Update 14: March 19, 2007
Scorecard: (as of this update):
324 days; 27719 miles (Car: 12187, RV: 15532); 36 states; 31 National
Parks; 11814 photos.
Update on Zane
For the most part, Zane continues to do well and is tolerating
our nomadic lifestyle. He is a lot of work sometimes, but it's worth
it to have him traveling with us. We had a few days of concern during
our stays in northern Florida and Hot Springs National Park, when his
seizures
were
acting
up considerably. Calls to the hospice nurse and doctor who treated him
in Florida helped us relax a little, but there was one day in particular
that really had us worried.
Zane has had three types of seizures that we've witnessed since getting
back on the road. During our stay near Hot Springs, he was having the
most mild of the seizures
we've seen. They may have been mild, but they were virtually non-stop.
Susan estimates on that particular day, Zane had at least 100 seizures.
We discussed (again) taking him to the ER, but we are opposed to hooking
him up to a bunch of monitors and medicating him unless we have evidence
that he is in pain. We even talked about postponing or aborting
the next leg of our trip and heading straight to Phoenix to have him
looked
at. Because it seemed like he was starting to go downhill, we thought
that perhaps
he
wouldn't make it through the night. But true to form, just when we feared
the worst, our little guy rallied and had a period of several days where
there was no seizure activity at all.
As of this update, Zane's seizures are back, but they are not as frequent.
However, some of them cause him to turn blue, which is always a scary
sight until he comes out of them and starts breathing normally again.
Other times the seizures make him throw up, so we have to make
sure we suction out his
mouth
to
keep
him
from
breathing
it into
his
lungs.
He's
also
having increased instances of reflux, which also make him throw up. We
never know how he'll be from one day to the next, so there is always
some level of worry that accompanies us as we travel.
Justin continues being a great big brother to his little "Zaner",
and usually wants to help out with Zane's care and feeding. When Zane
cries,
Justin
will
ask
him
what's wrong, then put his hand on Zane's head or talk to him to help
calm him down. Justin even held his hand under Zane's mouth once, telling
Zane it was okay to throw up in his hand if he needed to. No doubt that
offer would have immediately been rescinded if Zane had gone through
with it, but it was neat seeing Justin showing such compassion for his
little brother.
Because these updates are not very frequent, and because so many people
want to know how Zane is doing in a more timely manner, Susan set up
a website with an organization called Caring Bridge. To see Zane's journal
and photos, and stay updated on how he's doing, please visit: www.caringbridge.org/visit/zanemichaelhatfield.
(Opens in a new window). Susan hopes to update it at least weekly, if
not several
times per week.
Hatfield Law of Natural Attraction
On a different note, we've been working on a law that will describe
one of the unfortunate realities we've witnessed during our travels.
We call it the Hatfield Law of Natural Attraction, and so far the only
exceptions have been remotely-located National Parks that require boat
travel to get to there.
The Hatfield Law of Natural Attraction states that any significant feature
of natural beauty in the United States will attract one or more of the
following diversions:
a) Water park
b) Amusement park
c) Outlet mall
d) Wal-Mart Supercenter
Further, this law stipulates that in order for the average American
to be attracted to such a natural feature, these diversions must exist
within a driving distance of not more than 30- minutes.
Click Here to read the National Park
updates.
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