Italy Part 3 -- The Tower, The Doctor and The Drive

Yesterday was a long day. Our family and my parents started out in two cars around 8:30 a.m. for Pisa, where we planned to stop off to see the famous leaning tower on our way to Graham's appointment with the Italian specialist we have been waiting to see for about nine months. From where we are staying, we headed north through Florence and then on to Pisa. The drive to Pisa took about two hours. It took us nearly another hour once we arrived in Pisa to find the Tower. You would think that a town that is known around the world for one very famous architectural structure might be plastered with signs guiding tourists to the sight, but not so in Pisa. Instead, we had to snake our way through town, stopping multiple times to ask how to get to the Tower. We did finally find it, and decided once we arrived and laid eyes on the Tower, that it had been worth the trouble -- what a truly amazing sight. I have posted a photo of the tower. The Tower, which was built on sand and soil, began to lean prior to its completion, but has begun tilting fairly significantly in recent years. The Tower is located in a walled-in area which contains Pisa's Duomo and Baptistry, and believe it or not, you can still go up to the top of the Tower (we didn't because we were pressed for time).

Next on the agenda was to drive south about 20 miles to a port town called Livorno. This is where Dr. Battaglia, the specialist on Graham's chromosomal anomaly, was to see us at 3:00. Although I was skeptical that the appointment would bring any helpful information, Eli and I were both pleasantly surprised and encouraged by our time with Dr. Battaglia. He is one of three or four leading researchers on this little-known chromosomal condition, and it was immediately apparent that he possessed a great deal of very specific knowledge regarding the syndrome. He was encouraging, generally, about how well Graham seemed to be doing (particularly socially -- Graham was in rare form in the doctor's office, and really put on the charm), but more importantly, he was optimistic that we might be able to signicantly decrease the frequency and intensity of Graham's seizures by tweaking his anti-epileptic medications. He has asked me to provide him with some additional information, and once he receives that, he will advise us about whether a medication adjustment is appropriate. Needless to say, we were very encouraged by the visit, and remain hopeful that we can find a better solution for controlling Graham's pesky seizures.

After the appointment, we said goodbye to my parents who had been visiting for about a month. It was hard to say goodbye, but we were blessed with so many wonderful experiences while traveling with them over the past month, and we hope that they will be able to return in early 2010. My parents, by the way, get the award for ambitious traveling for folks their age -- when they left us, they were going to stay in Livorno for the night, take a train to Milan the following day, fly from Milan to NY the following day, change airports, and then fly through one more city (Miami, I think??) before arriving home in Nashville, where their car is packed and ready to depart on Saturday for Sugar Mountain, NC, where they will spend six very peaceful weeks in the cool air of North Carolina. My hat is off to you, Mom and Dad!!!! Oh, how I hope that Eli and I have that much energy thirty years from now!!

Eli and I decided to take the scenic route back to Lucignano, rather than going back through Florence. This ended up being a mixed blessing. The trip took twice as long as it would have on the highways, and was some of the most difficult driving we've ever done (switchback after switchback on tiny two-lane roads), but the views were spectacular and we got to see parts of Tuscany that we probably never would have otherwise seen. I strongly recommend visiting this region of Tuscany -- south of Pisa and west of Siena -- San Gimigiano is in this region, but the land between San Gimigiano and the coast is breathtaking. The kids were troopers, and as a reward, we promised no car riding today, so we've spent the entire day swimming under the Tuscan sun. Not a bad way to spend a summer day. (The photo of the old town is the view of Lucignano from one of our bedroom windows -- beautiful!)

Hope all is well with all and you, and please let us hear from you.

Erin and Family