All things new!

Today we are starting a new week.  In this week we will start a new year.  In this new year we have a new chance to make a new start.

I am feeling so grateful to the Lord for new beginnings granted only by His grace.

May you see the glory of the Lord and feel his peace and joy during this new year.

Together for Christmas!

The best present this year was being together!

Merry Christmas

If you knew today that your life was going to be turned upside down over the next year how would you be preparing for Christmas?  Would you be praising a God who was going to allow all kinds of crazy into your life?

Last Christmas I had no idea the year that would lie ahead for my family.  Our family had begun moving through life with a complacency toward God and toward each other.  We made big deals out of little things that didn't matter and forgot about the things that were important.  And then we began the year 2014...

If I knew what this last year was going to hold in store for us I would have prayed that the Lord would let us skip this year, but that is the blessing in God not allowing us to look ahead into our lives.  I look back on this year with great Joy and an increase in my love for the Lord and for my family.

As I pray for our family as we look forward to the next year I am reminded of what God can do in just one short year.  I see beauty in ashes.  We were struck down but not destroyed.  I say through tears that Happy are those who's God is the Lord.

I have seen God in people who I didn't know.  Our family has been blessed beyond our understanding and although some of it has been painful, it has given us a closeness with our Lord Jesus Christ that we had been lacking for some time now.

So... Merry Christmas to all of our friends and family.  May you seek Jesus Christ this year as he patently guides and leads you (and us) through this year.  May you count it ALL joy!

Home Sweet Home

We are home!  I am sorry it took me a few days to post this.  We got home Saturday night about Midnight.  We had the fun experience of surprising Emma's basketball teammates! 

We have missed home so very much.  Emma summed it up with her facebook post ( I am going to cut and paste it here.)
My hair is always a little crazy. I have my ups and my downs. Sometimes I'm cranky and have no energy, but sometimes I am crazy and fun to be around. I may not be beautiful, and I am definitely far from perfect, but one thing I can admit is, I am strong. I made it through a year of struggling, and also spending this past month away from home, and in the hospital. I worked my butt of this past month. And it sure did pay off. I am happy to announce that I am finally home! And I... am learning to love myself, for the good and bad things. Last night I got to surprise my teammates/best friends, and it was so touching. I am so so blessed to have these girls in my life to have helped me be strong and get through this past year. I am proud to announce that I have "found myself" again!! Thank you all for helping me, thinking about me, praying for me, and supporting me through everything! EMMA

I woke up in my own bed.  Went to see our own church family with my family.  Came home to my own house in my own town.  There is no way to fully express the gratitude our family has for the love and support from our family and friends.  We have been blessed and blessed again!! 

Thank you all.

Two more days

I don't know who is more excited, Me or Emma.  We can't wait to see Craig, Abby, and everyone else.

It is so good to be getting ready to go home.  I have seen so many positive changes in Emma and I can see how much she is using her PRC skills to keep herself healthy.

WE ARE HEADED HOME IN 2 DAYS!!!

Driving!

If you are friends with Emma on Facebook you will already know that she is driving.  Her driving privileges have been on hold because of her health but she is doing so well they told us to let her drive.

I can't tell you how proud we are of how hard Emma is working.  She is amazing!

What can you do to help?

I know that there are lots of unanswered questions with all the things that Emma has gone through.  Conversion Disorder sounds crazy and it very hard to grasp.  The best description seems to be that Conversion Disorder is the way your body converts stress and anxiety into a physical reaction. 

There is no real way for me to explain how all of this is working but it is and Emma is doing great.

Being as we are basicly dealing with a subconscious response, we then have to train Emma's brain to respond differently to her stress and anxiety. 

How can you help?  Well, we need her brain to NOT focus on her symptoms and so... We need you to not ask her about her illness.  We need you to talk about normal every day life.  How is school?  How is basketball?  How was your Christmas?  We are helping her brain to not focus on the "illness" and focus on being a teenager.

We know that this feels weird to some of you who have been so awesome about keeping track of, helping out with, and managing some of the issues that Emma has had.  She is doing so awesome.  She is controlling her symptoms and moving past this bump in the road.  So, thank you so much for caring for our girl.  She is amazing and we so appreciate you all.

Perfectionist?!

Who knew, they think Emma is a perfectionist... hhhhmmmm!

It is fun watching all the crazy things they are making Emma do to try to help her overcome some of her perfectionist tendencies that cause her to be stressed or nervous.

GO EMMA!  I know this is hard for her!

Success!

Today, for the very first time, Emma felt like she was going to pass out and was able to totally stop it!  One at a time!!  She used the techniques she has learned here as was able to control her subconscious response.
WWWOOHHHOOO... one victory at a time!

Mama does the 7 minute drill

Dear Mrs. Wilson,
Tonight I did the 7 minute drill with Emma.  OH MY WORD!  I nearly died.  I am so thankful that you make my children run these drills.  I see why they are in shape.
Thank you,
Nearly Dead Mama

Day 7

Each day we do and learn something new.  We have had a few rough spots but we are learning together and working toward the goal of being healthy.

Thank you to my sister Erika I was reminded of some facts.
1) nothing surprises God
2) God is in control
3) God works all things together for good for those who love him... and we do!

Today some fun

Today we decided to do something fun.  We are making big changes in our brain (on the inside) so we decided to make some changes on the outside!  So... first Emma

Then me...

 

Hard Day

Today was a hard day, but Emma has been a trooper.  She has fought through it all day long.

I just pray each and every day that she will follow the program and learn the things she needs to be successful and I see her trying to do that.

Reality and hard work

Tonight Em passed out.  It was shorter than it has been in a while and only lasted about 5 minutes.  We will see what the doctors and nurses plan for tomorrow.

Ice Ice Baby

Some ice skating at a local ice rink.  Fun fun!!  They had such a good time.  Brooke graduated from the program today (she is the cute little doll on the right).  She came into the program in a wheelchair.  She has been amazing and has made awesome progress.  It is so fun to see the kids work so hard and make so much progress.

Teenagers

I do believe that most of the stuff we are learning here would be good for all teenagers.  I believe we all need to learn to manage stress, time, and relationships.

Bow Range

Dead Eye Dudley!  Today for our group activity the kids got to go to a bow range tonight.  Emma did very well and got to bring home her target.  This was a fun activity.

We are both working hard in this program and there is a lot of information that we are taking in.  One day at a time.

Tuesday morning

Yesterday was our first full day.  Things move very quickly and we have lots to do.  We leave the hotel at about 7:30am and last night we got home about 6:30pm.  We threw in some laundry and went to bed. 

Emma is working hard and learning lots of new things.  She will begin to put all these things into use this week.  We meet again with the team of doctors today so I am sure we will have much more information by tonight.

Abby has a basketball game today, I am so sad to miss it but I know she will do great!  I am excited to hear about it tonight.

Crazy busy weekend.

Emma and I had so much fun visiting family in Ohio for Thanksgiving.  It was a LOT of driving and we are so happy to be "home".  We also had a quick stop in Chicago and found that it was just about enough time in the city and we don't think we need to do that again!

Tomorrow, bright and early, we will be checking into the PRC program at Mayo for a little brain bootcamp!

Thanksgiving appart

Our Family had thanksgiving in two places this year.  We are so blessed with a place where we got to be with family.

There are so many things to be grateful for.  We have been blessed beyond measure.

Sleeping Beauty

Well... my sweet girl went out today on our way to Mayo.  She was out for about an hour.  

They are good at this and Emma is working hard.  Monday morning we will be done testing and we will be full swing in the program.

For the weekend we are visiting my sister and her family for Thanksgiving.  Hope you all enjoy your weekend.

Day one down

Very, very long day.  We tested, and talked, and answered questions, then we did a computer survey, and then gave background, and then we went tot the next person and did it again.  We went to PT, OT, bio feedback, and then our admitting nurse asked more questions and checked us in.  Then we met parents and kids in the program who gave us their names (which we will not remember) and the states they are from (which we will also not remember).

After being overwhelmed by a ton of information we finally went to lunch and started all over again with another round.

We finally went to dinner and we are now finally back at our room.  What a day!  Tomorrow we will do it al again.

I hope you al sleep well, I think we will.

We are having THAT day

Questions?!

Wow... we have answered question, filled out paperwork, and then we answered more questions.

They are conning to get us in a few minutes for paperwork and questions.

Our new temporary home

We are finally here.  Ready to be out of the car!, and settling into our new space.  It is just perfect for us and we have a kitchen.

We start tomorrow so please keep us in your prayers.  We are going to check out where we are going this afternoon and pick up some groceries.

We are so thankful to be here safely.  We had a good trip and good roads.  Thanks you to all who has prayed us to this point.

The Trip Begins

Tonight we are in Sioux Falls ND.  Tomorrow we will have about 220 miles to go.  So far the trip is going well and roads are good.  Thank you Lord!

We will be there tomorrow and will get all settled in to our new living space.

Good night all.  Thanks so much for the prayers.

The way we love them

There is nothing more difficult than watching the people we love struggle with one thing or another.  This becomes especially difficult when it is our children.

I can see God working in our lives, one moment at a time, changing us and drawing us closer to himself.  That doesn't make it easier, but it does make it possible.  We can choose to allow God to work and trust that he has a plan, or we can choose not to, but I see him working every day.

Month at Mayo

Emma and I are gearing up for 4 weeks at Mayo.

We have been so overwhelmed with the support and prayer that has been given to Emma and our Family.  We know that whatever is in front of us, it is in God's hands and we will meet it head on.

Abby and Craig are equipped with a color coded schedule and tons of family and friends to help them though the 4 weeks we will be away.

There is no way to truly express how much we appreciate our family, church family, friends, and community.  You all have been so amazing and supportive.

Thank you.

The Great White Hunters

So far so good!  The boys have had a successful trip so far.  Craig got his "deer" (says Abby) on his birthday and Wayne shot his bull on the next day.  They still have 3 guys that need to fill tags but they are off to a great start.

The 3 brothers have been joined this year by 2 son-in-laws.  The family grows and we send more hunters every year!

It is so fun to see the tradition continue

End of October

Things are moving ahead at what seems to be break neck speed in our lives.

Abby has finished up her Volleyball season and is now playing Basketball (had to buy her size 9.5 shoes!!).  She is loving it so very much.  Basketball is her favorite, she tells me every day!  Her first game is this Tuesday and she made the A squad.  She is very excited.

Emma is nearing the end of her Volleyball season.  We will be starting the District B Tournament in Forsyth next week.  It is lovely that it is close.  And then we will be in Redlodge the following weekend for Divisionals.  One game at a time!

We are also in the process of planning another trip for Emma to Mayo.  She does not seem to be making headway with her condition and so we have been referred by one of the Mayo doctors into a 3 week, intensive program, that is designed for kids like Emma who need some special help to get things back to normal.  We are still in the planning/panic portion of this decision and so lots of prayer is needed.  Thank you all so much for your love and support as we go through this crazy Journey.

Emma makes the paper

School has begun!

Emma had her first day of her Sophomore year last Thursday and Abigail started the 8th grade today!  Can't believe how it is flying by.  Volleyball is in full swing!!  I love watching my kids do things that they enjoy.  Fun Fun Fun!

New Addition to the Family

This is Wrigley

This is our new puppy.  He has now been with us for a week.  He is about 6 weeks old and is so much fun.  He is exhausted from a walk outside.

Move on with the work of living

With God all things are possible.... truth!

I am so thankful that I can trust that God is in control.  When mountains seem too high to climb and valleys seem too dark to conquer, God is there!

Emma has a lot of hard work ahead of her, but she is a healthy Girl!  Praise God for that!

We are starting the business of Back to School.  Getting things ordered for my last year with Abby and the challenging of keeping her amazingly gifted brain working constructively.  Both girls are excited for sports and (don't tell Abby I am singing r she will roll her eyes at me) It's the most wonderful time of the year... there are volleyballs flying and basketball bouncing .. and mommy will cheer... It's the most wonderful time of the year!!!!   I love watching my kids!

My Own Bed

Home is always best!  I love my own bed. 

Now camping for a week... finally some family time!!!  My favorite people.

Then back for volleyball and then Ashley's Wedding... how exciting.

2188 miles

We are HOME.  Thank you all so much for praying for and supporting us.

Homeward Bound

Half way home.. can't wait to be home tomorrow.  Miss Abby and Craig so much.

Last Test

Monday Morning

We are back at Mayo this morning for some more testing... then more testing tomorrow.

Emma is having a hard time with the fact that she is missing a volleyball camp this week, but we are so very thankful to be here and get some answers.

We are looking forward to heading home tomorrow afternoon.  It will be so good to see Craig and Abby and sleep in our own beds!

Feeling "Welcome"

Today We added 2 states to our list.  We now have a total of 4.  It took us 4 or 5 hours of driving around in Iowa to finally found the Welcome to Iowa sign on our way out!!


We saw the Mississippi river, found a fantastic antique/junk store, then we drove and drove and drove.  We were lost in Iowa for a few hours.  It was our Saturday ADVENTURE!!

Friday

Was a big day.. Abby took 4th place in Jr. Showmanship with Storm.  So proud of her and all of her hard work.

Emma had tests today and Dr visits.  She also had a partial day in a wheelchair.  Things seem to be back and on track tonight.

Ready for a fun weekend

We Don't Have To Move

We thought we were going to need to switch from our hotel to a new one but there was a cancellation and we don't have to go!!!

Emma is having her last test of the day.... then we are off till Monday!

Go Abby and Storm!

Today Abigail road her 2 year old horse storm at the fair in her colt to maturity project.  She was awarded  the grand champion ribbon.
So proud of her and all the hard work she has put in over the last 2 years.  Also a special thanks to all the people who have helped with this project. 

A Day of Rest

We are about done for today.  Just waiting on a subscription.  Once we pick it up we will be able to be done until Friday morning.  We are looking forward to a day with no real plan.  Emma is getting tired.  The doctors and the tests wear her out pretty fast.

It has been so fun to hear about Abby and Craig's adventures at the fair today.  She has gotten one red ribbon and one blue ribbon.  So very proud of her hard work.

Missing the Fair

We are here.... supporting our local 4H.... we love you guys!!!

New Timeline

Our plans have changed a bit.  We have a few added appointments and tests and so we will be here until next week.  We should be heading home Tuesday afternoon.  Everything is going well and moving forward.  We are getting lots of answers and working towards a good recovery plan.

Thank you again to All of our faithfully prayers... you are keeping us afloat!

Counting Blessings

We have found in this journey that one of the frustrating parts has been that there is no hard fast answers.  Now we are here at Mayo and we see the others around us that have found answers.  Many of those answers have very hard and painful realities that follow.

We are still searching for answers and we know there is much work ahead for Emma and our family but we are seeing the many blessings in our situation.  The gift of a supportive family, friends, and community has been amazing.  The people who are supporting us through prayer and the continued blessing of no permanent problems is so overwhelming.

And so today we have been reminded to count our blessing and see how God is so graciously providing for each need as it comes.

G.I.

So... we are now scheduled for a scope and blood work.  Also some stomach biopseys to see what her stomach acid is doing to her lining.
Some of it will happen today... the scope will be Wed or Thursday morning.

Thanks Lola!

Thanks to a very a special physical therapist who did a console with us we feel so much better about the diagnosis of conversion.  Hope and answers can come from the most amazing places.  Thank you Lord for Miss Lola.

First Appointment

Things are going well with the appointments.  They believe what she has is conversion disorder.  We start in 1 hour to see specialists about the best way to deal with this disorder.

Ready or not....

Here we are!

OH...and we found huge corn!!!

We have arrived

 We are here.... so glad to be out of the car.  We are settling in and then we will take some time to go look around town a little.

We had a fun day today and tomorrow the hard work of doctoring will be upon us.

We miss home, but we are very thankful for this opportunity to get to the bottom of Emma's issues.

Mall of America

We spent 5 hours at the Mall of America.  We shopped till we dropped!  Mostly we walked... A LOT!

We walked each of the 4 floors and also sent through the amusement park.  Fun time together.

Sunday

We are up.... like the beautiful sunshine!!!  Emma is refusing me let me borrow her toothbrush and mine is in the van.  I even used the "I gave birth to you" line... she does not care!

We are about 100 miles from Rochester.  This morning we will have breakfast, go to the Mall of America, get tired of being around too many people, and then land in Rochester.

MN is beautiful.  We are so used to a land of evergreen trees and all of these deciduous trees are beautiful.  Emma keeps telling me that we are driving through the enchanted forest!

Just wanted to take a moment to thank all of you for praying for us.  We need it more than ever.  We are both excited and nervous to be at Mayo.  We know that all is in God's hands.

forgot 2 important stops

Largest Holstein in the world....




and.....



Largest Sandcrane in the world!!!!

Minneapolis... finally!

We finally made it to Minnesota.

Then we went to dinner and Emma had the worlds tinniest pie....

 

 

I do believe that we have had enough of driving for one day!!!

Took us 4 tries and a LOT of backtracking to get to a hotel.  They had a room even though there is world cup (little girl) soccer in town.


We are now in our room and NOT going to leave!!  Too many people.


We plan to go to bed... get up... have breakfast... hit the Mall of America... then we will head to Rochester.

All in all, it was a good day.  Missing Craig and Abby!!!

512 miles to go

Road trip

Tomorrow

Emma and I are packed and ready.  The oil has been changed.  The fair has been planned for.  Everything seems to be as in place as it can be.

Watch out Mayo... here we come!!

One Week

We have 1 week.  One week to have everyone ready for NEXT week.  We are cleaning, mowing doing laundry, finishing up last minute projects, packing horse projects, finding all medical records, and the list goes on.

Abby has been faithfully riding her horse every day.  He is doing so well and I am so excited for her to ride at the fair.   She has put so much work in with Storm this year.  Colleen Shipp and Audrie McRae have helped her so much this year.  We are so thankful they have been willing to step in and lend us their "horse" sense!  Thank you both.

Emma has had a fairly uneventful last week and a half, which is always nice.  I have all of her medical records together and we are getting ready for the big trip.

Sunday I did bible study with the Jr. High and HS group and it was on Gods faithfulness.  I think God was speaking directly to me.  I have been reminded, even when I don't deserve it, that God is faithful.

We have been so blessed with family, friends, church family, and community that have stepped in to support us and to pray.  If I ever forget to tell you, thank you, and we love you all so much!

Brain work

And the start of a new week has begun!
Abigail is at church camp, and it is killing me.  All these "it gets easier" people have NO idea!! ;)
Emma and I head in today to Billings, she has an appointment with a Psychiatrist and a Psychologist.  Here brain is going to get a workout today!  Pray pray pray!!

ER Visit

We had a quick visit to the ER in Billings yesterday.  Emma has thrown up blood a few times in the last few weeks.  They checked to make sure she didn't need a transfusion and sent us home.  We will schedule an appointment with a gastroenterologist next week.  The guess is that it is a bleeding ulcer.

We had a fun visit with auntie Daph to pass the time.

End of a long week

Well.... lots of good news.  Emma played basketball last weekend for 3 days, then helped with a camp this week.  She also played basketball on Tuesday night at the Y.  She is learning to use her legs even when they are "asleep".  On Saturday her right leg started to fall asleep and she was still able to play through it Sunday.  Then Tuesday it began to switch to her left leg.  She played Tuesday night and helped with camp Wednesday morning.  She stared tripping over toes and didn't help for the rest of the week.  Thursday morning she was dragging left toes again.  She was better last night and is doing okay.  She often has a headache and has to work through that as well.  She keeps a good attitude and that always helps deal with the situation. 

We have so many things to be thankful for.  As we look at our lives we continue to see how the Lord has blessed us beyond measure.  Thank you for all who are praying for us.

Scheduled at MAYO

We are headed to MAYO July 14-16th.  Emma and I will be headed there together and Abby and Craig will be here going through fair here with Abby's horse.

For the next few weeks we are here going to specialists and doing basketball and volleyball. 

Craig is finishing up overhaul. 

Don't throw that away!

That moment when you realize how amazing your child really is.  Abigail watched a few videos and has decided to pull this lawnmower engine and make something out of it.

You mean you want to pull apart  an engine instead of sitting inside and watching to..... YES!!!

What in the world is going on?!

I am sure that is the question of the day!  Haven't said much lately because there is really not much to say.

Emma is about the same.  Getting along just fine, still having a few issues is things being weak or falling asleep but nothing that is slowing her down much.  She is at open gym basketball tonight and I always love to see that!

We are waiting on appointment at Mayo clinic and in the mean time Grandpa Bill helped us to find a Doctor in Spokane Washington who specializes in cases similar to Emma's.  I faxed all of her stuff to that doctor and now we are once again waiting to hear.  We just keep praying that God will put us exactly where he needs us to be to get the best answers and care.

Abby is riding her horse like a crazy person.  Can't believe how well she is doing with him, they are an amazing pair.

Craig is in overhaul and so that makes for long weeks for him.  We always look forward to his days off and they are far between and very few this time of year.

I just wanted to also say how much we appreciate everyone praying.  We also continue to pray that God will work in our lives to keep us in a close relationship with Him.  We pray that for ourselves and for our girls. 

Love you all!

A New Week

Today Emma is back at school with NO wheelchair and NO crutches.  It is a good week.  Always good to be up on your feet!!

Walk and Roll Baby!!!!

2014 Women's Run

We had such a great time and Emma finished by walking herself over the finish line.  Was a great day!

Praise God!

Today Emma woke up determined to walk.  She worked very hard in PT and went to school on crutches this morning.  She is making huge improvements each day.  We are thanking the Lord greatly for His blessings.

Progress

Today we had right leg lifts without stimulation, left leg lifts with stimulations and even some progress in walking with a walker!!  Praise the Lord!!

Slow but sure

Each day in PT Emma is making progress.  it seems really show, but it is improvement.  God is in control, even of the timing of her improved walking.

Small Improvements

Today we did have some improvement at PT.  Emma was able to engage her quads without stimulation and so that is a good thing.  Our plan... one day at a time!

PT progress

There was definitely more reaction on the right side than the left.  Not a huge improvement but she was able to do a small muscle reaction when it was stimulated.  We go again in the morning.

PT

We are in for Physical Therapy today at noon.  They will try the e-stim to see if it helps her brain messages to connect to her legs. 

The Lord's Day

Today is much the same.  Emma is still unable to use her legs.  She can use them a little to help hold herself up when you transfer her to the couch or back to the wheelchair.

In church today we sang two songs that reflected well where we are today.

Count your blessings name them one by one.   Count your blessings see what God has done.
When we look, we see the blessing and the way God is at work we are reminded once again that God is in control and that he has a plan.  He is growing our family closer to Himself and there is no greater blessing.

Love lifted me.  Love lifted me.  When nothing else could help, Love lifted me.
The love of Jesus is truly what is sustaining us during this time.  We see his love in so many ways and there is no end to how blessed we are.

So on this Lord's Day we are thankful for the blessing we have and we are blessed with grace beyond measure as we see the love of the Lord in all that is happening in our lives.

A bit more info

Not sure how to start this one... a little more detail from yesterday.  He, the Dr, is now using the word conversion.  My understanding is that it refers to how her brain passes messages to her muscles... it isnt getting messages through.  They have upped her headache meds a little but there is no real explanation.

Backstory

On January 21st of this year Emma had stroke like symptoms on her left side.  After spending a night in icu and many tests we were sent home with instructions to call in a week if she still couldn't feel her left leg.  As you can imagine I lasted about 30 seconds with that information.
I began calling and contacted a local physical therapist.  If I ever forget to mention it, Jennie is AMAZING.  After a week of no feeling in the left leg we saw a neurologist.  Emma was diagnosed with hemipeligic migraines.
Over the next several months this has seemed like a likely diagnosis.  Her  headaches continued and she would have parts of her left side "fall asleep" 3 to 4 times per week.
Over the last week this has started to present differently.  On Tuesday a similar event happened with stroke like symptoms on her right side.  Within the course of the day her right arm became useable but it moved into her left leg.
At this point she is primarily in a wheelchair and unable to use her legs.

Blond Joke Anyone?

And....

Everyone had to get in on the action

Sometimes a change is needed

What will happen?!

Dr. results

Today we didn't learn anything new   He thinks that her brain is just blocking the connection with her muscles.  It is likely due to stress.  We sent in some preliminary information to Mayo Clinic.  We should hear from them next week.

Neurology

Here we are... waiting for our appointment

Post #1

I will do my best to keep you updated on Emma's progress here.  Today we see Dr. Mosser again and so we will see how that goes.  I will update you as we know.  Right now, Emma is still in a wheelchair and unable to hold her own weight with her legs.  She has a great attitude and for that I am thankful.