Introductions...

This is my first post to this blog, I'm writing it to keep a record for myself on our new journeys as well as to keep family and friends updated on our lives.

Since I graduated high school, my life has been all about adjustments. Adjusting to a new normal. After I graduated, I met and fell in love with Josh. My first adjustment was adjusting to being with someone who was in the military. And far away. The military in itself was a huge adjustment. Adjusting to Base, adjusting to the uniforms, adjusting to the whole lifestyle that the military entails. The next adjustment was adjusting to being married, and still being far away from my husband. After that, it was adjusting to living in a new (BIG) city, 2300 miles away from the only place I had ever known. Then, it was adjusting to Underway periods, and being on my own. Another huge adjustment followed that, Deployment. And even when Deployment was done, it was back to adjusting to being together again.

When Josh decided to get out of the Navy, we made the move to Texas. Adjusting to another new state, adjusting to civilian life. Not long after that, we found out we were pregnant with Emma. Adjusting to being pregnant. After Emma was born, adjusting to being a family of three, adjusting to no sleep.

When Emma was 5 months old, we moved back to Michigan, deciding that it was to hard to live away from family. Adjusting to living with the In-laws. Adjusting to being back to my hometown. Adjusting to the various jobs Josh was able to get. We were just about to move out, and get our own place, when Josh lost his job. Adjusting to unemployment. Then, Josh made the decision to get in shape (lost 120lbs, for the record) and go back into the Navy. Another Adjustment, realizing this time that it would be completley different because we had Emma. 2 days before Emma turned 2 we discovered we were pregnant with Olivia. Adjusting to being pregnant with our second, and the likely hood that we would be moving across the country before she was born.

The Navy turned Josh down, so he went to see the Army Recruiter. Within 2 weeks of him talking to the recruiter, Josh had orders and a date to leave for WTC and AIT. Adjusting to the Army instead of the Navy. His orders weren't for 6 months down the road, so thankfully we didn't have to move while pregnant with Olivia.

Then, Olivia was born, and it was adjusting to life with two small children. What an amazing adjustment that was! Second only to the next adjustment. I quit my job of 8 years to be a stay at home mom, before Josh left for training so that they would have some sense of normalcy in a time of many adjustments.

Josh left in April for training, and we adjusted to being away from each other. I adjusted to being somewhat of a single parent. Thankfully, we were still living with my in-laws and they were able to help with the many, many. many health issues that reared there ugly head while Josh was gone.

Josh finished training in August and came home. We moved across country to Georgia Adjusting to life on an Army Post, adjusting to a new state, and the biggest, scariest adjustment yet.

Starting in May of 2010 I started noticing Emma was having "episodes" where she would stand still. sometimes shake, and look like she was going to pass out. The started happening more and more, and at first I chalked it up to her having low blood sugar because she is not an eater. She's a grazer. But then I started tracking them, and they had no correlation to when she would eat. She would eat a huge meal and still have them. So I started getting more and more concerned.

Being in the midst of a move, it didn't get Emma into the doctor as soon as I should of. 2 weeks after we moved to Georgia, I couldn't ignore it anymore, so I scheduled her an appointment with a Doctor on Post. I took her in, described the episodes to her, and that was the first time I heard the word Epilepsy, or Seizure. She was referring her to a Neurologist to rule out Seizures or Epilepsy. Whoa. Talk about a blow to your mind frame. So while we waited to get the referral, I started tracking them more and more, realizing she would have 5 somedays, and 20 the next. I started reasearching Epilepsy, and found out that there are MANY different types. When she said seizures, I pictured Hollywood's depiction of them. A person on the floor convulsing. As I was researching I found about absence seizures. Almost a perfect description to what Emma was experiencing. 5 days after we saw the Doctor on post, still waiting on a referral, Emma had a particularly bad day. She was had about 10 "episodes" before lunch. She was laying on the chair, and I was talking to her except she wasn't answering, so I looked at her and her eyes had started to roll in the back of her head. That was one of the scariest things I have ever experienced. We took her to the Emergency Room on Post. The Dr in the ER called and got a rush on the referal. We were seeing the Neurologist the next day. So the next day, we went to Savannah, saw the Dr. and Emma had an EEG done. She didn't seem to mind it, we told her she got to have cool buttons all over her head, and she'd get a flower when she was done. She fell asleep with me on the bed next to her. I kept watching the nurse who was doing it, and I felt Emma twitch and stroke her blanket in her sleep. I looked at the nurse, and knew in my heart that the EEG was confirming our worst nightmare. Emma was having seizures.

After the EEG, the Dr. came in and told me what I already knew. He just gave it a fancy name. Primary Generalized NonConvulsive Epilepsy. Regardless of what name you put on it, to me it doesn't matter. My sweet baby girl is having seizures. While I was thankful to have an answer, I felt overwhelmed. This was another new normal that we would have to adjust to.

As most people probably know, we are struggling with finding a Doctor that we like. The Doctor we initially saw, has not been good for us. He wont answer our questions, his office doesn't return our calls, and they tried telling us that Emmas adverse reaction to a new medication she was put on, was because of a stomach virus, and that we should continue the medication. I called back to speak with the Dr. and got another un helpful nurse, who said we could discontinue the medication, if I believed that that's what was causing her intense behavior. For those interested, she was up all night because she said her stomach was hurting. She would lay there and her arms would shake, have tremors, until 4 am. The next morning within 30 minutes of taking the 2nd dose of the medication, she was on the floor, throwing temper tantrums. She was biting, kicking and at one point, she was biting the door jam. Definatly from the medication.
So now, we're in the process of finding a different neurologist.

Another adjustment has just been brought to my attention as I'm writing this. Josh is being deployed. Just to Kuwait, for a month. Deciding now what to do. to stay here, or go back to Michigan to visit for a little while.