We have had a wild week (I haven't slept more than two nights in a row in any one place in a week!). As a result I am pretty sick, cold stuff. The girls seem to weather it fine and had a great time.
We went up to visit Ken's brother Lloyd's, of course to see the cousins and all, but also to escape the week before finals. It really helps Ken if he doesn't have to make the choice between studying and family, so he can just study. They had a big surprise planned for the girls...an overnight at Great Wolf Lodge. It's a big hotel with an indoor waterpark, a giant arcade, a teen room with movies and karaoke, a craft room, and a cool interactive game where you get a wand and run all over the hotel finding things like on a scavenger hunt. It was great fun and we ran up hundreds of stairs...to the water slides, from the first floor to the fifth floor playing the interactive game. I have never gotten so much exercise on vacation!
We came back to their house for a night and a half, we had to leave at 5:30 am to get to Portland for Cierra's first Feis (Irish Dance Competition) that took place on Saturday and Sunday. It was her first time dancing in front of a judge, but she did extremely well. She competed against girls who were more advanced than she was but she took 2nd place in her Reel, 1st place in her Light Jig, 3rd place in her Single Jig, and 1st place in her Two Hand Reel so she will be moving up a level and will learn harder dances. We are really proud of her hard work and she is thrilled to have done so well.
We talked to some extremely talented dancers in the practice room while we were there and asked how much they practiced. They have two, two-hour lessons per week and practice from one to two hours a week. Needless to say we aren't there yet!!
Aspen had a great time swimming in the pool...she's not really an Irish Dance fan. It's not the dancing so much as the music I believe, but she was a trooper and watched Cierra and her friends compete.
On Saturday after the competition ended for the day we went out to Ethiopian food. It was a great experience! No silverware!! You just tear off little pieces of a big flatish pancake and dig into the piles of food which are served on more pancakes. It was really delicious and has motivated me to look up recipes on the web to try and cook it at home...one of the spice mixes is called Alisha, so of course I love it!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
No Tumor?
This is very late news and some have heard through the grapevine already that the blood test for a tumor indicator came back totally negative this time!! We are greatly relieved. They still see something on the MRI, but the blood work says it's not there.
We will still have another MRI and a repeat of the blood work in August to keep an eye on things.
We will still have another MRI and a repeat of the blood work in August to keep an eye on things.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Abundant Life
We are at the beach this weekend with lots of families celebrating our friend Bekka's 16th birthday. I got up early this morning and walked on the beach at low tide. I was amazed by the abundance of life. The rocks were alive with sea stars, urchins, anemoenes, mussels, giant barnacles, kelp and other sea flora. I haven't seen such rich abundance at this beach before, the rocks are completely carpeted, it's beautiful!
At a time in my life where people are constantly talking about global warming, the depletion of the earth's resources, impending lack of finances, and the constant wondering in the back of my mind about Aspen's health it was wonderful and reassuring to see such abundant life!!
At a time in my life where people are constantly talking about global warming, the depletion of the earth's resources, impending lack of finances, and the constant wondering in the back of my mind about Aspen's health it was wonderful and reassuring to see such abundant life!!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
What's Old Is New Again
The old news is once again new news...there is really a tumor on her pancreas, and it's just sitting there smiling back at us.
We visited the pediatric gastroenterologist yesterday (the guy who thought it might be cancer who referred us to the surgeon in the first place). So, he said he doesn't think it's cancer (yay!!) and that he has only seen one case of tumor turned cancer in a child in his entire 30 year career...and he sees all the horrible stuff in the state and maintains the national pancreatic tumor record (did you even know that existed?). It's extremely, extremely rare. But, since we don't really know what it is or isn't right now....
We had more blood work! We still don't have results from the blood work 3 weeks ago (for Cystic Fibrosis and auto immune things). They did another MRI and they saw the tumor. It hasn't changed a bit...no bigger, no smaller. Why they didn't see it on the endoscopic ultrasound we may never know. So the plan now is to wait and watch. She is supposed to eat a more normal diet for the next 3 months...I hate to undo all the good habits and great tastes she has developed...but we need to see if the tumor is going to do anything under normal circumstances. After all she might grow up to raise cattle or be a restaurant critic or something, it's hard to say! We will go for another MRI in August, and will go in immediately if she experiences and pain, diarrhea, rashes, etc, etc
And so the grand experiment begins! It is going to make the summer so much easier in so many ways I count it as a blessing. We are going off to Girl Scout camp in June and I wasn't really sure what they would feed her if we asked for a fat free vegan diet...carrot & celery sticks? It will make camping trips much more pleasant as well...no one will be eating smores in front of her!
I asked for prayer for perseverance on Sunday, little did I know how much I would need it! I guess this goes on for months and months now...I really thought we were going to wrap this up in a nice neat little package and be done with it, guess not.
I picked up a book today called "The Beginner's Guide to Saving The Universe" and it had the author's top 10 list of necessities in life. The number 10 thing was "Persistence. Joy. Persistence. Joy. Persistence. Joy. Persistence." I think I'd like to meet her on a train some day.
We visited the pediatric gastroenterologist yesterday (the guy who thought it might be cancer who referred us to the surgeon in the first place). So, he said he doesn't think it's cancer (yay!!) and that he has only seen one case of tumor turned cancer in a child in his entire 30 year career...and he sees all the horrible stuff in the state and maintains the national pancreatic tumor record (did you even know that existed?). It's extremely, extremely rare. But, since we don't really know what it is or isn't right now....
We had more blood work! We still don't have results from the blood work 3 weeks ago (for Cystic Fibrosis and auto immune things). They did another MRI and they saw the tumor. It hasn't changed a bit...no bigger, no smaller. Why they didn't see it on the endoscopic ultrasound we may never know. So the plan now is to wait and watch. She is supposed to eat a more normal diet for the next 3 months...I hate to undo all the good habits and great tastes she has developed...but we need to see if the tumor is going to do anything under normal circumstances. After all she might grow up to raise cattle or be a restaurant critic or something, it's hard to say! We will go for another MRI in August, and will go in immediately if she experiences and pain, diarrhea, rashes, etc, etc
And so the grand experiment begins! It is going to make the summer so much easier in so many ways I count it as a blessing. We are going off to Girl Scout camp in June and I wasn't really sure what they would feed her if we asked for a fat free vegan diet...carrot & celery sticks? It will make camping trips much more pleasant as well...no one will be eating smores in front of her!
I asked for prayer for perseverance on Sunday, little did I know how much I would need it! I guess this goes on for months and months now...I really thought we were going to wrap this up in a nice neat little package and be done with it, guess not.
I picked up a book today called "The Beginner's Guide to Saving The Universe" and it had the author's top 10 list of necessities in life. The number 10 thing was "Persistence. Joy. Persistence. Joy. Persistence. Joy. Persistence." I think I'd like to meet her on a train some day.
May Crazies
I've been extremely neglectful of my blog due to wacky hormones and the crazy May schedule. It is my fondest desire that every club, sport and activity not hold an "end of the year" party, recital, potluck, gathering, open house, etc, etc. May is the most insane month there ever was! Complicate that with birthdays, Mother's Day, doctor appointments, end of the year testing for the girls and Memorial Day and it is really just one enormous marathon where we run from festivity to festivity on an almost daily basis.
So here is how things have been shaking out....
We celebrated Mother's Day at the mongolian grill because Aspen can eat there and it is relatively quiet compared to all the brunch places. It was fun, here's a picture (Ken's mom and family had already left so they aren't pictured, but here's part of the crowd) Left to right: William, Ken, Sherrie, Pop-pop, Mom, Aspen, Mike, Cierra, Me and Stephanie...it's the silly photo, they always turn out better than the serious photo!
Following Mother's Day I began mad planning for a surprise birthday party for Cierra. We told her we would have a party in June since Aspen was having surgery...but instead we surprised her on Friday with party at the putt-putt golf course. I'll post photos when I get them from Mom, we used her camera that day. It was hot, hot, hot and we had to make an emergency run for squirt guns as a matter of survival, but everyone had a great time!
Mixed in with all that we had the girls annual testing so the state can be sure we are homeschooling and not just having a great time (is there a difference really?)...I think it's silly. I had a doctor's appointment with the last honest doctor...he refunded my copay and told the receptionist not to bill my insurance after I spent 20 minutes in his office because he wants to refer me to someone else. Can you believe it, I've never gotten money back from a doctor even when I should have gotten a refund!! My hormone therapy is making me crazier than I normally am. Cierra is getting ready for her first Feis (pronounced fesh), it's an Irish Dance competition. We are preparing for a few more birthdays, finals week, Ken's graduation and Father's Day and then maybe we will collapse in a heap somewhere.
Here's the invite for Ken's Graduation...let us know if you'd like to attend so we can reserve seats for you. I know it's early, it's Sunday and it's Father's Day so we totally get it if nobody comes!!
So here is how things have been shaking out....
We celebrated Mother's Day at the mongolian grill because Aspen can eat there and it is relatively quiet compared to all the brunch places. It was fun, here's a picture (Ken's mom and family had already left so they aren't pictured, but here's part of the crowd) Left to right: William, Ken, Sherrie, Pop-pop, Mom, Aspen, Mike, Cierra, Me and Stephanie...it's the silly photo, they always turn out better than the serious photo!
Following Mother's Day I began mad planning for a surprise birthday party for Cierra. We told her we would have a party in June since Aspen was having surgery...but instead we surprised her on Friday with party at the putt-putt golf course. I'll post photos when I get them from Mom, we used her camera that day. It was hot, hot, hot and we had to make an emergency run for squirt guns as a matter of survival, but everyone had a great time!
Mixed in with all that we had the girls annual testing so the state can be sure we are homeschooling and not just having a great time (is there a difference really?)...I think it's silly. I had a doctor's appointment with the last honest doctor...he refunded my copay and told the receptionist not to bill my insurance after I spent 20 minutes in his office because he wants to refer me to someone else. Can you believe it, I've never gotten money back from a doctor even when I should have gotten a refund!! My hormone therapy is making me crazier than I normally am. Cierra is getting ready for her first Feis (pronounced fesh), it's an Irish Dance competition. We are preparing for a few more birthdays, finals week, Ken's graduation and Father's Day and then maybe we will collapse in a heap somewhere.
Here's the invite for Ken's Graduation...let us know if you'd like to attend so we can reserve seats for you. I know it's early, it's Sunday and it's Father's Day so we totally get it if nobody comes!!
Friday, May 9, 2008
Cool Shoes
We've had some busy days...Ken's Uncle Bob is in town from New Jersey. He's making the west coast tour and seeing all the family. He brought us citrus off of Grandma's tree in California. It's so much better than grocery store fruit! Thanks Grandma!!
Tonight and tomorrow is Cool Shoes, the girl's folk dance concert. It's in conjunction with a college dance troop that does a lot of swing and lindy-hop so it's lots of fun. It is at 7:30 pm tonight and 2:30 pm on Saturday. Tickets are $9 at the door. In the Corvallis High School theater.
Just in case you can't make it, here is a picture of them in their costumes:
Aspen says she is feeling better....hmmm. Maybe we have cured her with a vegan diet. Grandpa Ken and Grandma Syble were at the doctor's office the other day discussing something all together different and the doctor told them we could cure a lot of what we have in this country by eating a vegan diet. Who knows!!
Thanks to Robyn, Eroica, Connie, Stephanie, and Lauri who have showered us with pants!! I asked to borrow some smaller size pants for Aspen since she has shrunk two sizes since the beginning of all this hullabaloo, and we are buried in pants...thank you so much!! They all fit, most are too short, so it's nice to have a selection. I think she will start beefing up as we add more fats to her diet, so we won't need them for long, but everything in her closet is falling off of her right now and we got rid of the little sizes in January.
Tonight and tomorrow is Cool Shoes, the girl's folk dance concert. It's in conjunction with a college dance troop that does a lot of swing and lindy-hop so it's lots of fun. It is at 7:30 pm tonight and 2:30 pm on Saturday. Tickets are $9 at the door. In the Corvallis High School theater.
Just in case you can't make it, here is a picture of them in their costumes:
Aspen says she is feeling better....hmmm. Maybe we have cured her with a vegan diet. Grandpa Ken and Grandma Syble were at the doctor's office the other day discussing something all together different and the doctor told them we could cure a lot of what we have in this country by eating a vegan diet. Who knows!!
Thanks to Robyn, Eroica, Connie, Stephanie, and Lauri who have showered us with pants!! I asked to borrow some smaller size pants for Aspen since she has shrunk two sizes since the beginning of all this hullabaloo, and we are buried in pants...thank you so much!! They all fit, most are too short, so it's nice to have a selection. I think she will start beefing up as we add more fats to her diet, so we won't need them for long, but everything in her closet is falling off of her right now and we got rid of the little sizes in January.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Still On the Roller Coaster!
The surgeon called yesterday evening and we have a concensus, at least between him and the female doctor. They think it is most likely an autoimmune disorder. So, no surgery, no blood donation...at least not for the time being. I asked him how he could suddenly think there was nothing there based on one test...he said he's not a radiologist, that when he meets with the radiologist and the radiologist says, "This is a tumor", he just says okay and takes it out. He said he thought all the lumps looked like just more pancreatic tissue, but the radiologist said it was a tumor. At least he's honest!!
So we go for another MRI, and more blood work soon...we are waiting on the appointment clerk to call. They have to be sure!
So, depending on the kind of autoimmune disease we are looking at, it could be very, very good news...most of them are treatable, she would probably need to be a vegan for the rest of her life, but she could start having nuts and seeds and some oils and tofu. Her life expectancy would be around 60, instead of in her teens to 20s and she won't have the world's largest scar on her stomach to prove how cool she is.
We go see the doctor who thinks it is cancer on the 21st. The most recent blood work should be back by then and we'll see if we can get a third person on board!!
I am at the point where I'm having trouble letting myself believe it. Every time I think things are great, they get really terrible again in a couple of days, then they go back to being good again, and so on, and so on.
Glad there are still some people on the roller coaster with us!! It's been a wild ride, more like Space Mountain...roller coaster in the dark where you can't see the end.
So we go for another MRI, and more blood work soon...we are waiting on the appointment clerk to call. They have to be sure!
So, depending on the kind of autoimmune disease we are looking at, it could be very, very good news...most of them are treatable, she would probably need to be a vegan for the rest of her life, but she could start having nuts and seeds and some oils and tofu. Her life expectancy would be around 60, instead of in her teens to 20s and she won't have the world's largest scar on her stomach to prove how cool she is.
We go see the doctor who thinks it is cancer on the 21st. The most recent blood work should be back by then and we'll see if we can get a third person on board!!
I am at the point where I'm having trouble letting myself believe it. Every time I think things are great, they get really terrible again in a couple of days, then they go back to being good again, and so on, and so on.
Glad there are still some people on the roller coaster with us!! It's been a wild ride, more like Space Mountain...roller coaster in the dark where you can't see the end.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
