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!!!!