24 hour EEG

Wednesday was a big day for us! Dylan had he 24 hour EEG. Most people who read this blog know that Dylan had a HUGE seizure a year ago on the side of the highway in Alabama. From there he went through lots of tests and appointments and we found out that he had something called benign rolandic epilepsy. Its actually the "best case scenario" in this situation. It is something that he will grow out of in 5 years and it is only brought on by the lack of sleep.

Recently his asthma started acting up again and he wasnt sleeping real well. He had a few episodes that we just didnt feel good about. They werent full out seizures like his first one but they were more of a starring off to the side type thing and acting strange. Needless to say I was a mess and called the neurologist for an appointment. I again got goose bumps when I called and was able to get in that same week! That NEVER happens. The next available appointment was none other than the exact date has his first seizure which was 2 months away...not even kidding! So to rule out any other diagnosies we needed to get a 24 hour eeg done to see if he was having "mini seizures".

He did great during the test, he got to play video games watch movies, play games with Tim and I and do some reading. The hospital was a great place to be, the DeVos Children's hospital was absolutely beautiful. We wont get results for 2 weeks. After all it is 24 hours of info that 2 neurologist have to look at and analyze. I will try to keep this blog updated, you know Im not the best at that. :) Here are a few pictures of Dylan getting the wires on and then playing some playstation with Tim.

deck of ice

The joy of living in Michigan! Ice storm in March!

So Tim figured out that the deck was a little icey and he was skating around in his slippers.

Of course the kids wanted to try. Lets just say, Dylan has his daddy's moves. :)

Things Tim does with the kids

Amayas first time in the snow

Here are a couple of pictures of Amaya's first time in the snow. So I was not trying to be "artsy" in these at all, I was just trying to take some pictures of the girls, while making sure Riley wouldnt go out of our yard. I was going just snapping pictures not thinking about how they looked. After I looked at the pictures I realized I never even got a picture of Amayas face. Right when I set her down she was on a mission. to where??? not sure... but she was not planning on stopping or slowing down. These pictures are kinda in reverse order, the first should be last...(haha, where have I heard that from. :)) Anyways, just wanted to update my blog since its been a few months. Sorry about that Rob. :)

Natalie's ear piercing.

Ok, SO....It is Natalie's 4th birthday today! We have been talking for months about getting her ears pierced and she had been SO excited to get it done, until today. She was crying on the way there saying she didnt want them done so I felt like I was being a terrible mom for "forcing"it. BUT on the other hand I knew right when we would turn around to go home, she would say she wanted it done! So I did a little bribery, I said she could get Hello Kitty ear muffs to make her ears feel better after she got them pierced, she was totally excited and really wanted it done after I told her that. :)

So I have a couple of videos that show her in the chair, really excited, picking out the earrings and talking to the people around her and so on. I knew what was going to happen, I KNEW she would cry. She cries if she smells something bad, of course she would cry for something that is painful! So I recorded it and if anyone wants to scare their child into NOT getting it done, then you should show them the video. If you WANT your child to get their ears pierced, dont show them this video. By the way, 2 minutes later, she was totally fine because someone gave her a piece of candy. oh Natters...

and she's off!

excuse the horrible picture, it was on my phone.

amaya just started walking a couple of weeks ago and now she is super fast.

and a new trick is to tell us what a cow says. except she only did it onc on the video of course...lil stinker!

Another Angel

Wow, its been a while since I updated this, sorry ROB!

I wanted to share a story that happened yesterday that brought us back to 5 months ago on the side of the highway in Alabama.

Tim got a call yesterday from a weird area code and wasnt going to answer it thinking it was just the wrong number or some telemarketer type call. He answered it and a guy says, "is this Tim Bruinsma? This is Jason from Alabama." I'm sure the first thing that went through Tim's mind was a collector of some sort for a bill we needed to pay. But he continued to say, "I was one of the first responders the day that your son had a seizure, I spent a lot of time with your wife in the ambulance and in the hospital."

He was the guy that I remember the most because he kept on telling me everything was going to be "aright" and that he has kids right around Dylan's age. He stayed with me at the hospital until Tim made it there and was just a really nice guy. SO back to the story...he continued to tell Tim that he has been working as a paramedic for YEARS and he has never had someone that stood out in his mind and couldn't stop thinking about until Dylan. He said that it has been on his heart to call for a long time, just to see how Dylan was doing and how it was going with us. He said that his wife had to convince him to call Tim because he kept bringing Dylan up.

At this point in the story when Tim was telling me, I started to cry...this stranger from 12 hours away has been praying for Dylan for 5 months and doesn't even know us! How humbling and amazing is that?!

He then continued to tell Tim that he just felt like he had to do something for us. He said that he would really like it if we would stay in his condo he owns in Gulf Shores for a few days free of charge of course. He said that he wasnt doing this to get recognition or anything like that, he just felt that the horrible experience that he witnessed us going through that day made him really want to do this for us. What a nice guy?! Who does that? It is unbelievable to me that a stranger would do this for US 5 months later. I cant quite grasp it. At the end of the conversation Tim had told him that he is one of many angels that we have met since that day.

Also, an update on Dylan...He is doing great, he hasnt had any seizure activity since that day. He is living as normal as he did before April 2. He knows about the seizure and about the medication that he needs to have on him at all times. The whole story gets brought up at least 2 times a week by either Dylan or Natalie. They talk about it a lot, Natalie especially because she had a front row seat to everything that went on. When she sees an ambulance on the road she says that it is probably going to someone that has a "sezture", she is something else... :)

more animals

Sunday after lunch we went to the barn to see the kittens. They are SO cute! I would love to take one home if they didnt ever grow into big cats. The kids were trying to convince me that we NEEDED one at our house. I think that they are great to have at the barn so that we can visit them. :)

On our way to the barn there was a girl who has a horse there that just picked up her new pet snake. Dylan LOVES snakes and every other animal. Natalie doesnt care for things like that, typical girl. But surprisingly she wanted to pet it! With the very tips of her finger, but none the less, she still pet it.

Praise the Lord!

Last week after we got the news that there was something in Dylan's brain that was abnormal we were very upset and confused. Feeling so scared and having so many questions we were blessed with all the emails and the prayers from our friends and family. That Wednesday while Tim was at work in his office there were 2 men that came in and ask who was in charge. Tim and his dad were there and both said the other was in charge... thats just funny to me...anyways they were 2 local pastors that were going around to local businesses and praying for them. So they asked Tim if there was anything specific that he wanted them to pray for. Tim then shared with them what we heard the night before about Dylan. They then all stood up and prayed together! That story honestly gives me goose bumps, God sends the right people at the right time to let us know that we dont have to go through hard times by ourselves.

There were some other stories just like that that we both experienced that just blew us away!

One that stands out to me was when I was at Dylan's kindergarden round-up about a hour after we heard the news, I was talking to another mom and just asked her what days her daughter was going to school. She told me that she had to go tuesday thursday because she has seizures. I probably looked like an idiot when my jaw dropped and asked her to repeat what she just said. So we got to talking and I shared that we JUST found out that he had go see a neurologist. She asked me which one I was going to see and we were both shocked that it was the same one her daughter saw and she just LOVED her. She said that the dr that we were going to be seeing was a great lady that explains everything and was so nice. And she was!

So yesterday Dylan had his MRI which he had to be sedated for. It went well, when he woke up and asked me what color his brain was. I told him that we would find out at the dr appointment later that day. It was cute how he was so interested in what it looked like.

The MRI came back completely normal!! Praise God!

I am just going to copy the email that Tim sent to some friends and family because he explains it really well....

We had his MRI today and appointment with the neurologist. Everything went really well. Our prayers were answered in that he has been diagnosed with Benign Rolandic Epilepsy. His brain looked great in the MRI which is a huge answer to prayer. We are awaiting final results from the radiologist, but the neurologist said she thought it was normal. The doctor determined his first seizure was a result of being sleep deprived and future seizures would be related to it (if he has future seizures). He doesn't have to be on regular meds and only has emergency meds if he has another seizure. The doctor also said he should outgrow this by age 9 and it could be way sooner. Based on the EEG, she said the condition is a genetic condition and not a result of trauma at birth (which we thought was a possibility). She said he doesn't need to change anything with his daily life - that was a big relief as well. We have felt extreme anxiety over the past month and especially the past week. Through all of it, I felt at peace and was comforted knowing how many people have been praying. There's been numerous cool things that have happened the past month where we have seen God working. I can't even begin to explain how blown away I have been. Thanks so much again! Tim & Kate & Family

SO just one more quick thing. Mother's day is always exciting for Dylan because he gets to pick out something to give me and it is usually interesting. :) At school he made me a painting that he was SO excited to give me. The poem on it made me cry, here it is...

A piece of me

I give to you

I painted this flower

To say "I love you"

The heart is you,

The hand is me.

To show we are friends-

The best there can be.

I hope you will save it

And look back someday

At the flower we shared

On your special day.

-kathleen Iademan

another update

Another update on Dylan. We did finally get the results from the EEG yesterday. NOT the results that we wanted. They did show something abnormal in the central part of his brain that goes to the right. Thats the best explanation that I can give at this time. There were a whole lot of words that I didn't understand in the report. Basically he is still at risk for another seizure. The scary part is that this activity in his brain didn't show up until he was sleeping which means that it would most likely happen in his sleep. I really want a video monitor now, but Tim wont allow it since I probably would just stay awake and watch it all the time. I guess he's right, thats exactly what I would do.

As far as we know he hasn't had another one, just the one.

So he has to have more tests done and follow up with a pediatric neurologist. Originally the appointment was scheduled for Aug 2, but she fit us in for next wednesday the 12th. That morning he also has a MRI that he has to be sedated for, not very excited for that. The good thing about having it all on the same day is that we COULD possibly get results that day! please pray for our family as we are trying to come to grips with this situation. Its so hard to understand since he is perfectly normal that we see. Please pray that we will find comfort that the LORD is in control. I'm sure that the lumps in our throats and the knots in our stomachs wont go away until we hear that he is perfectly healthy and there is nothing to worry about. Until then, we need to pray and be confident that everything is in the Lord's hands.

Update on Dylan

I thought that I should update my blog since its been so long. If you are reading this I am sure you know a little bit about what happened on our way to Gulf Shores. We were about 12 hours into the drive, mid Alabama, and Dylan had a seizure on the side of the highway. It all happened so fast yet in slow motion. Once we noticed that he was not responding Tim called 911 while I was in the backseat trying to figure out what was going on. The police, ambulance and firemen were all there within about 10 minutes. The ambulance took Dylan and me to the nearest hospital, which was about 20 miles away. It was also one of the best children's hospital in the country, the Lord was watching over us and the whole situation was in His control. The EMT's were amazing and stayed with me until Tim was able to make it to the hospital. My brother happened to be only 4 miles behind us at that time, so he drove Tim to the hospital. Which meant that there was people to take care of the girls while we were with Dylan. His seizure lasted about 1 hour and he got double the dose of the medication to stop the seizure which made him extremely sleepy. It took him 6 hours to wake up. The longest, scariest 6 hours of my life. We didnt know why he wasnt waking up and when he wakes up would he be the same little boy that we knew? So many questions, a lot of prayers and many tears later he woke up. The first words out of his mouth were a very slow and slurred "are we in gulf shores?" It took a while before he was with it enough to recognize us and talk a little more. He was put into Special Care Unit for most of that day and then to a normal room for the night. That night was really stressful since he was not yet back to himself, he was confused, restless, hallucinating a bit and just wanted to leave. It one point he even pulled out his IV, which then he had to get another one. We got to leave the next morning and head to gulf shores with my parents who drove from there to get us. Dylan still was very "drugged" not real sturdy on his feet and still a little confused.

We had a real hard time letting him out of our sight and still do. I know that I will never forget what happened but I know the fear will go away a little bit. Its hard to see it right now but it must have happened for a reason, maybe it not only affected our family but all of those who were around us in Alabama. We ask for your prayers that it doesnt happen again.

He is scheduled for an EEG next friday, from there we will go to a neurologist for follow up. But until then we have a busy weekend of celebrating his 5th birthday! This birthday is really special to us, for obvious reasons. He is such a blessing to our family and we love him SO much!!

chubby whubby

ballet continued

So the videos were a little hard to get to work so here are some pictures of Natalie's ballet.

Natalies ballet class

Dylan's program

Today was Dylan's Valentines program. I forgot my camera, which I felt SICK about, but one of my friends just emailed these pictures to me. THANKS BECKY!!

Last year in any kind of program Dylan would totally shut down, he would look down and never participate. At the beginning of the program he was bright red and NOT happy, as you can see in the 2nd picture. But as they were singing he started to sing along and do the motions a little bit.

Dylan not happy...

He finally started to smile at the end. What a difference a year makes. When we got home he asked me if I could hear him singing, "cause I was finally singing loud." He was really proud of himself. SUCH a cute kid!!

chapstick

Natalie got some chapstick for her birthday. She was pretty good with it until today. She told me that her chapstick broke. Tim went to see what she did and she had put chapstick on all of her dolls. Apparently she thought they all had chapped lips. But she told me the boy doll had a rash.... ??

The girls

Over Christmas break a couple of college roommates, along with husbands and kids, got together. Erin & her husband are from Spokane WA so its been a while since we have seen her. This was the first time she met Amaya and Ryenn, Tara and Josh's newest addition.

Amaya and Ryenn are only 4 weeks apart and very similar in size. :) Missing in this picture is Dylan and Kyler.

No kids for Erin yet, but she looks like she is ready for a couple!
Amaya and Ryenn, so cute!

Amaya is 5 months!

Here are a couple of pictures I took yesterday of Miss Amaya.

The scale that she is on is a scale that is past to each new baby on Tim's side of the family. I love it that now have her weight in the picture because I am realizing that I can not keep all my kids weights straight at certain ages which I thought I would be able to.

Conversation

Here is a conversation that Dylan and Natalie were having while I am sitting by the computer. I was trying to type as fast as possible because I didnt want to miss anything. It may seem like I'm missing a few things, but this is truely how it went.

Natalie-

Mom, did you know that God cares for all of us and he is going to take us home?

Dylan-

Yea, I know that! But he is going to take us to heaven, not his home!

I told them they were both right, then it continued....

Dylan-

Why is Jesus God's son?

God didn't have a wife? Then what did he have?

But mom, why is it God's son when Mary had him? God couldn't have him because he had no wife? Why did the angel ask Mary to name her baby "Jesus"?

Natalie-

Did you know Joseph was Jesus' dad? and Mary was his mom.

Dylan-

Heaven is on a cloud, Natalie! (yelling at her, typical brother)

Does Jesus and God have a machine that brings us up there?

Natalie-

No Dylan! God has a long scarf that we have to climb so we can go up to heaven.

Dylan-

Maybe they have to bring one person up at a time to heaven.

Did you know that Jesus and God have the same kinds of power?

I wish I knew the answers because they were getting a little mad at me that I wasnt giving them enough answers.

christmas morning

Natalie holding her "socken" waiting to see whats inside!

Dylan cant wait to see either!

There is no baby that enjoys being kissed on the cheek more than Amaya. She leans into it and just smiles and sometimes giggles.

We considered this year our "year off" for Amaya. We didnt get her much but we thought it would be sad if she looked back when she is older and noticed that she didnt get any presents, so we had to include this picture.

Dylan's big gift was a collection of Nerf guns, (or was this Tim's big gift? ) it came with 4 guns and we are consistently reminding him that he cant shoot Natalie when she isn't playing. Typical big brother.

Natalie's big gift was a So Chic Style salon. She has been asking for this since october and of course it was the hardest toy to find! Tim actually went to 2 Toys R Us at 6 am on a saturday and finally got it! It was the last one. To hear Tim's side of the story of when he got it is hilarious. There was actually a point on his way from one store to the other that he was going sideways down the road and heading into oncoming traffic. That was the point when he said if she doesnt get it, oh well. BUT he ended up getting it, so he deserves the "dad of the year" award.

I got a pair of these sockem boppers for both Tim and Dylan. As you can see here, they create quite the static. Her hair was ridiculous that day after this.

Overall a GREAT Christmas!

Oh, by the way, one of Natalie's gift was that she is going to be taking ballet class, so we gave her the shoes and outfit for Christmas. Right after she opened the present she striped down and put it on. She wore it for 2 days straight! I even put her Christmas dress over top of the outfit before we went to church. No one even knew and she didnt throw a fit!! It worked out perfectly.