Erin's still asleep so I'll make this entry to update you all with what's going on.

A good portion of Monday was spent at the neurologist's office. We did not have the spinal tap that day. They were very surprised at just how swollen her optic nerves were and they immediately scheduled her for an MRI to check for a tumor. That was for two reasons. One, they need to be sure that there is no tumor before they do the tap, because if you do a tap with a tumor it can be very fatal (very bad). Two, if they find a tumor then their approach to treatment completely changes. We were nervous to say the least. Tuesday Erin went in for the MRI. Thankfully nothing was found except swollen optic nerves and excess cranial pressure due to an over abundance of spinal fluid. She met with the doctor and they scheduled the tap.

Wednesday morning we went in for the spinal tap procedure. It went very quickly and the doctor was pleased with the result. He was concerned however, because her spinal fluid pressure was extremely high. 200 is normal and she was at 458. He said that there shouldn't be much to worry about from here. Things will get progressively better now that much of the pressure has been relieved. Regardless, we still have quite a road ahead of us.

I got her home and put her flat on the couch and with the exception of getting up to go to the bathroom, that is where she has been for the past two days. She has noticed some general improvement with her vision, though its still not 100%, and the pressure she was experiencing in her head is gone. Everything else will get better with time. The doctor told us that it could take up to three months for her vision to completely recover and she will likely be on the diuretics for up to six months.

Today she'll be up and moving around a little and we'll see what happens. I'll keep you all posted.

Thanks to all who have sent their well wishes and thanks to those who have stopped by to help cheer Erin up. We both greatly appreciate it.

Peace, love and warm fuzzies!

- Jeremy

Ok, so here's the scoop. Most of you that know me know that Erin has been pretty sick these past three weeks. Thankfully we finally have a diagnosis; bilateral papilledema. In other words, her optic nerves are swollen. The symptoms of this condition mirror that of an inner ear infection which explains why she was having the dizziness, the nausea, and the headaches.

Here's a quick recap. First she came down with bronchitis (three weeks ago). After that cleared up we thought that she had an ear infection...hence a scheduled appointment with an ENT specialist (now cancelled). Once the pressure in her ears cleared up the only thing that was left was the headaches, dizziness, nausea and pressure behind her eyes...she couldn't see straight. This past Friday morning we went for a CT scan and that found nothing; good news and bad news rolled into one. Our doctor immediately scheduled her for an appointment with an ophthalmologist to have her eyes looked at. Low and behold - he found the problem! Erin's a little more relaxed today. I think she's just happy to know what is wrong and what they can do for it (I'm getting to that part). I'm just happy that she's happy. Now I can get some much needed sleep.

As for what they will be doing to fix this whole deal. We have an appointment on Monday morning with a neurologist to have fluid drained from her spine...yes, her spine. The excess fluid is what is causing the optic nerves to swell. They're not sure what caused this build up of fluid, but I'm sure that the doctor will be able to tell us more on Monday.

So, it looks like this little ordeal is coming to an end. Once this is over we can get back to the other task at hand...makin' babies!

Peace, love and warm fuzzies,

- Jeremy

WHEW! Finally! I was able to get the photo galleries up. I'm hoping to get the remainder of the images up within the next couple of weeks. There isn't much else to report.

OOH! One thing... Erin and I have decided to use our tax refund and some of our savings to buy a house this summer. The lease on our apartment is up at the end of May and we really cannot find a reason to stay here when we have enough money for a down payment on a house. We're not looking for anything huge or expensive. Just something to start a family in.

This is sooo EXCITING! I'll be sure to post more when I know more.

- Jeremy

Didn't get much chance to make any additions...not that I'm particularly concerned. I'm taking my time trying to decide how the new site will look. I really do like this color scheme and I know that a properly designed site has a consistent theme/color.

Not to worry...still hoping for suggestions. I'd really like to get some of my newest photos posted by the end of this week. Especially the ones I've taken with my newest toy!

Peace, love and lasagna!

- Jeremy

Alright, I guess this requires a bit of explanation. So here goes...

I've been having my website hosted through Yahoo.com for the better part of four years now and I was under the impression that it was a good deal. Fifteen dollars a month and I was getting a website and email accounts. Then I started looking around and found that I was paying way too much for what I was getting. So I made the decision to move my website and my domain to another host.

I stumbled upon 1and1.com over the weekend while flipping through my latest issue of Maximum PC magazine. 4.99 a month and I could get 500MB of web-space and and host both this website and my future photography site. I'd be able to have separate email accounts for both domains and have all of my needs met and then some.

You may be asking yourself..."self...what is he going to do now?"

Okay...so maybe your not wondering what I'm going to do now. Alas, I am going to tell you anyway...like it or not.

I'm revamping the entire site. I'm getting rid of the crap and redesigning the good parts to make them better. Hopefully the whole thing will change for the better, but if not I'll be tearing it down and rebuilding it again in another year anyway.

Well, I've got to head off to bed. My eyelids are battling my will to stay awake and frankly I'm about to raise the white flag. I'll be adjusting and readjusting over the next couple of weeks and I don't know when/if I'll get it finished or at least in a publishable state, but I'm going to try.

Peace, love and Lasagna!

- Jeremy