Vivian story and update.

Vivian eats breakfast on the bus each school morning. There are a couple of reasons for this: her bus comes EXTREMELY early (6:45) and if I wake her up and get her ready too soon, her anxiety builds and I have a difficult time getting her on the bus. I have the timing down to a nearly exact science so that she is busy from the moment I wake her up to the time she climbs on the bus.

Usually Vivian eats a bagel or an English muffin for breakfast. Yesterday I sent a pumpkin muffin with her. I asked her last night how she liked the pumpkin muffin. Without missing a beat she replied, "I got crumbs all OVER the place!"

I started laughing so hard. That doesn't sound like something Vivian would say, so I'm guessing that's what the bus aide told her.

In the way of an update, Vivian has been doing SO well lately. She has climbed onto the bus willingly and even cheerfully every day since I returned from Italy. Her teachers report that Vivian has been working hard at school. She's even been able to tolerate eating in the cafeteria and going to PE in the gym every day! Last weekend we were able to take her with us to the high school football game (in her stroller), and she was very calm and then eventually fell asleep. All of these are things that have been difficult with Vivian in the past.

Not surprisingly Vivian's seizures have been much less frequent lately. She had four within a 24-hour window one day last week, but that seems to have been an aberration as otherwise she has been experiencing fewer than one a week. I raised one of her medications slightly after those episodes last week, and she's not had another seizure since then. All in all a HUGE improvement from the spring and summer.

I take Vivian to get blood work done tomorrow morning in preparation for an appointment with the neurologist on Wednesday. I think he's going to be very pleased with how well she's doing.

Thank you to my friends and family for all of your kind words of encouragement and prayers for Vivian. I'm especially appreciative of the friends who know me only through my blog who have been so incredibly supportive.


Vivian kicking a ball in PE


Vivian running in the gym

**Vivian's teacher sent copies of these two pictures home and I scanned them into my computer. Vivian carried them around proudly before I ever saw them so they aren't in pristine condition! If I can get the digital files for them from her teacher, I'll repost better versions.**