Home Sick Momma

So I flew home from Albuquerque a day early. I'm home, back in my world, and my heart is happy. I had a great, albeit short, trip to New Mexico, but last night I just knew I had to get home. I felt sick the whole time I was there, actually quite sick on Friday night. That combined with a ton of neck pain and just a sense of needing to be back with my family caused me to switch return flights from Monday to Sunday. I think Matt was shocked when I called him. Here I was having a "break" from my stressful world, yet I wanted to get home almost as soon as I left. I had fun while I was there too! Julie's family was wonderful and I even found New Mexico to be a very amazing place. I'm coming to realize that I'm just a different type of girl than I used to be. Perhaps my adventurous, care-free days are behind me. I needed my family and am so glad to have them back! I'll share a few pics and some stories about my trip tomorrow. For now, I have a suitcase to unpack and a hubby to hug.

Off to Albuquerque!

I'm all set to go! Okay, truthfully I haven't even started packing, but Matt gets home at 1pm tomorrow, and I'm leaving at 2pm...so that gives me 1 good hour to get things in a suitcase!

I'm cringing at the thought of leaving my babes for 3+ days. You know how when you leave your family you miss the sounds of their voices, the touch of their tiny hand in yours, even the way their hair smells when you are snuggling them on the couch? And did I mention that Eli is in love with his mommy this week? He has always reserved his affection for me, almost as though he knows how much it bugged me. But THIS week, he is thanking me for everything (example, "Thanks Mommy for turning on the light!") He is running into the room just to give me a hug, and telling me that he is going to wave at me when I'm up in the airplane. Oh he is the sweetest, schmoopiest boy!!! And Cara is saying the funniest things everyday that I'm afraid I'm going to miss something! Yesterday Brady was telling her to come and play with him. She looked right at him with her hands on her hips and said, "Not now Bwady, I'm POOPING!" Allie girl is a sweetie pie as always and has starting saying "Ma Ma Ma" as she crawls around...makes me just melt. And let's not even talk about my Brady...

BUT!!! I am excited to go! It's that kind of excitement where you just want to get there and get on with it already. I can't wait to meet my friend's family and see a new part of the country! Enchiladas and cacti here I come!

I told Matt that I thought it would be great if he took over blogging duties for the weekend. He looked at me with a less-than-excited expression. Tune in tomorrow for the exciting conclusion on that one.

Perhaps I'll have a minute to check in while I'm gone?

In the words of my kids, "Ta ta for now!"

Brady's First Appointment with Dr. Rubery

We had a really good appointment with Dr. Rubery (the spine surgeon) today. We went over Brady's medical history, including his surgery with Dr. LaQuaglia and Dr. Bilsky at Sloan. Right away Dr. Rubery said he knew both doctors and had actually done his residency with Dr. Bilsky 20 years ago. He knew Dr. LaQuaglia because his niece was operated on by him 15 years ago. He shared with us that she had Neuroblastoma too, and although the surgery went well, she didn't survive the cancer. That truly hit home...

He sent Brady down the hall for a few X-rays. He needed to have them because the MRIs Brady has had done are with him laying down. He needed to see his spine in a standing position because it affects his alignment. I went with Brady, and Matt stayed and discussed Brady's history a little bit more. Brady had to stand completely still for the XRAY. He did really well, and was totally adorable in a little gown with clowns all over it. He even said, "Cheese!" when the tech took his "picture."

Then we went back to the room to discuss the results. Dr. Rubery noted some slight scoliosis at the surgical site. I'm sure most of you are aware of scoliosis, but if not, you can think of it as a left or right curvature of the spine. He also noted slight kyphosis at the surgical site (curving of the spine outward). He explained that there is not research-proven way to prevent scoliosis and kyphosis at this point. Bracing might help, but it also might restrict growth in his chest. So, we are going to do X-rays every 6 months to watch how his spine grows and changes. More than likely, if deformity happens, it will occur when a growth spurt happens (adolescence). A good friend of mine reminded me today that we have a lot of praying time between now and then. Can't help but think of the lyrics, "Jesus, He can move the mountains. Our God is mighty to save!"

I will be going out of town this weekend from Friday night to Monday night. I'm flying to Albuquerque to visit my friend Julie and her family! I'm really excited to see them and the southwest!! I'm also going to miss my family like crazy and am trying not to think about that part:( A change of pace can be so refreshing and I am so grateful that my wonderful husband is SO capable and willing to hold down the fort while I'm gone! I'm even thinking about passing along the blogging duties to him for the weekend...I would love to be a reader for a few days:)

I wanted to share this great resource for facts about pediatric cancer. If you CLICK HERE you can get to the Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation website. This particular page has a wealth of information regarding statistics and funding. Very interesting stuff!