Simply amazing...

God is still working His miracles and amazing me! We have been praying to find support for not only Sam and other survivors but also for us as caregivers and BAM! Yesterday I found a site (cant even remember where it was) that had a phone number on it for a TBi group in Dauphin. I called today and almost an hour later not only had a date and time for meetings (that meet together then split into survivor and caregiver groups) but also has an upcoming conference on TBI, and many people who are really adovating for more TBI awareness and support!!!!! Can you see me smiling!? ☺ I am so excited about this!  We still havent heard if tonights group is meeting and I think we will go to it to see what it is about too but there is now OPTIONS for where we want to go!
Myra (the Dauphin lady I spoke to) asked me if I would be interested in doing some phoning around our area to the local papers and MLA and when I did-- one of the papers will not only do a write up on it but wants to do a follow up on Sam to tie it all together! (this is the other local paper-- not the one that did the first write up on him!)
WOW-- God you are amazing and I love how you can take a prayer and not only answer it but knock me on my butt with that answer! You are an awesome God. Thank you so much for ALL the 'little' prayers you answered in the few phone calls I made today...

I am speechless .... I know-- I know -- I know... now you are amazed! lol

me? who.... whhhhaa?

Do you ever get that feeling like you should maybe take the kids to the doctor but you KNOW that as soon as you do they will be perfectly fine and you will be left looking like one of those mothers that has Munchausen by proxy!?  Some days (ok a lot of the time) I feel like this.... especially with Sam.
This morning as I was taking the kids to school he tells me that as they were going to visit my dad last night before air cadets, that when they walked in the PCH his vision went goofy on him. He had no peripheral vison (when the accident happened Samuel lost all peripheral vision in his left eye and we were told that he would have only about 50% of it when he was recovered--  but he not only gained it ALL back but his vision was improved to the point of not wearing his glasses anymore!). So his dad told him to sit down til it past. Not too sure how long this was for (they got home after 10pm and dennis was up late this morning and didnt get the chance to share the story yet). I asked if he hit his head at all or if anything happened at school that could account for this and sam said 'no'... My first reaction was a racing heart and stomach dropping and my mind raced that i should get him in to see the Dr. today... then I took a deep breath and told him that we need to remember to tell the Dr. of this at our next appt (in about 2 weeks). So I have made a note on Alice (my iPod) to be sure to let the doctor know about it (and i will interogate my husband tonight and get more of the story).
This upcoming Monday is our first visit to the TBI group support meeting in Brandon. To be honest I am nervous. I am scared that it will create an anxiety in Sam, or he will find things that others say there and use them to 'play us' (cuz lets be honest and not forget-- he is a teenager!☺) or that things that people will say may scare him and give him cause to worry. I have been praying for Sam and has really noticed changes in him. He is resting more, he is more open to talking to me about how things are going in his day and in his head (for the most part). I still havent spoken to the school yet (I have been away for 2 field trips inbetween having some lovely stomach bug... and Josh had the bug...)  So Monday morning I will call and speak to the Vice Principal and talk with her. Mostly just to check in that things are going as sam says they are for him at school.
I have been trying to get more awareness our there too about TBI. There is a serious lack of support and counselling for not only the survivor  but for the family too -- well in our area at least. (this group that we are going to with Sam is more for adults but we are taking him anyway since the last time we were there -- for my dad-- there was a young girl there with a TBI.)
Again I seem to be scattered with my brain and my thots ... will I ever be able to string together a logical post again? I sometimes kid Sam that I have a TBI too from being so close with him... ☺

Long time no update

I know I know it has been a loooooong while since I have posted on here. Please dont think it is for lack of info to share... more like lack of energy or gumption to put it on. And sadly the reason is because I am tired of explaining to people that these issues are partly due to being a teen and partly to having a TBI. I am tired of people saying "oh that is just normal teen behaviour" or "all teens go thru this". I just want to scream and smack them! Then this past weekend we were at a family dinner and 2 family members were trying to put alot of the crap that was going on with ALL the kids on Sam. I do know that he is not perfect but with a TBI when there is energy and hyperactivity it can feed Sam's responses to things... so I tried  be polite and just made the observation that "it is all the kids that are 'feeding' off of each other and thier attitudes" the reply I got was"ya but it is so much easier to blame it on Sam... right Hannah." I mean seriously!!! WTF!?! It was a good thing that I was in a seperate room when that comment was made or I may be typing this from a cell.

I have been working on getting off of the pariet pills (for my GERD) and am now on day 2 of no pills and week 2 of no coffee (real coffee I mean-- de-caf is in my morning routine) and a pile of other foods that are out of my diet. (it seems that tea will be out of it too after this cup I just had-- major burning going on right now!) So with all this detoxing going on in my system it is no wonder I got sick on Friday with a lovely chest cold that is moving into my sinuses. I have been on the couch for almost 4 days straight, sleeping and resting, folding a bit of laundry and a bit of houseowrk here and there.... and slowly getting WORSE! Wednesday we are off to Wpg to take Sam in for another neurologist appt. We have to inform the doc. that Sam is back to a 4 day week and there was a huge improvement in him once we changed back to this.  SO we will see what he says about it all. And to really make it a memorable trip, we are driving in and out in one day! I was hoping to get a room at the Ron. MacDon. house but there is no room, so Sam will be in fine form by about noon. (it is a 3 hour drive each way) and we try to make use of the time and do some shopping at Costco anad Value Village while we are in the city... There will be lots of prayers sent up for our trip!

This week is exam week for the highschool and the boys write one today and one tomorrow. And trying to get Sam to remember things again (like books to study with or review sheets) has been a HUGE battle for Dennis and I. There was a blow up last night about math studying and routine and trying to get him (Sam) to understand that this is important for him to remember-- SO USE THE iPOD!!! Cross your fingers for a better semester next term.

I just cant seem to get my thots down on here straight, there is so much to say and nothing really. It all sounds so trivial and to be honest I couldnt handle another 'just a teen thing' from anyone. I honestly had expected us to be in a different place with all of this by this time, not crying daily about something Sam has done or said to me, or something someone else has said to me about it.January was not a great month, so maybe February will be better.