward to going again.We will probably go down again in April.Well I better get to breakfast.God bless,Linn UPDATE: 3-5-07 Hello friends,Sorry it's been so long we've been busy as usual.Not a whole lot going on lately,just doing the usual routine school,chores and such.My mom is going in for surgery tomorrow,so prayers for her would be appreciated.Ariel's doing fine right now,with the exception of an occasional tummy ache. Friday we went to an appointment to have her hearing tested,just to make sure nothing was going on there,well in the typical Marrero fashion nothing is easy for us,anyway I told them you have to test her like you would a little child,because her comprehension is like that of a 4-5yr old.Well I guess the lady who was testing her was asking her things she didn't understand and was yelling at her and telling her how uncooperative she was.Like Ariel would even understand what that means.Ariel told me she kept telling her she didn't understand and she kept yelling at her.I was livid and demanded to talk to her after the test.She was conveniently busy,so we went to her supervisor in Seattle and after reviewing Ariel's charts the supervisor realized that the doctor had treated Ariel badly. She's going to get retested at another facility over an hour away,but I will not take her to that facility again.As if Ariel doesn't feel bad enough about herself without this kind of garbage going on.I just get so tired of always having to fight with doctors about everything.Because my daughter looks so normal they just assume she's normal. Daniel's doing okay right now.He unfortunately still has a lot of rashes.We went to the Dermatologist and she prescribed him a stronger steroid cream,so we will see if that helps.Seizure wise he's about the same and hopefully he goes another 6 months without a grand mal. We are going on a trip to California in a couple months and after we come back from that we may change his meds,but I'm hesitant to do it before we go while he's atleast having some control. Well we are heading off to church I hope you all are having a great weekend.God bless,Linn UPDATE: 2-19-07 Hello friends,I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day.We had a great day,traded valentine's with each other,made cupcakes and had our traditional heart shaped pizza.My mom is doing much better,but still has a long road of recovery ahead and is having to quit work.I'm not sure how she will handle retirement she's so used to being busy all the time. On the Daniel front he's not doing the greatest right now.His blood pressure has been up,his rashes are completely out of control again and petit mals are up as well.Thursday he had a petit mal at the book store and fell down the stairs.Thankfully he was only on the 4th one when he fell,but he hurt his wrist and is in a splint.They said it wasn't broken,but we will see in a week.Remember they first said Ariel's wasn't broken either.Hopefully it's not just very bruised.Ariel is doing well no problems to report thankfully.I just got tickets for her and I to go to see The West Side Story for her birthday in May.She loves that movie.Well I hope you all have a wonderful Presidents Day (Washington's and Lincoln's Birthday.)God bless,Linn UPDATE: 2-1-07 Dear friends,I ask that you pray for my mother.She had a bad accident at work and almost got killed.She is in the hospital and pretty banged up.She had internal bleeding and surgery and has a broken and dislocated shoulder and several other things wrong with her.She will be on a long road to recovery.I am just feeling like I'm at my witts end with one crisis after another and if that's not it it's everything breaking in my house and car UGH!!!!!! I know God says he will not give me more than I can handle.He must have a whole lot of faith in my strength.Also prayers for Daniel as his petit mals are really picking up again and I'm beginning to worry about him starting to have Grand Mals a lot again.Hopefully not,but please pray.God bless,Linn UPDATE: 1-28-07 Hello friends,We've had a pretty busy week.We've been doing school,fixing broken items around the house(not sure why there's been so many lately) and celebrating quite a few birthdays.This past week Daniel's hamster got out and we found him dead.Daniel was heartbroken and so off to the pet store we went(like we need anymore)Anyway he decided on a pet rat.Not my favorite critter,but he is pretty cute for a rat that is.He's gray and white and his name is Lionel.We celebrated Gilbert's birthday on Wednesday and had a great time.He rented a Mustang for the day and took us all for spins in it. We are still working on school and lessons with Ariel.Tomorrow Daniel and Ariel are getting blood drawn checking for Mitochondrial disease in her and med levels in both of them.Sadly Daniel had a grand mal on Thursday night his first in 6 months.His doctor wants to up his meds,but I'm not too thrilled with that idea since they gave him such bad side effects before.If he can go another 6 months without one that would be great,but unfortunately Epilepsy has no rhyme or reason,especially his.Nicholas will be celebrating his 20th birthday on Saturday and I can't believe how fast time has flown by.Well I need to get off and heading to church.God bless,Linn UPDATE: 1-15-07 Hello friends,Well it sure feels like winter around her.This is the 3rd time we've gotten snow since the end of November.Unfortunately my card is filled on my camera and I can't take anymore pictures.It sure is pretty,but very cold.It's been 28 degrees out and very icy,so we are pretty much stuck at home. Daniel is doing well seizure wise still no Grand mals since July,but is still plagued with these horrible rashes all the time.Ariel is doing pretty well she gets her cast off on the 19th of January and hopefully her arm will be totally healed.We don't really have a lot of plans for the next few weeks just school and more school.The kids don't go back to the Neurologist until April and Ariel goes to the G.I. doctor in February.Well I hope you all have a good week.God bless,Linn UPDATE: 1-13-07 Hello friends,Well it sure feels like winter around her.This is the 3rd time we've gotten snow since the end of November.Unfortunately my card is filled on my camera and I can't take anymore pictures.It sure is pretty,but very cold.It's been 28 degrees out and very icy,so we are pretty much stuck at home. Daniel is doing well seizure wise still no Grand mals since July,but is still plagued with these horrible rashes all the time.Ariel is doing pretty well she gets her cast off on the 19th of January and hopefully her arm will be totally healed.We don't really have a lot of plans for the next few weeks just school and more school.The kids don't go back to the Neurologist until April and Ariel goes to the G.I. doctor in February.Well I hope you all have a good week.God bless,Linn ADDED: 3-9-05 Daniel is 13 years old. Condition=intractable epilepsy,hypertension Comments=Daniel has 4 siblings Nick 18,Bret 16,Michael 12 and Ariel 10 In May of 2002 Daniel fell down and had a head injury.In July he started having seizures.Daniel has been through many different treatments and just recently had surgery to have a VNS implant put into his chest to help control his seizures.At this point he is still having seizures and it's pretty tough for him,because it has really limited the things he can do.Riding a bicycle or jumping on a trampoline and a lot of other physical activities are not safe for him.He also has hypertension that we monitor pretty closely.Daniel is homeschooled and enjoys playing his siblings Nick 18,bret 16 Michael 12 & Ariel 10.He also loves to fish & bowl.Thank you for your prayers and support they're greatly appreciated.