Thursday, May 27, 2010

This is what happens when I forget to close the doors

Close up shot off the culprit!





Taught me a lesson.... always remember to close the doors to then den.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

The Love Story

There once was a young guy


And there once was a young girl


Who meet and dated (picture taken in Tucson)


And the one day he proposed to the young woman in front of the Laredo Church in Santa Fe, NM


And they were engaged


And then married


They use to do adventurous things like mountain repelling



And take out of state trips (this one is taken at the Christmas Village in Pigeon Ford, Tennessee)


And after a few years she became this


Then there were 3


And know they are a family



And today (May 20th) they are celebrating 8 years of marriage.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Moya-Moya Huh? What is that?

This is a common question that we have been recently asked. When we first heard the term is was about a year ago (May 22, 2009). It was after Mattie had her strokes and the doctors at the time "suspected" she had a rare disease called Moya-Moya, it affects about 1 in 2 million. At first Dan and I could not comprehend it and we called it every name in the book from Maui-Maui to Mooey-Mooey. Over the past year Mattie has had one cerebral angiogram and recently a MRI/MRA. Last week she was officially diagnosed with the disease Moya-Moya.

So what does this mean?

Moya-Moya syndrome is a progressive disorder that affects the blood vessels in the brain. It causes stenosis (narrowing) of the carotid artery in the brain. The carotid artery is responsible for delivering blood to the brain. When the stenosis occurs, it makes it difficult for blood to pass throw the artery and the result is a stroke. At the same time tiny new blood vessels form and open up to attempt to supply blood to the brain. These tiny vessels are called Moya-Moya. Moya-Moya is a Japanese word for "puff of smoke". On a brain scan these tiny vessels look like a puff of smoke. As stated in the beginning it is a progressive disorder and there is no cure for it and as patients get older who are diagnosed with Moya-Moya they will eventually experience side affects because there brain is not getting enough blood. Such side affects are headaches, TIA's (mini-strokes), major strokes, bleeding on the brain, numbness and seizures.

There are a few surgeries that can be performed to help with re-directing the blood flow to the brain and the surgery would help with reducing the side affects of the disease.

Mattie will eventually have the surgery we are just not sure when it will happen and more than likely she will have side affects to Moya-Moya but we don't know when. It could happen today, tomorrow or 3 years from know. My husband likes to describe it has a little bomb in her head and we never know when it will go off. Of course Mattie is so young and because communication is hard for her she may have experienced something but we don't know. It is up to Dan and I to watch her and her behavior to make sure she is acting ok and if we suspect anything seriously wrong we are to take her to the hospital.

From what I understand the surgeries have been very successful and allow patients of Moya-Moya to live normal lives.

The other questions we get is how did she get it?

The answer to this question is we don't know and no one knows. It is known that the disease is genetically hereditary in the Japanese cultural but what causes it is unknown.

Mattie has secondary Moya-Moya and that means that the disease occur ed because she has another underlying genetic condition, which for her is Down-Syndrome. With this there was something in her brain that just did not form correctly.

There are also healthy people who all of sudden experience some problems and they are diagnosed with Moya-Moya, it could basically happen to you. The chances are rare but it could happen. The chance for Mattie to get Moya-Moya is one in 2 million. Crazy Huh!

At this time Mattie is doing great and we feel that she has not had any side affects. She has re-gained the use of her left side and is showing great strength and use of the left side. She takes 1/2 tablet of low dose aspirin every day to help keep her blood thin. She has another MRI/MRA in 6 months to see if there has been any changes with the Moya-Moya vessels and the stenosis of the artery.

So that is the update on Mattie and what is going on with her and our family. It is something that is very hard to understand and there are numerous times during the day that we think about it. We just never know what the next step will be. If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask. It is a new learning experience for us and questions are what helps us learn and get to know the disease a little bit better.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Yard work

This weekend we all headed outside to do some work in the backyard. Dan taught Michael how to mow the lawn and he really enjoyed, except I realized the picture of him he has a scowl on his face so it looks like he does not like it. David loves the lawn mower and follows it around laughing and screaming. Mattie tolerates it but she hung out on the patio the entire time playing with her garden set. I did not get any pictures of the garden but it is hanging in there. The biggest thing is the zucchini. This week we have pulled 6 giant zucchini's from one plant. We have had a few raspberries and blueberries. I planted spinach early this year and it has done really well and we have been eating that. Also we have had about 5 cucumbers in the past two weeks. Overall everything is growing but I wish it was doing better. The tomatoes are having a hard time. I have gotten a few tomatoes but many of them are still green and I had to trim a lot of brown of the bushes. I honestly think it is because of the cooler the weather we were having. I'm hoping that since it is getting hotter the plants will produce some more.

David in action chasing the lawn mower.

I honestly have no clue why he has a scowl on his face. He honestly liked mowing the lawn. (Notice my pretty flowers in the background)

Another action photo of David chasing the lawn mower. FYI that is apple tree and a grape bush in the background.

Taking a rest from all of the chasing.


Mattie hanging out with mom.

Bathtime Bubbles

David loves bath time and he really likes bubbles to the point that he will eat them. I was finally able to catch a few pictures of David playing with the bubbles.




Fishing Trip

Dan, Michael and Grandpa Hurd (Dan's dad) all went on a fishing trip a few weeks ago (May 7 to be exact) at Canyon Lake. They did not catch any fish but Michael did catch a bush, which he thought was pretty funny.