Vivi van Gogh

A short time ago, Vivi had a seizure.  Before she was fully recovered I tried to convince her to lay on the couch.  She was quite against that idea and instead insisted that she be able to go to her desk and draw. 

At that point, she could barely hold her colored pencil with her still shaking hand, but she set right to work on her next masterpiece. 

Through all of Vivian's challenges, one thing that has remained constant is her interest in her art.  While her drawings are a bit more abstract than they've been in the past, they never lack in meaning. 

Last Friday during break, our friend Lance drove up to spend an artistic day with Vivian, and as it turned out, her friend Lydia.  Lance knows very well of Vivian's challenges, but I was still concerned about how things would go since she's usually resistent to doing anything that's not her idea.  Plus, "being instructed" during art is something that usually doesn't go over well.

As usual, when I underestimate Vivian, she proved me wrong.  Lance simply let the girls have fun while gently showing them a thing or two (or three or four...) along the way, and the result was Vivian's best day of her break. 

Which also made it mine. 

Did you know that Vincent van Gogh had epilepsy?  He did. 

Perhaps someday someone will be looking at a creation by a newly acclaimed artist and ask "Did you know that Vivian Erickson has epilepsy?" 

You never know!  Because you never can underestimate Viv.