Chillin' @ the guest house...

So currently, I', sitting in the lobby at the Cleveland Clinic Guest House. Why the lobby? Good question, WiFi in downstairs, dial-up in the rooms. The speed made it worth the walk.

I know, you don't really care. Reguardless, tonight we rest, tomorrow, we get crazy. I'll put up some pics and what not later. For now my friends, goodnight. I will get back intouch once settled.

Tony

PS. Dave, with Cutler, you might have a legitimate team this year.

T-22

Count down to insanity. So here we go. Amanda's in the other room putting makup on. I'm on the computer putting out the last blog from my home PC. Shortly, We'll be packing all of our well pack and planed bags into the car and hitting the road. It's 10 O'colck. 22 hours till the first appointment of the whole fiasco.

I was talking to a several friends through the course of yesterday, and told him I was sort of in "the calm before the storm". now that we're about to get into the car, I feel a bit more stormy. Still calm, but stormy. Maybe It's an "eye of the storm" sort of thing. I dunno.

Anyway, I wanted to post this to say "We're off!" & again "Please pray". Everything is taken care of. Ella is Happily w/ G-ma & G-pa, the dog is with friends, the hose is taken care of(even clean), and we're ahead of schedule. Most importantly, we're rolling with God. Before I get to reflective, I'm gonna go.



Type at cha later,
Tony

Wow...

Has it really been two weeks since I've updated on here? I suppose so. Oh well, sorry. What can I tell you about the last to weeks? Man... It's been quite a ride. To tell you the truth not that much has happened, but just the enormity of what is happening and how close we're getting is starting to catch up to us. Along with that, just the ordinary pressures and strains of life, love, and godliness start to become pretty taxing. Ah well... Let it begin!

So back to Today, August the 26th. I've recently spoken with our scheduler at Cleveland. Asked her directly, "Do you still have us down for an 8/31 admission?".
And she does. "Are there any shortages I need to be aware of that could be a problem?". Believe it or not, she wanted to know why I asked. Of course, I explained the previous failure in a respectful manor. She assures me there's nothing to worry about. And yet, 5 days out, I worry. Something tells me this just wont be as smooth as it needs to be.
We'll see.

So we're starting to get ready for our "vacation". have people lined up for various things. Trying to meet with people as I can before I go. I feel like I'm running out of time. So, as this week comes to a close, if I don't manage to get you, I'm sorry.
I can think of a lot of folks that I really wanted to get in touch with before I left, but just sort of ran out of time. I don't know why, but I didn't see this time shortage coming.

This week, Ella is a major focus for Amanda and I. Last night we took her to the mall and just sort of let her do her own shopping. Which means we went to a little girls jewelry store, a candy shop, and we did a little shopping for a new outfit. Not much. Of course Dinner, and a Cinnabon as well. 'Cause there just wasn't enough sugar in the candy. Today... Chuck E. Cheese. "Where a kid can be a kid". And, where an adult can sit and have a very average cup of coffee if you go early enough. But she had a blast and we got to see some friends. Tomorrow night, dinner with Mimi (my mother) and who knows what else.

While I'm on the topic of Ella, We sent her heart monitor back! We had it for two months, and could never find an episode of her SVT. We asked frequently and I don't think she had any that we just didn't catch. So, that's awesome. We're probably done with that. Doc, didn't want to see her or have her take anything. Just sent the stupid monitor back. Great. Thank ya Jesus, and thank you all for your prayers.

More good news, while I'm at it. I think last post I said I was improving with my seizures. I seem to have kept that going. I haven't had any in... well probably since my last post. I think that's pretty good. I'll take it, and it does make it easier to think clearly and make rational decisions in these coming weeks.

Well I should post more often. It looks lik I ramble on if I wait too long.
I'll save the rest for later.

Tony

Whaz-up which-U

So I had several people ask over the last few days, and I'll tell you. "I'm doing alright." That's not your standard "Pavlovian" response greeting/answer.

Male 1: Hey man, How ya doin'?
Male 2: Fine. How 'bout you?
Male 1: Ah, you know, I'm doin' alright.

How 'bout some tunes?



Not at all, In fact "alright" is an improvement over the last few weeks to be blunt. The last few weeks have been rough and I've counted my weeks in good nights as opposed to bad ones. However, this week we seem to be making a turn around. I've put a small string of seizure -free nights together, and the the nights that aren't, seem to be lighter. It's a good thing. So while I can't tell you that I've been miraculously healed, I feel as thought I'm improving.

With that in mind, I begin to become cautiously optimistic for the future and for Cleveland. Now that I have some control over my evenings/weeks it seems easier to get through this waiting period. 2.5 weeks isn't as daunting as it was before. A good thing.

A good example:
We were at a friends party for her 1 year-old. While there, we made plans to hope in the car the next day and go to Holiday World. That's pretty cool. Perhaps your family is spontaneous and this seems small, but this never happens around our place.
Regardless, we did it. It was exhausting, but an absolute blast! Ella will probably ask to go every weekend. So much fun. If you're an FB person than maybe you've seen photos, if not, here you go.

So, where was I? Oh yes... doin' alright.
I want to let you all know that I am in fact doin' alright. I could be better, but so could everyone else. So once again, I solicit your prayers, and am thankful for all the support offered/given.

I'll write you soon.
Tony

Hello All

A friend of mine recently reminded me that I haven't posted in a while, so here goes. I don't really have a ton of changes in the last week and a half. We're still hoping for the dilantin increase to take a more solid effect than it is. It's sort of taking it's own sweet time. Not sure if it's going to work or not. The tentative date for admission is still 8/31/09. I'm hoping that that stays the case.

If it changes, I dunno. I may be upset, I may not give a rats... I think it just depends on how it happens and the what's going on at the time. Amanda tells me that she is "beyond stressed". She has now arrived at "just weary". I think that's a good way to put it. Stress implies there is something to be done. We, on the other hand, can only go through the motions until something happens. That sounds really depressing. I don't mean it to be. I'm just trying to explain us.

Today is Ella's last day of Summer Care. She starts her regular school year on Tuesday. A lot of her friends will be coming back so that will be nice. She is very excited. She'll be in Pre-K and I went to school with her teacher from grade school through high school. That's kinda cool. Ella is still just as crazy as ever. She's a lot of fun to spend time with.

Along with everyone else in central and southern Indiana, we got some storms yesterday. So, I got to spend yesterday evening doing some lumberjacking. I don't mind actually. I like slicing and dicing trees, and I want to get rid of that tree anyway. Now, stacking and binding so the trash guy picks it up, not as much fun.

The height of the tree used to be about 10' above the tallest branch in the picture. Of course, I put Ella(4yrs. 40in.) in the picture for some perspective. I the main trunk of the tree just cracked. I'm certainly glad it fell away from the house. That could have been a real mess.

There are more pics on Face book if you're interested. Anyway, I think I'm going to go make a meatloaf now. That's right ladies, he cook, he cleans, he lumberjacks. He's spoken for! ...and unemployed. Isn't that the way it goes.

Take care all,
Tony