Cars and Toilets and Dystonia, OH MY!

CARS...
I wish that I could say that our house sold this week, but it hasn't yet.  We've had some nibbles, but no contracts yet.  Instead, we can tell you that the past week has been filled with unexpected and ever-so-frustrating incidents.  The most frustrating incident was when our 2007 Mazda 5 unexpectedly threw a connecting rod.  If you're not a car person, this basically means that our engine no longer works.  It means that there is a big hole in our engine and all of the oil that was in the engine has splattered all over I-65.  Why this happened to our car will remain a mystery, but what is known is that we need a new engine or a new car.  At this point, the new engine seems to be our best option.  After a week of researching, we have a good mechanic, and we've tracked down the right engine at a reasonable price.  We want the work done at a certified shop because that will look good when we go to sell the car, but the certified mechanic needs permission to install an engine from an outside source.  And the decision-makers have been out of town.  So- if you could pray that that little detail would get worked out, we'd be very appreciative.

As you can imagine, running a business, and family with no means of transportation can be tricky.  Thankfully, kind neighbors helped us out by giving rides and loaning us cars for much of the week.  We have a rental car for now and hope that will be short-lived.

DYSTONIA...
I assume most of you know Tom's story, but if you haven't been brave enough to ask why he twitches, contorts and stutters sometimes the answer is that he has something called "Dystonia".  If you don't want to google it, the easy explanation is that it's in the same family as Parkinson's Disease.  The part of his brain that controls movement is malfunctioning.  There's no definite cause or cure but we strongly suspect that his condition was triggered by the neurotoxin, monosodium glutamate (MSG).  If you don't know what that is, ask our kids.  They can tell you the 57 food label ingredients to avoid...probably in their sleep. 

Last Tuesday, Tom had his annual neurology appointment.  When a brain disorder patient doesn't respond to any medications or treatments and isn't willing to have brain surgery, they only have to go to the brain doctor once a year.  The appointments are almost always the same.  "How are you?"  "Any new symptoms?"  "Let's look at your treatment history."  "So- it looks like we've done everything except surgery."  "I'll see you in a year."  But, this year, we had a new symptom.  Now, in addition to his involuntary face, neck, arm, leg, back and eyelid movements, Tom has involuntary eyeball movements.  So- now I have to guess if he's rolling his eyes involuntarily or voluntarily.  (Handy for him, don't you think?!)  There was talk of the possibility of trying a couple more meds.  These include a blood pressure medication and an anxiety med that are sometimes given to Tourette's patients. 

I won't hide the fact that I've become a skeptic.  After seeing at least nine doctors, spending countless hours researching and trying out a long list of pharmaceuticals, I don't think that any doctor really understands Dystonia.  It's a big mystery.  So- I don't particularly like the idea of anyone experimenting on my husband with blood pressure and mood altering drugs.  For now, his blood pressure and moods are working just as they should be.  Tom would love to find a cure and get back to driving, working and doing all the things he used to be able to do.  So- this topic fueled a very "lively" discussion all the way home from the hospital.  But, we've kissed and made-up and will probably discuss whether those prescriptions will be filled...eventually.

TOILETS
So...it has been a tough week.  It truly began to feel as though everything we did went wrong.  In fact, I even managed to break one of our toilets.  The flusher came off in my hand.  It must be my superwoman strength.  But, thankfully, the kind man at Ace Hardware walked me through the repair and I was able to fix it all by myself...which did wonders for my self-esteem.  Perhaps I should ask the Ace Hardware man if he has any experience with Dytonia or car engines.

Well, that's the update for this week.  Please keep us in your prayers as we navigate the road to our big adventure.  And, if you know of anyone looking for a family-ready home, please send them our listing.