Medical Mystery Show

Last night we flipped past one of those shows that starts with a person's symptoms and all they went through trying to find a diagnoses. Well this one was a little girl. Her mom would put her to bed every night and about an hour into sleep she'd vomit.

They took her to all sorts of doctors, even an allergist, who gave her something to keep her from vomiting. It worked one night then the vomiting continued and got worse. She started vomiting multiple times a night.

Already by this point I have looked at Bill and simply said "seizures".

So then the woman says her daughter vomited one night and as she cleaned her up she asked if she was alright and the little girl was slurring her words. The mom was scared to death and thought she'd had a stroke.

Again me: "Seizure"

So they take her to the ER and a neurologist sees her they do an ______ come on mother's of epileptics? Can you fill in the blank? Correct! MRI! It came back normal

Then they did ______????? Any guesses???? An EEG! YES!!! Of course. Sounds like some of you have been through this before!

That's pretty much how Bill and I continued watching the show.

They were putting leads on the girls head for the girls EEG and we said "OH! I always wondered how that worked!"
The EEG seemed normal but they wanted to get a record for what happened to her as she slept. So they admitted her and did a video EEG where, as they explained, the child was hooked up to EEG and was video taped simultaneously 24 hours a day.

By this time, they are preaching to the choir! We were not the family to be touting this in front of! We know all about this bit of technology. Naomi has stayed on two occasions in the pediatric monitoring unit going through this exact thing.

They showed the EEG and the video of the child as she vomited. This is where we lost Isaiah.

He can almost vomit on will, but can't deal with others.

The neurologist went on to say that the child had epilepsy and they explained what went on in the brain during a seizure. So they got the child on medication. She said she had to take 14 pills. Then at the end the mother came on and said the child hadn't had a seizure in 3 months.
I looked at Bill and he said "that just pisses me off. Why can they fix that kid and our poor baby still has seizures every day".

It's a sad thing. I hope all kids are seizure free at some point. They sure didn't spend much time explaining that they often don't know why kids have seizures.

More about Naomi later. I'm waiting for instructions from the clinic now.

I love the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice. This scene where Collin Firth as Mr. Darcy comes out of the water... oh my!
This clip also shows Elizabeth Bennett as portrayed in this version.




My sister in law loves the newer version of Pride and Prejudice starring Kiera Knightly. I just watched it today and while I like that she is a more expressive Elizabeth. I can not see anyone else as Mr. Darcy! To me Collin Firth is Mr. Darcy. What ever role he plays he is always Mr. Darcy to me.
The 1995 BBC version definitely tells the story better and explains the relationships deeper.
The awful cousin who comes to choose a wife among the sisters was way creepier in the BBC version!

My mom also loves the BBC version and came in today when I was watching the newer movie. Her feeling is that Elizabeth shouldn't look so anorexic. Which is funny because Kiera Knightly looks like she may have actually plumped up a bit for this movie. Like gained 5 lbs or something. She doesn't look so extremely thin as I've seen her in others. I thought she looked a more healthy weight.
I like the new Mr Darcy, but he played Arthur Clennam in Masterpiece Theaters version of Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens. I loved him in that role and when he's supposed to be Mr. Darcy I can't help but think of poor little Amy Dorrit who so loved him. Yep, he'll be Arthur in every film forever more!
Funny thing is, I like Hugh Grant movies and he's been in plenty of these types of movies. But all of his movies I see... Hugh Grant. I can't name the particular characters he's played, he's always just himself to me! Although don't get me started on his dance scene in Love Actually!
Well which Darcy do you prefer?
Have you seen either?
I actually got to watch a movie last night also! 2 movies in as many days is HUGE for me! I feel half normal! Well, Signing Time is running on my DVD now to bring me back to reality!

Our Vines Have Tender Grapes

OK ANOTHER movie!
I caught part of this movie while flipping through the channels the other night and it was so good! It's a good movie for our times. It was made in 1945 and is basically about a farm community in Wisconsin and a few trials that happen in the community. The last scene had me in tears! After the movie was over the AMC narrator said that the director of the movie was black listed during the McCarthy era. They thought he was spreading communist propaganda. I mention this because the last scene could be construed as such, in a very twisted mind! I'd call it charity, neighbor helping neighbor or a grand act of kindness that kindled a light in others to do the same!
I have to check out our library to see if they have this! It was so cute. If not I may just have to buy it!
I also watched Akila and the Bee on Disney and LOVED it! What a great story!

The Lost Prince

For some reason I woke up thinking about this movie today. It was made for TV in 2003 and I've caught it a few times on the local PBS station. It's the story of a British Royal who's been lost to history. He's forgotten because he had epilepsy and his family hid him away. Because of his "fits" he was thought of as an embarrassment to his family. It's a very touching movie. I haven't seen it in a while, but I remember there being one brother in particular who tried to connect to this prince. I think the brother who befriended him was Edward, the one who abdicated his crown for the love of the divorced Wallis Simpson. It is a very very good story. If you happen across it at your local library or what ever, check it out.

Unsportsmanlike Conduct

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OK, I live in an area where people hunt. Lots of people hunt! I know families where the mom, dad, kids and grandparents all get their hunting license every year. So I have no problem with hunting. There's a conservation aspect to it. If they didn't kill some of the deer the deer would starve, overpopulate and end up as constant road kill.

But this is different than sitting in a tree stand, waiting for a deer to come by and taking aim and maybe or maybe not striking the animal, depending on your skill.

I saw this story on the Today show this morning and it has bothered me. They said they set hooks out the day before. Then the 5 year old, his dad and a guide went out and found on one of the hooks this record setting gator. They used the winch to raise up the gator then the kid took his shot.

Isn't that a little like shooting a caged bear?

Picking off Tigers at the zoo?

That's exactly like leaving a fishing line laying in a pond all night then coming back in the morning and picking up the fish and shooting it! I mean that would be serious overkill, but it's the same thing! The gator was already caught! There's no aim. It's like hitting the broad side of a barn!

I know lots of folks around here would disagree with me, but 5 is too young to hunt and handle a riffle. No one could reasonably argue that a 5 year old has the decision making skills to handle a deadly weapon.
I know Daniel Boone and historical figures were hunting at a very early age, but I got news for you, we have a little something called grocery stores now. There's no need for a 5 year old to hunt. Also I bet Daniel Boone was a whole lot more grown up and had more life experience and wilderness skills than kids these days. Thankfully we have hunting laws now and limits on kill. I read Daniel Boone's biography and he killed an unbelievable amount of animals per season! He was just one man! Think of all the trappers killing that many, and it's no wonder the animals faced extinction so fast!

16 & Pregnant

MTV has some real crap programs and rarely shows music videos anymore, but this is an exception.



The first one I saw I only caught the last half. When it ended I thought "who would let this kid have baby?" Then I watched the whole episode and had a whole new perspective! The girls name was Farrah and her mother was no help at all. She even got on to Farrah when they toured the birthing unit and Farrah tried to ask a question about induction of labor. She said something like "do we have to stay here and listen to these disgusting questions". That poor girl couldn't ask her mom anything and her mom didn't even want her asking her questions to the nurse.
At one time I thought this is the first reality baby show I've watched and not been crying when it ended. Then I watched the episode in the posted video. I bawled my eyes out! These two kids have way better sense than their parents and are two good kids from bad situations who knew their kid deserved much more.

Smartypants?

I'm watching the Daily Show on Comedy Central right now and this really cracked me up. It's an example of something I was thinking of the other day.
You know, people in Canada or Mexico, they probably know A LOT about the history of the United States. But what do I know about their history? NADA! I couldn't even tell you who either's president or (as I just realized) if Canada even has a president. I know Canada is sort of ruled by England. I know I can be in Niagra Falls, Canada in about 4 hours. But I'm pretty sure I couldn't name all the provinces of Canada. I couldn't even name 1 of Mexico. What are they called in Mexico? States? Provinces?
Except for the Queen of England and Prince Ranier (spelling may be off)of Morracco. I think the only other ruler could name is Khadaffi (spelling again). I do know who rules Iran but I'll not even attempt to spell that!
Anyway, the Jihad Walking piece on this portion of The Daily Show is very interesting!



Jason Jones: Behind the Veil - Ayatollah You So

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Forgive me, I know not what I do!

Ohhhhh no. First off I am not someone who wants to be in any kind of spot light. I would rather hold the camera than be in front of the camera. But here's what I've set in motion...
I was watching the news a while ago and they asked if anyone had any ideas for a news show to email them. I had just that day talked to more than one person about Naomi's diet and of course no one knew anything about it or how it worked. So I emailed the news station and told them a little about the Ketogenic Diet.
The health anchor emailed me back and said she was very interested in doing a story about it. She would get in touch with the Clinic and see if they would like any publicity about their Ketogenic program.
A few weeks, maybe months have gone by. Then yesterday I got an email from the Clinic. The news station contacted the media relations department and they'd talked to our doctor and she's on board with doing a story about the diet and thinks Naomi would be a great story.
So I emailed them back saying that's fine just let me know what we need to do. Then I freaked, called a friend and my mom and said "how do I loose 50 pounds fast?".
If it wasn't for Naomi and the fact that the diet has helped her there is no way I'd get on TV with her! I'm fine with her being on TV. She's cute! But it is not exactly on my bucket list!
I was actually hoping they'd find someone who it had been miraculous for and interview them. Though the flip side to that is that this will show the diet can help but it's not always instant and it's not a guarantee cure.
I hope this helps someone. That maybe someone who has had their kid on multiple medications will see this and see it as another option. An option that at least will give them their child back.
We are still on 300 mg twice a day of Keppra. I think I'll wean her down to 200 mg in the morning. But today I heard her call the dog "bear" a word she used to say over and over. I also heard "ball". She sits and looks at us directly in the eyes and smiles this sweet little smile. She also is more aware of what she wants and is jiggling door knobs and getting mad about wanting something and she can't express what it is. Yesterday she had no cluster and only 10 seizures all day long. All but about 3 of those were when she was getting up or I picked her up and she just got this look on her face like she'd gotten dizzy. She started on higher calorie meals yesterday and this morning her urine ketones were only trace. I'm not sure if it's the higher calories or possible teething. I need more than a day to figure that out. If it is teeth. she's still having a pretty good time of it. There was a time when if her teeth were coming in she could have near 100 myoclonics in a day and maybe 80 of them would be in 1 cluster. Today she's had no cluster but is having a few more than she's had other days over the past week.
The clinical nurse called today and I asked him if I was going to see a problem with withdrawal would that have already happened? He said , absolutely. That made me feel much better going ahead and dropping a dose in 1 week as opposed to 2. We've seen nothing but improvement so why wait!