Make a Wish

Today we leave for Owen's Make-a-Wish trip to Disney World.  For me, preparing for this trip has been a strange emotional roller coaster.  I never thought we would be a Make-a-Wish family.  Since Owen was little the nurses and social workers at CHOP suggested we apply but I always thought that other families were in greater need of these amazing trips. 

I went to the gym yesterday morning, to a step classes I used to religiously attend.  I haven't been there in a couple months.  One of the girls and I were catching up and I shared that we were leaving today for Disney on Owen's Make-a-Wish.  She was shocked...years of seeing Owen in the Kids Club, she never realized that he had any health issues. I told her that it all seems pretty normal....weekly visits to CHOP, years of chemo and many surgeries...it has been Owen's life since he was 2 months old.  I found myself saying that it's the times when Owen is off treatment and we have a break from CHOP that seems strange. At that point, she looked me in the eye and told me it's not normal.

Maybe in my reluctance to accept a Make-a-Wish trip for Owen I was trying to continue that everything is normal feeling...we strive to keep life as normal as possible.  In accepting this trip for Owen I think I have been anxious and not as excited as I should because this trip...this amazing opportunity for Owen is not normal.  It is very special and it honors and celebrates everything that he has gone through. I know we are going to have a great time. He certainly deserves this.

Well...that was a little too emotional and personal for my first post back after almost two years.  Sorry. Owen is asking to take bath and I have four hours to finish packing, clean the house, go for a run, stop at the post office.... Better get going :)

Testing....Testing....

We're leaving for Disney this morning and I have promised my mom and mother-in-law, both of whom wish they could stuff themselves in one of our suitcases, that I will blog our adventures.  I figured I better check the blog to make sure I remembered how to do this :)  Let's see if it works.

Off to a speedy recovery....

Two days after surgery and Owen is back to his typical-joyful-trouble-making self. He woke up bright and early this morning, chasing the puppy around the house with his "Get Well" balloons. Today we "relaxed" at home...building a fort, painting pictures, catching snowflakes, watching movies and playing with Owen's "guys."

On Thursday, Owen had a shunt placed after recently being diagnosed with Hydrocephalus. Surgery went well and Owen has been feeling pretty good. Hopefully he'll continue to heal without any complications and be back to school and his typical activities soon.

Although this additional diagnosis was unexpected and disheartening (to put it mildly) we're thankful that his regularly scheduled 3 month MRI picked up the issue before Owen started to have any complications. Owen also just finished a year of chemotherapy treatments. Hopefully the tumor will remain stable and he will have a break from chemo for awhile.

March continues to be full with follow-up appointments, another MRI and an IV of Pentamidine to keep his port clear. I'll check in with an update on Owen's progress again soon....

The End of the Holiday Season

A forty mile bike ride with Team Ox, finally getting back to the gym, a movie-date-night with Joe, bowling with the kids, dropping off Christmas presents at the Porcos and taking down the Christmas tree ornaments....Nice to have a weekend of leisure, no shopping or hustling from place to place. We had a fun-filled holiday season- starting with Thanksgiving in New York and New Years in Canada. Wonderful to spend time with family and friends. Moments best shown through photos :)

The start of the holiday season....

Christmas Countdown

Somehow my camera cord, the one that I use to download pictures is broken...in a house of boys, one destructive puppy and my klutzy self, broken things are pretty standard. When I eventually get around to starting my Christmas shopping hopefully I will remember to pick one up when I am at Best Buy. I have been reluctant to post because I LOVE posting with pictures. This morning though, I had to record what my funny little boy has been doing with the Advent Calendar.

While visiting my inlaws for Thanksgiving, I borrowed the latest Martha Stewart Magazine, excited about creating an advent calendar for the boys that counts down the days to Christmas with a little present to be opened each day. So over the past couple weeks I collected little toys and treats and last Wednesday night I stayed up late wrapping 50 little treats and stringing them up in the only spot I could find that would hold the weight of it and I could keep it away from the puppy. Owen has this perfect hook in his ceiling where a basket of stuffed animals typically hangs. What I didn't figure on was that my crafty little boy would find scissors (although I have hidden two pairs from him) and cut down his gifts in the middle of the night. As I was getting him ready this morning I found wrapping paper crumpled up in his bed, a pair of new gloves, a snowglobe and a chocolate Santa....he was busy last night!

Happy Halloween!