Tuesday, January 26, 2010

"Justin" Swanson

I've had requests from some to update the blog. I've kind of strayed away from updating because now that we sort of know what is going on with Dustin having Epilepsy is something he is learning to live with. We aren't going to the hospital any longer with every seizure. He is still on the same seizure meds, but at his last visit they did add a med for his migraines. As of last week, he told my mom that the new med seemed to be helping with his headaches.
He is still missing quite a bit of school. The seizures still aren't controlled and along with them he does get migraines. The school(Mrs.Walters especially) has been great about keeping my mom informed about missing assignments and giving him some help during the day to keep organized and on task. I'm not sure if he is doing his part on still getting the homework completed, but we've given him tons of help so it's really up to him now.
I think Dustin's life has, inevitably, been impacted by having Epilepsy. He has decided that he wants to become an art therapist. He is a talented artist and very caring and sensitive towards others(unless you are his sister) so this seems like a natural career path for him. He will really need to start applying himself at school, but hopefully this might motivate him. On March 9th Dustin will turn seventeen. I think on of the most difficult things about this year for him has been not being able to drive. I remember not being able to wait to get my license as most teens(except Jenna...she takes after my 82 year old grandmother who has never driven). Dustin started having the seizures just a month before his 16th birthday so all dreams of the independence that comes with driving have been put on hold.
If Dustin's life weren't crazy enough he recently was stabbed during a "home invasion". He had stayed home from school last Monday with a migraine. My mom didn't lock the door because my dad was working just three houses down from theirs. Around 10 o'clock my dad came home and dropped off the dog who had spent the morning with him. He put Jersey into Dustin's room. At this time Dustin was sound asleep. Sometime between 10 and 1:00 Dustin woke up to a bang and heard someone talking. He thought it was my dad and left his room. He heard another voice and Jersey was still sleeping. He shut the door to his room so she wouldn't wake up since she can get really hyper when new people are in the house. He went downstairs and halfway down realized that it wasn't my dad, but two people wearing ski masks ransacking my parents house! We don't have a land line phone upstairs and his cell phone was downstairs on the dining room table. I believe if it had been me in this situation I would have run out of the house. Dustin decided to tackle the guy closest to him. He got that guy down and went after the other guy who was in the kitchen and was getting a knife out of the draw. My parents don't have many drawers in the kitchen and the knives are in the top one so they aren't difficult to find. He struggled with this guy and ended up getting stabbed in the leg. The "home invaders" then ran out of the house and Dustin pulled the knife out of his leg. I'm sure if I had been stabbed I would assume I was dying. He called 911 and they stayed on the phone with him until the ambulance and police arrived. Dustin used one of Jenna's scarves to tie around his leg to stop the bleeding...I'm not sure she has forgiven him yet. The entire time my dad was obliviously working down the road. He heard the first responders drive by with their sirens on and realized they sound stopped quickly after he heard them. He ran around the house and saw the truck was parked outside of his house. He started to run home but decided that probably wasn't a good idea and settled on a brisk walk. In the meantime, an ambulance and police car pulled up to the house as well. He told us he was panicking, but knew that if an ambulance was called then Dustin had to call them himself since he was the only one home so he must be somewhat okay. One of the first responders met him outside and said "Everything is okay, but there was a stabbing.". I can't even imagine what my dad was feeling. He assumed the were there for a seizure. He raced into the house to see Dustin on the floor and his bloody pants and shorts (because he wears like 3 pairs of short/pants at a time) being cut off of him.
Dustin was taken to the ER in LaPorte and it was weird being there for something non-epilepsy related. He had an MRI done to determine that there was nothing left in the wound and the bone was okay. The knife did go all the way in, but he was very lucky in that it didn't hit anything or chip the bone. He didn't even need stitches. Apparently, for stab wounds you don't get stitches because of the depth of the wound.
The Harold Argus wrote an article on the incident and referred to him as "Justin" which he is none to happy about. I guess that's was the name on the police report. I think my parents wanted to really name him Justin anyway, but thought it would be too confusing with Janie and Jenna. There were many comments written on the on-line article. I don't think it's surprising. It seems there are some people whose lives are fulfilled by commenting horrible things throughout the day on these articles. Is it an unbelievable story? Um, yes, he was stabbed in the leg during a robbery in the middle of the day in UNION MILLS! Could he be lying...extremely doubtful. We saw the house afterwards, there was money missing that would have been easy to find and take, and HE WAS STABBED! I know my brother and trust me he couldn't stab himself in the leg!!
So, we have a lot to be thankful for. Dustin is really liking his new medicine and it seems to be helping. His school is doing a great job(as far as I know) keeping my parents updated and offering Dustin extra help. I do pray that Dustin starts to realize how important his education is. Although he was stabbed it could have been much worse. We are thankful my dad was so close, that everyone responded quickly and that the injury wasn't worse than it was. Also, my mom is doing well with her medicine and may be considered in remission if she continues to do as well as she is. Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers for our family!

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:37-39