VOTE and Neuromodulation

We got some updated pictures of Brodee! He has taken up golfing! Looks like he is having a great time!

Monday, October 19th:

I send Theo off to school and Josh went to work. While Theo was at school I got caught up on some emails and work stuff. On my way to pick up Theo I stopped by the Grundy County Court House to drop off my mail in ballot. Please make sure you vote!

Theo had a great day at school. He worse his glasses, went in his stander twice, and played with a sensory bin. 

After school Theo had PT and OT and he did great!

Tuesday, October 20th:

Theo headed off to school on the bus and I jumped on a Zoom for the Windsor Hills HOA. They were having the yearly budget meeting and we were electing a new HOA Master Board. Luckily, the election went great and our board is staying the same! 

After listening to the Zooms I went to get my allergy shots and then I went to Costco to get a bunch of winter stuff for a charity drive. 

After school I took Theo to see Sherman at The Legacy Ranch. He did great!

That evening I had book club and we got to Zoom with Kai Bird who is the author of American Scoundrel. It was such a great meet up!

Josh has been working really late in order to get a few things done before the deadline. I know it's not easy. We appreciate him so much!

Wednesday, October 21st:

The Lakers will start their season tonight. I REALLY hope they have a great season since my Angels finished with the second worse record in the league and my Chargers are off to a 0-6 start. But hey BYU is doing great! I guess you can't win them all!

Theo and I made the long drive to Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago. I left 2.5 hours before Theo's appointment. Luckily, we made it to the parking garage in just 90 minutes! 

[Hi Chicago!]

I love it when he wants to hold my hand. It's usually just for a few seconds, but I'll take it!

We met with Amy Tennant with Neuromodulation. She scanned Theo’s VNS and it shows that there is a 25-50% battery life left. She is going to send the results for further analysis, so they may be able to tell EXACTLY how much batter life is left. She said replacing the battery is a very easy procedure. She is not going to make any changes for now and we will see her again in six months.

On our way out we stopped by the only bathroom in the entire hospital (all 23 stories) that Theo can use. It's a family/accessible bathroom with a powered, height adjustable, adult sized changing table. When we got there it was being used, so we patiently waited. Not surprisingly, we waited for a long time and finally someone strolled out. He looked very embarrassed as he gave us a little wave and walked away. I know having a private bathroom is nice when you need to do your business, but this is literally the ONLY bathroom that we can use in the entire hospital. And there are literally only five of these family bathrooms with a powered, height adjustable, adult sized changing table in the entire city of Chicago. So, please just be aware of that.

We were lucky again as we drove home and we made it to our house in just an hour!

That night the Lakers won their season opener against the Warriors!

Thursday, October 22nd:

Fall is finally here! Look at my beautiful tree as the sun was coming up! Time to get some mums! 

While Theo was at school I attended a Zoom meeting with my friend Deepa and some of our new friends from the ICDD. We had a great discussion and they invited us to join them on November 17th in Springfield for "Advocacy Day!" I am going to try to go! You should come with me! Scan the QR code to register!

That afternoon I joined a webinar that was all about the upcoming changes to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). 

Friday, October 23rd:

Theo headed off to school while I attended a few more webinars and I worked on the webinar that I am going to be giving in February.

I was supposed to get my last two travel vaccines today, but I got a migraine instead 🤦‍♀️

On my way to pick up Theo from school I swung by Walmart to get some Halloween candy and then I stopped by Senator Rezin's office to drop off my donation of winter clothes.

Right when I was talking to Theo's teacher and his aid about his day, Theo had a big seizure. It started hard to the left, then went center and pushed his head straight down, and then went to the right. Ms. Kate and Ms. Jamie jumped into action quickly and swiped him and documented the seizure in his notebook. While Theo was having the seizure the other class aids kept telling him that he was okay and that they were there. It was so sweet to see them all supporting him. The seizure was about two minutes long and Theo's lips were turning blue. He finally came out of it and I asked him if he was okay. He knocked "yes," but he looked tired.

When we got home I put Theo down for a little rest/quiet time. Ms. Becca came over, but she decided that it would be best for her to come back tomorrow morning when Theo is well rested. 

Theo took a good nap!

Weekend:

Ms. Becca came back Saturday morning and they had a great session until Theo got tired. 

Josh went to a few pumpkin farms and found us some beautiful mums! 

[Before]

[After]

[Before]

[Giant mums in the van]

[Hi friend! Sorry I sprayed you with the hose!]

[After]

I love these giant triple mums SOOOO much! They just look so fluffy and happy!

Unfortunately, BYU lost to an unranked team and we dropped from #2 to #8, which is not too bad. And the Chargers didn't lose because they had a Bye Week, but that didn't stop the memes 😁