30

Mid April, I turned 30. 

Mom had my family party at her house the day before.

The next morning Andrew went into work super early.  (He works 7 days a week to help off set the cost of therapies.)  He came home with a tomato plant, a cup of Starbucks and a biscuit.  I was excited to have him home and had high hopes of spending the day with My Boys.  I wanted to go strawberry picking and plant my veggie/herb garden.  That was my "dream birthday."  

Well, the farm nearby was closed for ripening.  I tried to find another farm near but most were closed on Sunday.  After many foiled attempts we made our way to the Farmer's Market.  I was enjoying walking around and looking and dreaming of all the things I would love to plant.  

After 20 minutes or so Andrew said, " I don't mean to be an ass but.."  

I wasn't sure where he was going with this. 

"I made plans for you today and someone is supposed to pick you up at noon and I keep sending them texts pushing back the time.  Can we hurry it up?"  

I said, "Well, why did you go along with me wanting to go everywhere?!?!"  

He said, "I can't think on my feet!" 

So, we picked up the pace and headed for the van. 

I then played 8 million questions with him on what he had planned. 

He would not budge.  

On the highway I saw one of my friends.  I tried to wave but she was all eyes on the road.  (This is a good thing!)  So I sent her a message saying, "I saw you on the highway!"  

We arrive home and I see a van parked out in front of our house.  

Andrew did at least say that she I were going to lunch.  

So my friend and I got in the van and went to lunch.  

As we pulled up to an already planned place I wondered if Andrew had made more plans than lunch with me and a friend.  I quickly passed off the notion and was happy to have a lunch date.
Then we walked inside and sure enough there was a table of friends waiting there.  Andrew was busy inviting people to come and getting something coordinated.
It was a very nice surprise and had a great lunch with friends.  If only I was prepared I would have take a picture.  After I came home snuggled my Boys and loved it.

My Grandfather in Ohio is the oldest of 8.  One of his younger Brother's (#6 of the 8) had been sick.  That night when Grandpa and Grandma called to wish me 'Happy Birthday', Grandpa told me they had just visited Uncle Jack.  Grandpa said he did not think Uncle Jack was long for this world.
Grandpa then told me they talked about  a story that Uncle Jack would tell me every time I would see him.  Seriously..ever since I was 4 years old and got into Uncle Jack's skoal.  That would always be the first thing Uncle Jack would say when he saw me.
 About 20 or so minutes after I got off the phone with Grandpa and Grandma, my Mom called to tell me Uncle Jack had went to Heaven.  I know I call him Uncle Jack because he is my Uncle.  If you get technical he is my Dad's Uncle, but due to my Grandpa being the oldest Uncle Jack was only 9 years older than my Dad, Jack was much more of a Big Brother to my Dad.
It was a great wonderful 30th Birthday but also a little sad.  Uncle Jack passed away at the young age of 69. 

Logan Turned Three!

And now four months later I am finally attempting a three year old post.  We did not take many pictures during the Party, but the few we have will do.  We always try to video the Boys waking up on their Birthdays and Christmas.  I know the videos can be long and they usually make me pretty nauseous HOWEVER, I love that we have them.

By the end of his party he was more than overstimulated.  The day was great.  We busted our butts making sure the playset was ready, that our interactive Angry Birds set up was done and worked well and that they cake was free of food dye.  

The cake was "fun" enough but the vivid colors would have made it much cooler.  However, as much as possible we will be food dye free due to the way Logan AND Aidan react to it.  Hives, flushing of the cheeks, lethargy and much more.  Once we figured it out with Aidan (took an eternity) it was easier to figure out with Logan. We currently have not had hives for over a year now.  Pretty good since they kept popping up for weeks on end.  

Anyways, Logan's Birthday was fun!  Can't believe 3 years passed since his scary enough arrival. 

I don't believe I shared these before.

At his birth again (as with Aidan) Andrew could not cut the cord and we could not hold him right away.  Special Care was in the room to take care of him and make sure he was able to breath on his own and not in any distress.

Our Little Tiny Man was perfect!

Music to any Parent's ears. 

Holding him for the first time.  Thinking of all the diapers in my future...3 years later..I still have two in diapers!  :)

Tiny Bitty...Two days old and under 5 lbs at home. Big Bro Aidan staying near and 17 months old. 

At 3 years our Bitty is still small, 26.8 lbs and 37 in tall.  

 Wow!  Babies are truly amazing. 

Logan and Preschool

(I started typing this in April.  Sorry..but this Mama is more than overwhelmed.)
At the end of February Logan was evaluated by our local school systems to see about receiving preschool services through them.
We could send him to private preschool like we do with Aidan however, he will not receive his occupational therapy or speech in class and also we may need to have an aide be with him.  That would mean finding and hiring someone to be with him during the school day and increasing the cost of school.  At this time this is not anywhere near an option.
We met the other week to review the results of his evaluation.  At times the therapists would almost cringe while telling you the results.  I know at times they receive backlash from Parents.   The things they told us were not anything we did not already know.  We don't rate him a number on a scale or an age on a scale but the information of what he appears to know/understand and not to know/understand was not a shocker.
He "qualifies" for services (Duh) and they were very attentive to his needs.  They had the same concerns we do and wanted to make sure that all of the therapies he needs and may need in the future were covered in his IEP.  (Individualized Education Plan)
We were very pleased with the Occupational Therapist.  She really understood Logan's needs.  It was very nice to see someone show as much care and concern as we feel especially since she had only met him once.  At the end of the meeting they said they wanted him in a Autism Class versus a Mixed Needs and they wanted him in 5 days a week (all day.)
 In the beginning we made it clear that a full day was not an option.  He is a little man and at freshly three we think those are very extreme hours.  We also stated 5 days was too much.  Aidan is still only in school 3 half days a week.  Why on earth would we send Logan in for more?!  They told us there was no room in any Autism classes and the only school with an opening (this was only because it was a NEW class) would be at a school over 25 minutes away from us.  We were overwhelmed.  Two incredibly non-ideal situations.  They googled the directions and saw exactly how far it was from us.  They told us that nothing was set in stone and it wasn't up to them in the end where he could go.
 Fast forward to the week before Logan turned 3 and we get a call from his Teacher.  Logan is enrolled at the school closest to us and in the Autism class!!
We met with Ms. Patty and checked out the classroom.
We were set for the his first day of school.

  Walking in.  One day we will get a camera that can focus while moving.

Logan was in school for 6 weeks and the changes in our Child were dramatic.  He loves school and started saying so many more words!  Communication is still a large challenge but he is learning more words and using some of them appropriately.  He really loves it and our experience could not have been better!
Fast forward and we are now at the end of Summer.  Tomorrow is Open House at his school and we will meet with Ms. Patty again.
We can't even imagine how much our Bitty will change after a "full" school year.  Of course he will only go half days and still 3 days a week.  We still will maintain his Private Therapies too.
He is still wildly changing and more often than not the things he does (good and bad) overwhelm us with emotion.
Just the other day he ran up next to me.  (Not looking at me, but he WAS next to me.) He said, "Hi Mom! It's me, Whoa-Ghan!"
I know this can seem silly, but really truly in our home this is AMAZING!  I know some Parent's are not lucky enough to hear their children speak or they wait 5 or more years.  We are so very happy that he has only taken just over 3 years to start with some words and at times now very appropriate to the situation.
Here's to another school year!!

In dire need of updates.

There are a lot of owed updates on here.
One post I started writing before Logan started preschool.  His short time at school has ended and he will start a new full school year soon.
Then Logan turned 3.
I turned 30 and my Husband had a plan for my birthday.  :)
We had more things happen but at this point I can't remember it right now.
 We met with the Developmental pediatrician for Logan.  
Then came the posts you probably saw regarding the stupid tumor, results and second opinions.
The school years ended.  Aidan turned 4.5.  Daniel turned 1.5 years.  Father's Day came and went.  My Dad turned 60.  4th of July.  A trip to Ohio.  And more shenanigans at the end of last week.  I hope to update with everything but it seems overwhelming.  I hope to catch up if not, I will catch up from here.

Until later!

A Break..

On Thursday, I mustered up the energy to call and ask a few more questions regarding the biopsy. 

Friday afternoon Dr. Grossi called me back. 

He had talked with his colleagues at The Duke Brain Tumor Center and after much deliberation they are now thinking the tumor is more possibly something called a DNET.  

A DNET is something you are born with.  

They want to hold off on the biopsy for now  (THANK GOODNESS!) and possibly never do one. 

They decided I can wait until Jan/Feb time to repeat the MRI.  

The hopes is to continue to agree it is a DNET and as long as no symptoms arise nothing will be done. 

He said as long as the scans look good then they will do MRI's annually until they become bored with the tumor. 

Of course, if any seizures, memory or speech issues arise then I need to call ASAP. 

We are relieved and happy to follow this course of action. 

The headaches will continue but are related to the change in barometric pressure and not the tumor. I know my triggers so I avoid them when the headaches are present and so far that has helped keep them only headaches and not migraines.  

Thank you everyone for your prayers.
I am sure we will be a little nervous come Jan/Feb time. 

Dr. Grossi told me that for now push the thoughts of this out of my head for now and just enjoy everything. 

Sounds like a plan to us. 

How the cards fell...

I owe a lot of updates on the blog.

I hope to find the time soon.

Tuesday's MRI came back how I thought.

The neurosurgeon was running behind and we waited for quite some time.

We got there at 10:30a and did not leave until 2:15p.

The neurosurgeon ended up speaking with the neuro-radiologist prior to speaking with us.

Dr. Grossi (neurosurgeon) will review my MRI with his Boss. He will also be sharing the MRI with another neuro-radiologist and colleagues at The Duke Brain Tumor Center.

The radiologist he spoke with on Tuesday he was is #2 and the one at the Brain Tumor Center is #1 and no one else come close to them.

He strongly recommends that a biopsy be done.

There is a change in the MRI. We don't have the official written report.

The most likely options are a developmental cyst or a low-grade neoplasm.

The MRI is showing it more consistent with the low-grade neoplasm, a glioma.

More specifically a Level 2 Glioma.

The Biopsy comes with risks.

There is a 20-30% chance they will not be able to identify it.

There is a 1% chance of a bleed and 3-5% chance of seizure with the procedure.

We have a few more questions for the Doctor and then will schedule the biopsy.

Depending on what the biopsy shows will determine the next step.

If it is a Glioma I will be sent to The Duke Brain Tumor Center to have it removed.

We thoroughly appreciate all prayers anyone is willing to say for Our Family.

Grand Plans

I have grand plans to actually update the blog a few posts saved as drafts.  Life just seems to get in the way.  We had Logan's Meet the Teacher Day, Logan's Third Birthday, Logan's Well Child Check, My 30th Birthday, My Uncle Jack passed away, Logan started school, Aidan and I went to Ohio for the funeral, Andrew stayed home with Logan and D, Daniel turned 16 months on my Birthday.  I took a while to get used to the two carpools, Grandpa P turned 81.  Then it turned May.  Logan met with the developmental pediatrician again, we changed Aidan and Logan's OT schedules to accommodate Logan's schools schedule.  My Brother turned 33, Mother's Day, Daniel turned 17 months, Logan went to the eye doctor, and now here we are with my follow up MRI tomorrow.  The imaging place called this morning and told me I will be scanned for 45-60 minutes.  They will start with a scan (that I did not have before) that takes very small slices and it is very important even more than with the others to lay still, then they will proceed with the pre-contrast and contrast scans.  After that is done we need to head straight to the neurosurgeon and he will read it and tell us what he sees.  Then formulate the plan from there.  It could be still there the same size, changed shape, gotten bigger, heck, maybe it will get smaller?!
Anyways, I have been so incredibly overwhelmed that I have not sat down to try and write out some posts.  I want to make them coherent, I want to make them detailed enough (for us to remember) and incorporate photos too.
We have had a field trip, some parties, and other fun things mixed in too..not just all work.  Today Aidan's class met at a playground for a pizza party.  It was stressful.  Aidan was very out of sorts this morning and did great when we got there.  30 minutes into being at the playground he took a spill and never really recovered.  Daniel had a blast but got pretty upset when I would need to tend to Aidan and if he thought there was even a remote possibility that I was leaving him with someone else.

So...time to go take that rest I promised I would take with Aidan...