January 26, 2010 - Lots of good news!

Hello Everyone! Well we do have lots of good news to share with you!!!! First, we woke Saturday morning to Erik in a seizure. This was NOT a small seizure. In fact, this was the type of seizure that generally requires administration of medication that knocks him out for roughly 2 days. Anyway, we grabbed the magnet for his VNS and ran it cross the device and the seizure stopped in about 10 seconds! What a wonderful thing! No additional intervention or medication was required. Second, today was our appointment with Duke about a possible hip surgery. We met with the surgeon and he indicated that although Erik's right hip is partially moving out of his socket, it is not to the point where surgery is required. YEAH! We have a follow-up appointment set for the end of July (6 months) to have additional x-rays taken. Botox treatments (we have an appointment scheduled for February 17th), time standing, and solid physical therapy appear to be key in preventing further strains/complications. We may not be able to avoid this surgery at some point but there is a chance and we will sure try! What all of this means for us is that we can focus on getting the therapy, Botox, and HBOT Erik needs. We planned on heading back to Charlotte in the Spring for a second round of treatment but hesitated depending on the outcome of this appointment. At this point, we are going to work to set something up to begin mid-March. This will require that we fund this (unless CIGNA will step in and cover the treatment - we are not holding our breath!) and make arrangements for residing in Charlotte for a month. Although this treatment is such a good thing for Erik, it is tiring and many things will have to come together for this to happen. Not sure about the financial issues, mom's work allowing her to go and work remotely as was possible with the last trip, housing and the multitude of other things that have to come together for this to be possible. For those of you who know us we will do as we have in the past and work towards the goal of making all of this happen and trust that the Lord will make it work out smoothly or put up "road blocks" that clearly steer us away from this if it is not His plan for Erik. Please keep us in your prayers as we begin attempting to put all of this together. Your faithfulness as prayer warriors for Erik is so important to us and is proving to be a true gift for both Erik and our family. Love to all, Erik's Family