WOW!!!!!

Well we are back from Columbia and WOW! Dr. Lanigar will meet with the team of epileptic Drs. and they will decide our next plan of action. He wonders, only WONDERS, if Mitch should go back in the hospital and have his skull reopened and put probes, instead of the grids, in his brain and they can put them deeper and find another spot that they can take out to help him with his seizure activity. Mitch is pretty bummed and he feels like we are back at square one:( can't lie I am pretty sad-scared of this whole process too! Just hate seeing my baby so sad! Dr. Lanigar really feels like the Vagas Nerve Stimulator is an option but he is afraid with all his activity he still is having that it won't get rid of it all. He really isn't sure that if we do both of these options that it will get rid of them all but he thinks it will knock out alot of them. So it will be up to Dr. Tanaka, she has been inside his head once and she will know if any or all of this is possible. We go back to the see Dr. Lanigar on January 12th and until then we will just keep praying! We lost a very dear friend this week, that worried about Mitch, and I just know that she will have a talk with God and she will tell him "Enough, Mitch has had ENOUGH"!! Rest In Peace my dear friend, Barbara Jean, we Love and Miss you so much already and I can't wait for the day when I will see you again! Thank you all so much for the prayers and please just keep them coming for a while longer! Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving and are ready for Santa! Love you all so much!

Columbia Bound!

Well it's October 12th and Mitch and I have the car packed and ready to go to University of Missouri Hospital for a week stay! We are ready to tackle whatever they throw at us and we know we have Lots of support with all of you and that helps us tons. We will know when we leave the hospital if he will have the Vagus Nerve Stimulation device or not, so that is a blessing and we are so ready for Mitch to feel better. He is kinda nervous about the testing because he is afraid with the Blue October we are in, that he may have a few more seizures and his blood pressure may be alittle HIGH! He was VERY excited today with the game and he is even more excited for Wednesday's game. He has his Royal Prayer Shawl, His Royal blanket, thanks Grandma Susie and Papa Jerry, a new Royals sign, thanks to Kayse Wiederholt, and all his gear packed and ready to go. Now if the Men in Blue can just finish this without making it such an exciting game and just go ahead and score 20 runs in the first inning, we would really appreciate it:)! I will update tomorrow when we are all settled in and please if you are in Columbia area stop and chat with us!!! Well I need to get off to bed for a couple hours so I can get up and hit the highway to healing my baby. Thanks so much for all the continued prayers and for helping us get through this darn ride we are on. Please say a prayer for a dear friend of mine and her son as their momma-grandma passed away yesterday, They miss her terribly! She LOVED the Royals and I just know she was chewing their butts, like the rest of us, and helped them win the game today. RIP Grandma Dorothy, I will miss all your beautiful crocheting you did for me and all the fun visits! Love to you all, Theresa

Six month checkup!

Well Mitch had his six month checkup today with Dr. Tanaka! She is an awesome Dr. and we absolutely LOVE her. She walked in the room with a great big smile on her face and looked right at Mitch and said, "SO Mitch, how's that Donkey Brain doing?" We just all cracked up and she told us she has had alot of fun with the Donkey Brain certificate that she made him and she even uses it in her classes:)! She proceeded on to tell us that she has already talked to Dr. Lanigar and she has seen his EEG so she knows all about the activity. The plan didn't change any and Mitch will enter the hospital on October 13th and she said plan to stay a week but she is sure that his "Donkey Brain" will get us out of their sooner than that! She will come see us in the hospital and IF Mitch needs the device than she will set it up then and she will be the one doing it, which made us happy! Mitch wasn't real excited about another surgery but she told him that it was an outpatient thing and he would only be at the hospital for a couple hours so that made it alittle better, I hope!!! Thank you all for all the continued prayers, we really do appreciate them! Love you all, David, Theresa and Mitch

Home again!

Well we made it home again safely from another trip to Columbia! I have a saying above my bed that Dave's Aunt Aggie gave me and it says "God doesn't give me anything that I can't handle, I just wish he didn't trust me so much! I look at it every morning before morning prayers and just pray!!! So yes we are on another roller coaster, Mitch had an EEG a couple months ago and it showed just what we thought, lots of activity is still going on in his brain. We told Dr. Lanigar about all the different spells Mitch has been having and how his arm continues to go up and down and how he isn't sleeping as good as he was and the list goes on and on! Dr. Lanigar does feel like the surgery has helped some but he also feels like there is more we can do. He said that his activity comes from so far deep down that they couldn't get to it and now it is making its way back to the top. So our plan now is on October 13th he will be admitted to University of Missouri Hospital for 3-7 days and have the extended EEG again where they can tell exactly what is going on and where all the activity is located and then depending on that he will get a device, kinda like my pacemaker, called VNS Therapy (Vagus Nerve Stimulation) and this would zap activity before it gets started. The way we understand it is that it would zap every 3 minutes and it will take a year to get it set up correctly. It is placed under his skin on his chest and the wires go up to the neck! We wondered why they didn't do this in the first place but my very smart Doctor cousin thought it was because he was having so many seizures the device couldn't stop them all but now there aren't as many and this would be a wonderful device to have. So for right now we will continue taking all the medicine that he has been taking and he really doesn't want to add anything to it and then hopefully he can get this device and then they would ween him off if possible. Mitch and us, were pretty down after the appointment but hey they aren't giving up on him and they continue to have a plan to make him feel better, so it's time to buck it up and find that smile and know that God has a plan and is helping us through all of this. I am still doing good, I am very sad that one of my very best male friends from work passed away suddenly early Monday morning. He was my personal maintenance man and I admired him so much. It breaks my heart to know that his family will miss him so much but he has a Grandson that was waiting for him when he went through heavens gate and I am just so happy that they are together again! Love you so much Mr. Wilson and I can't wait to meet up with you again!!! Thanks so very much for the continued prayers, you will never know how much they mean to us. Theresa

Summer is coming to an end:(!!!

Well Summer is coming to an end and the school year is about ready to start and NOPE I'm not ready for that!!!! Mitch is hanging in there and getting ready to move back to his apartment! He is pretty excited to start his Senior year and I am so proud of him for sticking in there and he is going to Graduate......sometime but no hurry! We are very anxious for his upcoming appointment next week in Columbia. He still isn't feeling the best but I still think better than he was! He is VERY proud of the Royals and he said he has waited a VERY long time for them to be this good. I was going through his school pictures and he had a Royals shirt on in 5 of his 12 years, I'm pretty sure he would dress after I left for work cause I remember MAKING him change his clothes many times because that is all he wore, believe me, most of the shirts got very ratty:), now that is pretty much all he wears again!! We hope to make it to a couple more games before the season ends but I'm pretty sure they are all about sold out now, CRAZY!! So thank you Royal's for another awesome year!!!!!!!! I am doing really good! I got my pacemaker with defibrillator and have gotten along great. We took a very relaxing vacation with some family and I did absolutely nothing on it! It was wonderful sitting by a pool for five days!! I still have to take it easy for a couple more weeks but all in all I feel good! Thanks so much to my family and friends for all you have done to help me through this, I couldn't have been so relaxed without you all. I go back on August 7th and hope that all is well and I can get released to do whatever! Hope you all are well and had a great summer and ready for it to be over cause it is going to be real soon!!! Thanks so very much for the continued prayers and all the message we get, you really will never know how much it all means to us!!! Love you all and God Bless you all, Theresa

Happy Fourth of July!!!

The crops are all in and the haying is beginning, thank you mother nature for stopping the showers for a bit so we could get this done, and medically things are going about the same here. Mitch has some good days and some not so good days but that is the way life is, I told him we all have good and bad days! I did call and get him an appointment for August 4th so hopefully they will give us some reassurance that everything is still on track! I will have my pacemaker, with defibrillator, put in on July 8th, it will be here before you know it. We are going to the lake on July 19-24 and we are really looking forward to just some relaxation! Mitch hasn't decided if he wants to go or not but I sure hope he will. Hope you all are doing well and ready for summer to be over! Just can't believe that July 4th is here! Please have a safe and happy 4th and try to enjoy the rest of the summer before school starts! Thanks so much for checking in on us and hopefully I will update after my pacemaker is in place. Love you all Theresa

Wanting a Fairy Tale Ending!!!!

Sorry it has been so long since I have posted, I have no excuses:(! Tiffany and Joel had their Fairy Tale Wedding! It was absolutely beautiful and we never imagined it would be so fun!! I broke down at rehearsal, I just hated the fact that I was giving my little girl away, Fr. Allan told me it would be ok and I even asked him again the day of the wedding if I had to and he said "Yes, it will be ok" and it is:)! I would rather think I am just sharing her with Joel tho:)! The rehearsal supper was excellent, thanks to Joel's friend PT! The wedding day had every emotion possible in it but it was just so darn fun! Tiffany was the most beautiful bride I have ever seen, ok I may be prejudice, Joel was a handsome Prince and Gia and Quincy were just ADORABLE! Not sure how many of you know but we got Gia a dress for the wedding and then a month before the wedding Tiffany had her try on my First Communion dress, that my mom made me 44 years ago, and it fit her great and Tiff said this is what she will wear, Tears of joy!! She gets to wear the dress we got her for my cousins wedding and she is pretty excited about that! Thanks to everyone that helped, The decorations were absolutely amazing, Thanks to alot of wonderful ladies for making bows, signs and decorating, the church and reception hall were just beautiful, My brother and his crew did an amazing job on the wedding dinner it was DELICIOUS, The Beer Club Men did a great job making sure everyone had a drink in their hand at all times:), thanks to EVERYONE that helped with the kids, all the runners to keep everything stocked up, the trash emptied, Thanks Aunt Trude for the YUMMY chex mix and the DJ for helping us with our special dance, sorry if you missed it but you really didn't miss much there:), to the photographer that ran her butt off all day chasing after and capturing every moment of the day, we can't wait to see the pictures, thanks to all the BEAUTIFUL Girls and HANDSOME Men that stood up with Joel and Tiff and most importantly the clean up crew, WOW thank you thank you for all you that helped us get cleaned up that night and the next morning it was APPRECIATED so very much!!! David and I couldn't have had a better 28th Anniversary if we had tried! So that my friends was our Fairy Tale but.............now we are back to real life and things aren't going as good as we had hoped! Poor Mitch just hasn't been feeling as good as he was, we still feel like he is a hundred times better than he use to be but he is noticing a few more spells, he isn't sleeping as well as he was, his arm is doing the raising thing more often and he is more tired. I try to tell him that his Doctors tell us that we really need to give it til that magic year is up and let his brain heal before we know for sure but dang it he was doing so good and we thought he was sleeping much better and now slowly we feel like he is back stepping to his old ways:(! He isn't suppose to go back til September but I may give them a call just to make sure all this is still in the normal range! We are going to the Royals game on Thursday, Mitch's birthday, and we know he will be so excited and good for that! I don't want you to think that we are giving up on him not feeling good because I feel like his spells don't last very long and he really is still more happy than he has been in a long time, he is just disappointed that he doesn't feel as good as he did. I am waiting for my Doctor to call, hopefully today, and schedule for my pacemaker! I did go last week for a test and the technician reading said she was 99.9% sure that I did in fact need it! I am still waiting to hear if the Dr. thinks I do tho! I go for my yearly scans and checkup with my oncologist on Thursday, not sure why after 12 years but I do still get scaniety! I know all will be good but I do get a few more aches and pains during this month for some dumb reason!! The evil Beast has shown its ugly face again:( Another of my Favorite Uncle's found out on Tuesday after the wedding that he had cancer he had surgery on Wednesday and is now waiting to have a couple more test and then will get a plan of action going! David's classmate lost her long battle to the beast and we have a couple great friends that are still fighting their own battle! We pray so hard every day that a miracle will happen and that someone will come up with the magic pill to Kill the Beast!!!! Thank you all for EVERYTHING you do to make our life so great, I just love all the post, prayers, running into you all and you checking on us! We are so lucky to have you all in our lives, thanks for LOVING us! God Bless you all!!!

WEDDING MONTH, YIKES!!!!!

Well May is here we have 29 days til the wedding, we can do this:)! I feel like we have a lot to do yet but I thank God for all my family and friends cause without you all, I'm pretty sure Dave and I would have been in the nut house by now:)!! It really is fun to plan and I'm just sure there are things that we are forgetting but I guess that is just the way it is going to be! Mitch is all done with finals and back here. I just LOVE having him home and can't believe how happy he is, we had family pictures taken 3 years ago and I just can't believe the difference in his look, He just looks so much happier, I know it does help that the Men in Blue are really kicking some butt so far this season and Mitch got to go to his first game this year, last night and he was thrilled, Thanks a ton Kent and Alena!! He will also go next Wednesday and Thursday, so he is in heaven! I will post more on the Wednesday game next week but we have a huge surprise for him and he has no clue, can't wait!!! Thursday is School Day at the K and he got invited tonight to that and he hasn't quit smiling yet, Thanks so much Teresa Nielson, hope he don't drive you too crazy!!!! He is so lucky to have such an amazing support group and we are so lucky to have so many people LOVE our baby! Thank you all so very much! Well my appointment today went like I figured it would:(! I will meet with a surgeon on May 22nd and he will set up for me to get a pacemaker. I will wait until after wedding to get it. Was kinda hoping to get it before the wedding but that is ok! My Dr. told me I will feel TONS better after I get it and really it is no big deal anymore! Thank you all for your prayers, I really appreciate them ALL!!! Cancer has shown it's ugly face again to a good friend of ours and one of Dave's classmates! Please say a prayer for him and her and all the people that continue to get attacked by this ugly beast, It just breaks my heart!! God Bless you all and we cherish each of you and pray that God will protect you all! Love ya Theresa

Keep on Trucking!!!

Well it has been too long since I have posted anything, SORRY!!! Mitch is doing great and I am real excited for him to be done with school and back here for the summer! He has a final on Wednesday and then he will be done. He did end up having to take incomplete for two of his classes and he will finish them in the fall! He continues to feel good and seems to sleep better and just enjoy life more! We still haven't heard from his Dr. on the EEG he had so I guess we are hoping that means it is ok, he continues to have a few spells but nothing like he has had in the past, THANK YOU GOD!! He is all done with therapy and man did they spoil him! His last day he cooked a meal for them and they gave him a box FULL of goodies! He has even cooked for himself now a couple times and I told him this summer he has to cook one meal a week for us....we will see:)! We are very busy trying to get everything done for the wedding! It has been a blast getting ready for it and we can't wait for the day to get here. I go to the heart Dr. on Friday and if my number is still low then I will get a pace maker, so if you could just say a quick prayer that that goes well I would really appreciate it! We appreciate the continued prayers and Mitch appreciates all the compliments he gets on how well he looks! God Bless you all! Theresa

Easter Blessings!

Hope you all had a Great Easter Sunday like we did! Everyone that sees Mitch comments on how good he looks and let me tell you he really does. We did have a little scare at Mom's on Sunday but that was the first one we have noticed since we have been home. We think he just got hot and that happens quite often! We are just glad we wasn't in the hospital and hooked up to all the loud machines:), we must remember too that his brain is still healing even though he looks and acts totally different!!! We still haven't heard from his EEG but I really hope to this week! I just can't believe a year ago tonight is when he entered the hospital for the first time at University of Missouri and we found out all the craziness that was going on in Mitch's head. We know it has been a long and scary ride but it is one that we are proud to have you all on with us. Mitch is back in school and he seems to be doing pretty good with that, he is going to therapy two days a week and he is learning to cook! I am totally proud and amazed that he is doing it. BTW he has the BEST PT and OT a man could ask for and in a couple weeks he will cook them a meal and graduate from therapy again! Thank you So very much Michael and Susan, you two spoil our baby so much and we appreciate it! Tomorrow marks a year that one of my very favorite uncles went home to be with Jesus, Happy Angelversary Uncle PEEWEE, please say an extra prayer for my Aunt Cindy, Kevin, Chris, Roger, Vicki, Brain, Keith, Darrin and all their kids as I know it has been a very long hard year on them all. I love you all so much and will be saying extra prayers for you tomorrow, also a little baby girl here is fighting the beast and One of our very good friends got some terrible news so please say a prayer for her and her family, Cancer just SUCKS!!! The "ROYAL" Boys in Blue put on an awesome show today and that just made Mitch's Day! Keep up the good work and the American League Championship Rings are so darn neat!!! It's a GREAT day to be Royal!!! God Bless you all, Love ya, David, Theresa and Mitch

EEG Done!

We made another safe trip to Columbia and back home! Mitch had an EEG done, we won't find out the results for 10 days! It only took about 45 minutes so we are trying to decide if that is good, maybe they didn't see all the seizure activity they usually do, or bad maybe they didn't see much of a change and he still has lots of activity! His brain is still healing so, no matter what we find out we must remember that. We don't have anymore appointments in Columbia until Sept., so we told Mitch to behave himself til then. Mitch is still having an occasional arm seizure but they are nothing like before, only one ore two times up instead of 4 hours straight. We are so very proud of Mitch, he is doing absolutely fabulous. His attitude is so much more positive and he pretty much has a smile on his beautiful face all the time now. He is going to start back to school Monday! His professors are amazing and they are going to help him get all caught back up, he may need to do alot of work this summer but by golly he will do it!!! Thanks so very much for all the continued prayers, you will never know how much we appreciate them and how humbled we are to have them. We thank God everyday for all of you and the wonderful Drs. on Mitch's team, you all are amazing!! Love you all, David, Theresa and Mitch

AMAZING ROYAL BRAIN PICS! GRAPHIC MATERIAL INVOLVED!

FOR REAL...ROYAL BRAIN PICS AND THEY ARE AMAZING!  Mitchell says, "View at your own risk!"

What an amazing group of doctors that fell in love with my Godson!  God Bless them for transforming his life after many years of nasty seizures.  What you are about to view below is diagrams and pictures from Mitchell's doctors.  They absolutely bring me to tears!  And yes, as Trude shared...they are definitely graphic in nature so beware.  

Reminder, the resection (yes, you will see a picture of it below) was 1" X 1 1/2" X 1".

And finally, how cool that Drs. Tanaka and Lanigar took the time to create that special Donkey Brain certificate for Mitch?!?  It is now official and Mitch has proof to share with his crazy cousins! 

God is Great!  Submitted by Mitchell's Godmother

Bye Bye stitches!

Well we had another safe trip to Columbia and home! Dr. Tanaka was pleased with Mitch and thought he looked great! He got his stitches out and his head shaved so he is one happy camper! Thanks a TON to my wonderful cousin and her daughter, Vicki and Becca, for coming all the way from Kansas and riding with us to Columbia and then they are going to take me tomorrow to Kansas City to get my shot in eye and get back to Maryville in time to pick up Mitch from therapy! I really appreciate them spending so much time in the car just to get here and spend more time in the car with us:)! Love you both! Also thanks to my Aunt Cinday and Mom for hanging out with the kids today, I'm sure they kept you both on your toes:) and thanks to Aunt Trude for coming to hang out with them tomorrow, I Love and appreciate you all more than you will ever know!!! Mitch goes back to Columbia on the 26th for an EEG and then I pray we are done til Sept!! I told him there is a light now at the end of his tunnel and this part is about all done!!! Thank you all so much for the continued prayers you send us, wow I can't imagine where we would be without them!!! Love you all, David, Theresa and Mitchell

Life is Good!

We have had a pretty busy last couple of days:)! Mitch's appointment with Dr. Lanigar went great! He is very pleased with Mitch's progress and when he walked in the room he just shook his head and smiled at Mitch and said "Boy, you sure are a lucky boy"! He said that during the mapping test he just couldn't believe all the motor functions that Mitch has in places that it really shouldn't be, so I asked him if that is from the accident and everything rerouting? He said yea....kinda like that I guess:)! Dr. Lanigar just makes me smile, he is so darn smart and when he tries to talk at our level, I know we make him feel really dumb but let me tell you we are very glad to have such a smart Dr. on our side! He has smiled at us a couple times now and even laughed a couple times so I feel like he really does like us:)!I asked him if he would save us a trip and go ahead and take Mitch's stitches out but he thought that would be Dr. Tanaka's job! He does want to see Mitch in a couple weeks and have an EEG and then in 6 months he will have another neuro syc test! We go back to Dr. Tanaka on Monday to have the stitches removed and Mitch is really ready for them to be gone, he is itching so darn bad! We did go watch a couple 3 A games on Friday afternoon and that was fun, wish we could have seen the 1 A games but maybe next year. We didn't get home very early Friday night and I haven't felt the best so that is why I haven't been on here, seems like I meet myself coming and going but I know that in time it will all be better. We did get to watch the Bearcat men play ball at Mary's tonight, thanks Mary for inviting Mitch down and letting us stay:), and they won so they play again tomorrow night. Mitch really enjoys watching them play, and win! Thanks so much for all the continued thoughts and prayers sent our way. We appreciate them more than you will ever know. Mitch's appointment is early Monday so hopefully I will be able to update this then. Hope you all have a GREAT Sunday and enjoy the weather. Love you all, Theresa

Lazy Day!

Mitch has been pretty tired so I let him sleep in and he really didn't do much of his therapy today but watch out tomorrow:)! Tomorrow will be an exausting trip for him I'm sure but I can't wait for Dr. Lanigar to see him! He just looks so darn good, my mom said he just glows now and he really does! Dave, him and I watched a movie last night and we had seen it 2 or 3 times before but he just laughed so hard and Dave asked me later if I thought that he remembered seeing it before or he just feels so much better that he can now laugh? Well I really think that he does feel so much better cause he can about quote the whole movie:)! You all never cease to amaze me and we will never get you thanked enough for all you have done for us! Mitch got a Hyvee gift card in the mail today, from a friend, and he said now we can get my cabinets and freezer filled! Thanks friend, we are just overwhelmed with all the generosity we have recieved! We thank God for you ALL everyday and we know we are so darn lucky to have you all in our corner!! God Bless you all, Dave, Theresa and Mitchell

"ROYAL" DAY!!

Mitch had another great day of therapy! He continues to do everything they have him do and we are so pleased with his progress! We picked up the mail before we left for therapy and he had a pretty special gift from the Royals! He received a hat, a shirt, signed baseball from James Shields and 4 tickets to a game of his choice! He has been looking all afternoon for that perfect game to go to! He is thrilled to say the least! He contiues to get a lot of cards and it just makes us all feel good to know that you all care so much about him so thank you, thank you!!! Tomorrow is a day of rest for Mitch, Mom has an eye Dr. appointment in St. Joe so him and I will do therapy in the morning before I leave and then he can sleep til I get home and then we will do more therapy! Friday we go to Columbia so we keep the roads warm every direction possible:)! Thanks so much for all the prayers and for just plain loving us so much!!!! Love you all, Dave, Theresa and Mitchell

Smooth Sailing!!

Sorry it has been so long since I last updated....no news is good news here:)!! We have been pretty busy doing wedding planning and Mitch has had a lot of company, it has been GREAT!!! Mitch continues to do therapy 2 times a week at St. Francis Rehab and then Dave and I do it the rest of the time! They told us today that his balance is continuing to improve but he really needs to work on his walking, he just isn't quite steady enough yet! He has a brace for his hand that he wears as much as he can stand and he really does good with that! He is so ready for the stitches to be removed, his poor head is itching so bad, He came in our room at 1 am and was ready for some benadryl and that does seem to help! We go back to Columbia on Friday the 13th and see Dr. Lanigar and I think he will set him up to come to the hospital and do another study where they put the electrodes on his head and watch for the seizure activity! We think that will be in July or August but not sure. We just can't believe the difference in Mitch, He acts so much better,I know he feels so much better and he is sleeping better so we believe that the activity is minimal to none! On Monday the 16th we see Dr. Tanaka and she will remove his stitches, I just can't wait to hug that woman and thank her for making my baby feel better!!!! I hate to say anything but Mitch hasn't had any arm seizures since Friday the 6th! I just can't believe it, his brain still has alot of healing to do but man I feel it is working already!!! Thank you all sooooo much for the prayers, they are definatly working, visits, food and company. Please feel free to stop and just see this miracle of ours in person, if you get a chance! Love you all!! David, Theresa and Mitchell

HOME SWEET HOME!!!!

We made it home last night around 6 and Mom, Uncle Harv and Aunt Diane had a Wonderful dinner ready for us to eat with birthday cake for dessert. It was so amazing to have some real good home cooking, thank you guys so very much!!!! It was so awesome to walk in the house and Gia came running to me yelling MIMI, and of course when Quincy seen me he had that big smile on his face that just melts my heart, I got alot of hugs and kisses from them, they did remember me:)!! It just feels good to be home, I have alot of bags to unpack and alot of papers to get through but I just really didn't get much done today. I did get Mitch all set up with therapy so he will start that tomorrow! I still can't believe how good he is doing and I really think he does feel better, or he acts better! Mitch's arm is still doing its thing but we are trying not to let it get us down. He still claims to not be in any pain and he didn't want me to get the pain medicine filled, he just wants tylenol if needed but heck he hasn't even had any of that since Sunday night. He has continued to receive some pretty awesome gifts and cards, thank you all, you sure know how to put a smile on his face. We are not sure when he will get back in school but we plan to make a trip soon to visit his professors. Thank you all for the continued prayers, we really feel like they are helping us and being answered. Tiff and I now need to get some much needed bonding done and work on some wedding planning. God Bless you all and please stop to give Mitch some encouragement if you are in the area:)!

Birthday Blessings!

Happy Happy 52nd Birthday to the guy that "tries" to keep me sane!  Mitch and I don't know what kind of mind we would be in if we didn't have him here to keep us sane!  He may drive me over the edge alot but he sure knows how to get us back on top.  David have a great birthday and I sure hope we can be home in time for me to cook you up something to eat!  Love you to the Moon and Back!
Yep that is right....we are waiting for discharge papers to go home right now.  Mitch has done so good in the last 24 hours they just can't believe how much stronger he is!  I told them just telling him he may need to go to an in-care rehab got him off his butt and up and going strong!!! He does have a long way to go but that is just going to be mine and his new thing, we are going to have to do therapy twice a day and really it will be good for me too!!!!!  We did ask them if they thought in-care therapy could get him anymore stronger than he was before and they didn't think so, so we told them we really think we can do a good job with him at home and we will have him up and going very soon!  Granny Kate is a WONDERFUL therapist and I know she will be there to help us too!  I have alot of emotions running through me today, I can't believe my baby has had two pretty major surgeries in a week, I just can't believe that we are getting out of here 2 and 1/2 weeks earlier than they thought,&  I just can't believe all that he has had to go through in the last 13 and 1/2 years but I do know that NONE of this could have been done without the support of all of you!  We will NEVER be able to tell you all how much it means to us, we are so lucky to have you and I pray I can pay it forward and help you all one day, I just pray that it isn't because of something like this!  Well I think we are maybe about ready to get discharged so I will stop rambling!  Please feel free to come by our house and see Mitch anytime.  We love company and I'm sure Mom, him and I will be ready for a break:) THANK YOU ALL so much for helping us through this process and we pray that Mitch can now see a new light at the end of the tunnel.  We will follow up with Dr. Tanka in 2 weeks to get the stitches out and we will also see Dr. Lanigar in two weeks too. I did ask if they could get those appointments the same day and they said they would try but guess what, its not the end of the world if they can't:)!!  God Bless you all!!!!!  David, Theresa and Mitch

Moved

Well, we got moved outta ICU this afternoon and we are now on the 7th floor, green elevators, room 7E11.  Mitch is doing absolutely wonderful. His eyes are alittle more swollen today and maybe alittle black and blue but he is doing really good. They took the dressing off his head and he has went for 4 pretty long walks.  The nurses are pretty proud of how far he can go, Dave even reminded him to only get half tired so he could make it back to his room and he just kept going! We are so proud of him. He started therapy today and they wonder if Mitch would benefit any if he had some in care rehab, of course his insurance won't pay for out patient therapy:(!  We are not real thrilled about that but will see what the Dr. thinks in the morning, heck he has been laying in a bed for 11 days he has to be weak!  Again thanks so much for all the prayers and also to my cousin Carol Summa for bringing us a Royal Brain BIG cookie, it WAS delicious and also to Dave's Cousin LeAnne, Jesse, Montana, Boston and Arthur for stopping to see us today. It was so wonderful to see you all and Erma Mattson stopped today also and is letting Dave and I crash at her house tonight.  Yes, I'm leaving the hospital for a night, Mitch's new room isn't as big and he said he will sleep all night anyway so Dave thinks it is time for me to ween him, AGAIN!  I  just love the little boy so much!  So I guess we will see what tomorrow brings and go from there.  I did start to show Mitch some of the "ROYAL" post but I know there are more.  He was overwhelmed with all of them.  Thank you all so much for coming together for him and loving all of us so much!!!  Please continue the prayers and pray we make the right decision for Mitch.  Hope to post earlier tomorrow when we figure out what is going on.  God Bless you All!!!!

Exciting news!

Mitch had a wonderful night, he hasn't had any pain medicine since 7 pm last night.  The Doctors were just in and told him not to be too tough and if he needed it he needed to ask for it but he said his head really doesn't hurt that bad.  He is going to go for a MRI and as long as everything is where it is suppose to be then we get outta ICU today! They will start theraphy on him today and get him up to walk and sit in a chair, this will be the first time he is up since we got here 9 days ago!!  If everything goes good then there is a slim chance we can go home tomorrow but a big chance that we can go home Monday for sure.  I just can't believe it!  My gosh I packed for a month and we haven't even been here two weeks!!!!  We are so thankful that everything is continuing to go so well. I must confess I was disappointed last night that Mitch's arm started in on his arm seizures but they said really it is way to early to even worry about that because his brain now needs time to heal.  He hasn't had any since so I pray that it will stop now!  Thanks you so much for the continued prayers, we are so very greatful and thankful to have you all helping us through this scary time. We are excited that Dave is on his way here now and we are sad to send Tiffany on her way home, but I know she needs to go home and hug MY oops Her babies. I really miss them so very much but have got to talk to them on the phone. I am so thankful with all the help everyone has given in taking care of them.  Love you all so much and Here's to another "Royal" day!!!  God Bless You all!!  Theresa

WOW!!!!

WOW is all I can say!! It has been an emotional day today! Surgery went great Dr. Tanaka was so please with how well it went! She took a 1 inch wide, 1  1/2 inch long and 1 inch deep piece of brain! She even showed us a picture of the piece she took out, Wow!! Mitch has quite a bit of healing to do, it can take up to a year for it to heal completely! We haven't really asked about his restrictions yet but I don't think it will be too much! He is the strongest, bravest man I know and I'm so proud to call him mine:)!! Last night we received pizza for dinner from the Randy and Lori Stoll family and today we recieved hot box cookies from the Untiedt family! They were warm and amazing, thank you sooo much! We are very humbled by all the prayer warriors and supporters out there! It's hard to put it into words how grateful we are for all our wonderful friends and family! It's truly amazing how Mitch's story has spread so quickly! It spread all the way to Surprise Stadium in Arizona! While we were waiting for Mitch to come back to his room from recovery, we received a video message from a friend who was at Royal Training camp. It was a video from Greg Holland (Royals #1 relieve pitcher) sending his prayers and support to Mitch! Thanks so MUCH Adam Wiederholt, Mitch LOVED IT! Although he was a bit jealous you saw him in person! We can't believe the day has FINALLY come, it has been a complete whirlwind but definitely worth the wait! They will not start taking him off his medicine for at least a year and maybe even two! We will continue to pray that the surgery worked and Mitch's seizure slowly decrease and are eventually gone for GOOD!  God is good, St. John Lucci is good and all our prayer warriors are good! Our prayers are continually being answered and we are so thankful! We ENJOYED all the pictures today, it helped pass the day today! It brought tears to MOM'S eyes on more than one occasion. I know she is completely overwhelmed and glad the journey for her baby boy is almost over! It has been a long road for her and I know she thought this day would never come. Thanks again for EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!! We love you all!


P.S. If everything continues to go as good as it has we may be home by the end of the weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHOO HOOO!!!!!!!!!

From Mom and Tiff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

St. John Licci

Blessed John Licci (Giovanni Liccio)
Feast day: November 14
(Patron of Head Injuries)

Blessed John Licci is one of the longest living holy men of the Church. His 111 years on this earth in a small town near Palermo, Sicily, were filled with miracles. Born in 1400 to a poor farmer, John's mother died in childbirth. His life from then on, all 111 years, was a tale of miracles. His father had to work the fields, and was forced to leave the infant alone. The baby began crying, and a neighbor woman took him to her home to feed him. She laid the infant on the bed next to her paralyzed husband - and the man was instantly cured. The woman told John's father of the miracle but he was more concerned that she was meddling, and had taken his son without his permission. He took the child home to feed him As soon as the child was removed from the house, the neighbor's paralysis returned; when John was brought back in, the man was healed. Even John's father took this as a sign, and allowed the neighbors to care for John.

A precocious child John began reciting the Daily Offices before age 10. While on a trip to Palmero, Italy at age 15, John went to Confession in the church of Saint Zita of Lucca where his confession was heard by Blessed Peter Geremia who suggested John consider a religious life. John considered himself unworthy, but Peter pressed the matter, and John joined the Dominicans in 1415, and wore the habit for 96 years, the longest period known for any priest. He founded the Convent of Saint Zita in Caccamo, Italy. During the construction, workmen ran out of materials; the next day at dawn a large ox -drawn wagon arrived at the site. The driver unloaded a large quantity of stone, lime and sand - then promptly disappeared, leaving the oxen and wagon behind for the use of the convent. If roof beams were cut too short, John prayed over them, and they would stretch to fit. There were days when John had to miraculously multiply bread and wine to feed the workers. He also provided perpetual food for a poor widow and her six children. It simply appeared in her bread box before every meal. Once a young boy came to the construction site to watch his uncle set stones; the boy fell from a wall, and was killed; John prayed over him, and restored him to life and health.

While he did plenty of preaching in his 90+ years in the habit, he was best known for his miracles and good works. He cured at least three people whose heads had been crushed in accidents. Consequently, he has been designated the patron saint of head injuries. He was the Dominican Provincial of Sicily, as well as prior of his abbey. He died in 1511 of natural causes. 

Saint's Prayer

Loving God, you made Blessed John illustrious by a complete self-denial and the utmost zeal for charity that he might reveal the mystery of your love to the poor. By following his example may we seek to please you and aid our brothers and sisters in Christ. Blessed John Licci, healer and friend to the community, we beseech you to pray for these wounds to mend. Restore to health this soul who has so much to give to the world. By the grace of the Lord, pray for the restoration of this injury and steady the doctor's hand through the healing process. With God's blessing, we implore your help. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen. Blessed John, pray for us!

Special Thanks to: Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate

Artwork information: Unknown

Data entered by: Ed McCoy on 2011-12-1

Mitch received a St. John Licci medal today! He is patron saint of head injuries! How come I never knew that?  Thank you so much Frank, Susan Grispino and boys! I have it on and will put it on Mitch after surgery tomorrow! Above is a story and a prayer about St John, it is a good read if you have time!! So tomorrow will be a big day! They are going to remove the skull and take out  a 1 inch by 1 1/2 inch piece of brain!  We have specific prayer for our warriors, please pray that the skull isn't infected! They will do a test on it as soon as they take it to see if it is, if it happens to be infected then they will have to "preserve" it some how and they will close Mitch up without his skull and send him home with a helmet and then come back 6-8 weeks later and put the skull back in! Dr. Tanka is really nervous because Mitch has had an infection in his skull before so she just thinks it could be a possibility!  I know with all of you praying this won't be a problem! I also want you to pray for all the Drs. Working on Mitch, please let their hands be steady and do there magic on my baby boys head!!  Mitch received more mail today, thanks so much for thinking of him! Remember, tomorrow is Royal Blue day, wear some blue if you can to support Mitch!! What a very cool idea! Thanks for coming up with it Checkers, it really did make me cry!!  Mark, Bull, Adam and Tiff have joined us today and will be here for surgery tomorrow! Thank you guys so much for being so brave to stay with this basket case! I can't thank everyone for all you have done for us! God Bless you all and let's do this and let the healing begin!!!!

#FOREVER ROYAL

In honor of Mitch, a dedicated KC ROYAL fan, please join us and wear Royals attire or Royal Blue Friday, February 27th. Mitch is scheduled for his final surgery. The surgeon plans to remove the sections of his Royal Brain that are causing his seizures! Let's have some fun with this you prayer warriors, so post your Royal pics on FB or the blogspot! Hugs to all! Thanks for the support!

Submitted by Mitch's Godmother

More ups and downs!

It has been an ok day!  Mitch and I were very sad to tell my sister good bye but we knew she needed to get home and take care of our Godson who doesn't feel very good today:( Feel better soon Bo we love and miss you sooo much!  We were VERY excited to have a visit from Aunt Liz from St. Louis, and of course Trevor stoped to see us also, Thanks SO very much for coming and help us pass the time. Mitch also recieved some wonderful cards in the mail here today, We really appreciate it!!!  Poor Mitch showed many of his arm seizures today, they started at 1p.m. and They lasted about 4 hours and now he has his famous headache.  We also found out that we are about 99% sure that Mitch will have surgery on Friday, all four Doctors came in and said that surgery is Friday and Dr. Tanaka actually had him sign the consent so unless something really weird happens surgery will be Friday.  We are really hoping by this time next week we will be home but, there is alot of things that have to go just right for that to happen! Mitch's nurse told him tonight that he is very lucky, they have seen some be here up to three weeks without having a seizure and having to go back to operating room just because there is a big chance of infection in the skull since it isn't really all the way in place, so we have been thanking God that Mitch has showed them so many seizures in less than a week, and he is back on all of his seizure medicine.  I just can't wait for this to be over and I pray he feels like a new man! We have had many visitors and want to thank you all for stopping to see us! We miss Mary so much but know she is where she is needed! I plan to read everything on here tomorrow so thanks to all of you for the wonderful encourageing messages, we really do appreciate them all!  So tomorrow Dr. Lanigar will do the mapping of the brain to make sure that his motor functions aren't in the way where the seizures are coming from, if they are then Dr. Tanaka will have to do a disconnect instead of removal and she said it would be alittle more delicate. The mapping test takes about two hours and the surgery will be at least six hours, we will see, he has shocked them so far so I hope he keeps on shocking them.  Thanks again and God Bless you all!  Mitch and I really are doing great but wow we really miss Dave, Mark, Joel, Tiff, Gia and Quincy. We can't wait to get home and squeeze you all.  Love you all so much, Mimi or Theresa and Mitch

P.S. Big prayers and hugs to my cousins Darrell and Sheila and family as Sheila's mom passed away and to my cousins Brett and Dee and family as Brett's mom passed away. I wish I could be there to give you all hugs but please know that we are sending many prayers and hugs to you ALL!! Love ya

You gotta love this kid!

I've been struggling to face the fact I have to leave. It absolutely breaks my heart!

But,  look at the smile on that face! He's feeling so much better today and he's up to no good!  He cannot quit smiling...he just asked the neurosurgeon for a certificate to validate to a couple of his favorite cousins that he does NOT have a donkey brain! The doctor got so tickled and that was definitely a first for him!

You simply gotta love this kid! Submitted by Mitch's Godmother

What an emotional ride...

Hmmmm...today was seizure free as far as visible seizures are concerned (that's a good thing, right?!?).  Honestly, we are not sure that's so good.  Doctors are still looking for more seizure activity, so we pray they are getting all the activity they need.  Today, 2 of the 3 doctors indicated surgery is penciled in for Friday, this Friday, the 27th.  One doctor is still hesitant to make any promises about a surgery date and will make his final decision on Thursday.  He plans to do "mapping" on Thursday and look at all the documentation they have gathered from the brain grid.  We asked what the mapping would entail and he said it would be an interactive test with Mitch.  There is some concern that Mitch has motor function that is controlled in the same area of the brain as the areas causing the seizures.  The surgeon hopes to be able to remove the sections causing the seizures, but she voiced concern that she may only be able to "disconnect" those sections because of the risk of affecting his motor functionality.  There are no guarantees either way, but Mitch should experience more relief if the sections are removed instead of disconnected.  The doctors are also perplexed because some of Mitch's arm erections are not even registering on the brain grid as seizure activity. 

No visible seizures, but Mitch was very sleepy and lethargic today.  And let me tell you, he did not like it.  Yesterday, the doctors cut back on one (Kepra) of his four seizure meds and today they took all of the Kepra away. Mitch was begging to have his meds back so we know he was not feeling good at all.  Eventually, he was so sick to the point of nausea and vomiting.  It broke our hearts and we felt so bad for him...cannot even imagine how scary all of this is for him!  He definitely knows something is not right.

We are in the middle of hoping the second surgery could be scheduled for this Friday so this can be over soon, but praying they have the comprehensive results they need to get Mitch relief.  Another week and a half of watching Mitch go through this would be somewhat torturous for his Mom.  Hoping and praying for positive results! 

Mother Theresa is strong as always and remains positive (maybe even a little excited to think her baby may have surgery on Friday and get relief from the seizure activity he has endured for so many years).

I just have to throw in a little throw-back moment...As the nurse was checking Mitch's eyes today with the flashlight, I reminded him of the moment at Children's Mercy when his Dad and I were sitting with him and Mitch showed his first sign of responsiveness to a flashlight after nearly a week in a coma.  My heart leaped at that very moment! My heart leaped today...so very proud of my Godson!

Submitted by Mitch's Godmother

THANKS FOR EVERYTHING!  THE SUPPORT IS WONDERFUL! 

WE LOVE YOU!

Amazing man! Amazing technology!

These pics depict Mitch's spirit and his awesomeness to handle adversity! You can see the 5 leads coming out of his head that explode to 70 wires to monitor several sections of Mitch's brain. Finally you can see the monitor that shows the activity from the 70 wires and a perpetual video of Mitch they monitor 24/7.

So very thankful as we await results! 

Submitted by Mitch's Godmother

Not just yet...

OK, so we may have been a little excited to hear the message of possible surgery on Tuesday.  BUT...not just yet!  Both doctors (surgeon and neurologist) came in this morning and shared they are waiting for more comprehensive test results of the seizure activity before the second surgery.  Initially, feelings of disappointment, but we do see the blessing in disguise.  Thank God they will do everything in their power to ensure they know all the brain spots initiating the seizures before they perform the second surgery to remove those spots.  The doctors are getting consistent information for some of the seizure activity, but not all the seizure activity.  I don't know if any of you have witnessed Mitch's arm erections, but those are actually a type of seizure and the neurologist is awaiting more documentation from the arm seizures and other types.  The doctors do plan to take some of his seizure medicine away from him tonight (now that may change by tonight, but for now that is the plan).

At the end of the conversation, Theresa asked the doctor, "So, we are back to Friday for surgery?"  The doctor responded, "I cannot even promise Friday!"

Mitch and Sashy are resting now after a long night.

Pray for comprehensive test results!  Pray for Mitch!  Pray for Sashy (Theresa) to continue to support Mitch during those scary seizures this week.

Hug your loved ones!  Submitted by Mitch's Godmother

Seizures:(!

Wow, it has been an interesting night!! Dave, Joel and Tiff left at 4 this afternoon, at about 7:45 Mitch started in with a seizure, it scared me to death:(! We were just talking and all of a sudden I heard alarms going off and four nurses came running in and they were going back and forth trying to get him medicine, he just wouldn't come out of it! They gave him 6 mg of Ativan and that should knock him out but no he just kept seizing! Finally after 28 minutes he came out of it! I had text a classmate of mine from Texas who just happens to be in town visiting her son and she came right over, thanks Julie and also Vince and Joan were here and Dave had them come over because yes I was a basket case, thanks Joan and Vince!  The Dr on call came and talked to me and we discussed adding more medicine if it happened again, he said it probably wouldn't because of all the Ativan they had given him it should knock him out, I was like yea right do you know us very well? Ha ha and wouldn't you know it about 30 minutes later he had a seizure that last 18 minutes and then he had another that lasted 6 minutes! They haven't added more medicine yet and don't plan to unless he seizures last for longer than 30 minutes!  The Dr called in and said they already can see where all the seizures are coming from and the reason he started them tonight is because his brain has finally woke up after surgery, and there is no need to wait til Friday to do surgery so now we are going to meet with the team in the morning and surgery will be on Tuesday! They have never seen anyone have this much activity so soon after putting the grid in place, usually it takes two to three weeks to map out where they are coming from and then they take medicine away to make them have a seizure, but not my Mitch, they think he has seizures all the time and we just don't know it:(! Dave is coming back first thing in morning and I think Mary will come with him. I hate to do that to him but I need him here to make sure I am making all the right decisions!  We appreciate all the prayers and ask you to please continue them! I will let you know for sure the game plan after meeting tomorrow! I guess this is exactly what we wanted to happen I just was hoping it wouldn't be so scary! I try to remind myself that he is a grown man now but when I look at him and watch him go through this he looks just like my little baby:(! I pray he, and I, can get some rest tonight but who knows:(!  Love to you all,  Theresa

Doing good!

Mitch is doing better all the time! He really isn't very swollen and he seems to be more alert today! The Dr thinks he is doing great and they say usually patients that have this surgery would be more swollen and black and blue and he hardly has any! The next surgery shouldn't be as bad they said, so I guess we will see! David, Joel and Tiff will be going home today and we will sure miss them but we have had a lot of company which is fabulous!!! Thanks so much for all continued prayers, I just know that our angels are working hard to get them answered!! Mitch's neurologist will be here tomorrow and he should have a game plan for us! Mitch continue to show seizure activity which doesn't surprise them at all! There is a good chance that Mitch could have surgery Friday instead of waiting til March 6:)! The sooner the better!!! Thanks again and I will post more as I know it! God bless you all !!! Theresa

All hooked up and resting!!! Let the seizures begin!!!

Rough Night...better morning!

He had a pretty rough night last night, not much rest. He does seem more comfortable today. He has rested quite a bit this morning..finally!!! They are getting him all hooked up right now. It is very interesting watching them set it all up! Thanks for all the messages and the prayers we appreciate them and know they are working!! Love you all!!!

Will post another picture as soon as everything is hooked up!!!

God is great!!

God is GREAT, We are all cozy in NSICU room 20 with Mitch! He is pretty tired but darn he looks so good! He is a little swollen but he is his ornery self!  His address is University of Missouri Hospital 1 hospital road  Columbia, Missouri 65212 Mitchell Schmitz NSICU Rm. 20. There is 6 of us in the room now and they said wow you have a big family:) if they only knew!!! They haven't kicked any of us out yet and no temperature or gowns! We are beyond thrilled! I know the next surgery is the BIG one but I really thought this one would be more rough, I guess we will see what tomorrow brings:)! Again thanks
So much and I probably won't update this until tomorrow but I do hope to put a picture on soon! Love you all. Theresa

Prayers at work!!!

Wow, you all are amazing, prayers are answered!! He is all done, and she was so happy with how easy it ended up being! He has three different sections of grids on his brain and there are five leads coming out! The seizure activity won't show until tomorrow, that is when they hook it all up! So now the wait is on and she did say that if the activity goes like Dr. Lanigar thinks it will go then he will have surgery next Friday instead of waiting two weeks!! This all just amazes me and I thank God for all you smart doctors and nurses out there!!!  Thank you so much for all the distractions during surgery, if any of you need a good laffy taffy joke my wonder cousin, Vicki Adams, has sent us one every 15 minutes, I told her I hope she has a plenty for us all month!! Thanks also to my nephew Gilbert and his girlfriend Shanon for spending the day with us and getting us food!!! Love you all so much and we are so anxious to see Mitch and Joel and Tiff are on their way too!!!  God bless you all!!!! Theresa

Surgey has started!

We made it to the hospital at 5 and they quickly got us to the prep area where they had a little trouble getting IV in:(! They took him back at 5:30, we have a screen to watch and that is all the updates we will get!  I ask you all to pray hard for Mitch's Dr. We know she will do great and take very good care of him but we just want her to be get this done without any complications! I thought maybe this wouldn't be as hard as when he was so little but let me tell you....I have cried more last night and today than I have in a long time, dang it he is still my baby! Thanks so much for all the continued support! I will update when I can! God bless you all and please dear God and all of our special angels help guide Dr. Taunaka's steady hand as she does her magic on our baby!!! Theresa

P.S. we are on the fourth floor waiting room, take the orange elevators, Mitch is on 3rd floor and then he goes to recovery there and we won't see him til he gets to ICU:(!

We're off!!

Well we are loading the car and plan to leave here at 3!  We just can't believe that the time has come. We are very ready to get this behind us, Dave said it is time to do it, Mitch continues to have more and more seizures:(!  We know it will be a very long recovery but we also know we will have tons of help and prayers to get us through this!  I need to thank so many people, thanks to the methodist church in Albany-Stanberry for the beautiful "Royal" prayer shawl!  Mitch LOVES it and so do I, I will keep it with me tomorrow:) Thanks to so many for the movies, magazines, lip balm, all the donations and all the thoughts and prayers, even the silent ones I know we are getting!! We really appreciate them all and it seems so weird to have everything done that NEEDS done for the next month!  I told Dave I'm not really sure how we did it the day of Mitch's accident 13 and 1/2 years ago. We left on a moments notice and we were gone over a month so we both know we can do this because we have such wonder family and friends to help us.  I really appreciate all of you thinking we are Super Parents but believe me you would be too if the table was turned, I pray noone has to live this nightmare we are living!  Alot of you have asked for the address so I will post it tomorrow, I will also know more tomorrow about visitors, they have told us that he can have visitors but I didn't ask if there was a certain age you have to be or how many at a time can be back to see him, I do think that for Mitch's safety we will have to be gowned because of the chance of infection, I also think they may do your temperature to make sure you aren't sick.  Please feel free to facebook, call or text me anytime!!  Thanks so much for continuing on this journey with us, you will never know how much this means to all of us!  Love you all,  David, Theresa and Mitchell Schmitz   

P.S. If you see  my kids and grandbabies, give them a BIG hug and kiss from Mom or Mimi!  I will miss them soooo much, Thanks a Bunch Mary, Granny, Trude and anyone else that are helping with them while I'm away.  Love you all!!!!!!!!!!  

Home Again!!

Well we are home again!  Dr. Tanaka was just checking to make sure that Mitch's scalp had enough blood supply and skin to be able to close up after surgery.  She did have us go see a plastic surgeon and he thought there would be no problem with closing up for her but if she does have problems then he is on board to go help her close up.  We always learn something new each visit so now today she said they will take part of his skull out and after the grid is in place they will put the skull back over, screw it in and then close, that leaves less of a chance of infection.  She went over all his surgeries with us and I got pretty teary, I guess I have kinda shut out all he has been through up to now but with his first surgery he did get an infection and they had to remove his skull and replace with a prosthesis piece so she just thinks it will be best to go ahead and put his skull back in place!  She also told us that usually this kind of surgery would take 4 hours but she has blocked the whole day for Mitch because of all his prior surgeries, I told her take as long as she needs!!!  So in 11 days from now this will all be over, we just can't believe that the time is finally here!!  Dave did ask her if she could go ahead and do the surgery now so we didn't have to think about it anymore, if only that could of happened!!     Thanks so much for all the prayers, I know right now I am a basket case and I know your prayers are helping us all!! Love and Hugs to you all!!!

Quick trip back to Columbia!

Well since I can't sleep I thought I would get on here and let you know that we had an interesting call from Mitch's Dr.s nurse, that will do the surgery!  She wants to see him tomorrow and wanted us to have his head shaved;)! Hum, I told her nurse his head is always shaved and it was when she seen him last.  Her nurse also told us that she was going to call and see if she could get plastic surgeon to see us also and then she would call us right back and explain to us what was going on! Well........we haven't heard a thing from them since except for a phone call to confirm his appointment on Monday, so we are going tomorrow and see what the heck is going on!  I'm trying to think Good Thoughts but I must confess my mind is going all over the place and I'm just worried that something isn't right:(!  Mitch is starting to have some sleepless nights, he finally admitted that he is thinking about this procedure a lot, Well I totally understand because we are too! I hope tomorrow will give us some positive answers and more peace of mind so we are sure we are doing the right thing!  I will update this tomorrow so you will know what is going on!  Thanks for all the continued prayers, we sure need them!  

The Royal Brain blogspot is up and running!

Thanks to a lot of hard work from my favorite sister, you all can keep track of Mitch's progress right here!! I'm not a very fast learner and Thank God my Sister has LOTS of patience with me! I don't really have anything new to report but wanted to do this and make sure it is working right before we get to Columbia!! We will leave for Columbia on February 19^th and check into the hospital at 5 a.m. on the 20^th, that will be the surgery to remove a piece of his skull and place the grid on the part of the brain where all the seizure activity is coming from, they have warned us that this surgery will be a 6-8 hr long surgery but we hope to put updates on here as we get them. He will then go to ICU for 2 weeks and then on March 6^th he will go back to surgery and remove the grid and hopefully clip the nerves that are starting all the seizures, sounds simple right?, well it scares the BEJEBBERS out of us but we know we have a wonderful team of prayer warriors helping us get through this! Mitch has been a real trooper and he seems very confident and happy to think that someday soon, he will have comfort and maybe feel more normal, happy and just down right feel better. Since his accident in 2001 he just hasn't felt very good and we just thought that was the way it was going to be and he needed to buck it up and learn to live with it. Little did we know that 13 years later we would find all of this out and be ready to start one of the biggest, scariest journeys of our life. We really need to thank Dr. Golightly for knowing that something wasn't right last January when we went to him for a regular check up and Mitch started to have one of his many arm seizures that he has, he got us in very quick to Columbia and they knew right away something wasn't right with Mitch! We know we couldn't do this without all of you on our team, so THANK YOU, THANK YOU all for helping us through this roller coaster we are on. We Love you all very much and Thank God for you all everyday!! God Bless you ALL, David, Theresa, Mark, Joel, Tiffany, Gia, Quincy and Mitch

P.S. Thanks to all our family for helping us come up with the PERFECT name for Mitch's blog! We had quite a few good ones to choose from:)!!!!