Sunday, February 27

Grandpa-great, Asher singing Happy Birthday to Grandma-great.

It takes a little help blowing out 87 candles.

Happy Birthday!!

I just checked the blog from 2009 and on this day two years ago Mr. B was having his first cranioplasty surgery. This surgery was to replace the skull bones that had been removed to relieve the pressure on the brain 2 days following the accident. At the time of this surgery to replace the skull we thought that the worst was behind us. Ha......life is such a jokester! Three days later we were back in the ER and scheduling another surgery. We've come a long way but some days I need a reminder.
February 27 is also my mom's birthday. Today she is 87. We brought her and Dad to Bob's house for a terrific birthday dinner prepared by Ramona who is a great cook. Mom enjoyed visiting with 2 of her grandsons and 3 of her great-grand children. When I took them back to the Madison House, I think they were both ready for a nap. I'm pretty sure they enjoyed being out, having a home cooked meal, seeing the country side and visiting with family.
(as soon as I find my camera cable I'll post a picture of Asher helping Grandma-Great blow out her candles!)

Friday, February 25

Our sleepy polar bear girl, and no I can't tell them apart. Aurora or Anana

This girl spent most of the morning swimming while her sister was sleeping on Pride Rock.

The Arctic foxes were looking very pretty or handsome. This one still has a little of his summer color on his flank. These little guys are about the size of a domestic cat. They love to dig and climb and in the wild their favorite food are lemming. They will often follow the polar bear and eat their left overs.

This is one of the 2 foxes that was inside in the AC year round at their former zoo. Should be interesting to see if their fur changes to the dark phase this summer as they experience our Ohio summer. In the wild, the Arctic fox fur is dark gray/brown in summer and turns white in the winter to blend in with their seasonal surroundings.

Our 6 year old brown bears, Brutus and Buckeye.

Well it is Friday, what most of us consider the end of the week but evidently doctors don't quite understand how stressful it is to wait for test results. Trish finally sent an e-mail to Lily's oncologist to see if she could get more information on Lily's MIBG scan from last Friday. As soon as we hear something I will pass it along. For now I am telling myself that "no news, is good news"!

Tuesday was a very cold day at the zoo. After finishing up in the Bear Kitchen preparing the aviary diets I took a spin around Polar Frontier. I didn't see any guests but the animals were certainly very active.

Wednesday, February 23

A few of you have been inquiring about Lily's latest test results. I was waiting until Trish and Chad had a chance to talk with Lily's oncologist but the following is what he has e-mailed concerning her MIBG scan. First he said that the urine markers had come back negative and that is very good. He also said that the area around where the tumor was removed looks normal. He did express some concern about an area of bone but he was going to discuss this with a colleague and the radiologist and get back with them later this week. He said he was very optimistic and would see Lily in 3 months for her follow up MRI. It sounds very positive, but I will feel much better once we hear from the oncologist. Thank you for all of your thoughts, prayers and concern.

Monday, February 21

Happy President's Day. What a gloomy day this started out to be. Spent several hours with my parents today. As rainy as it was, Mom wanted to walk over to the Alzheimer's wing to have lunch with Dad. He certainly lit up when we walked in. We had lunch and visited in his room for a short while.
At 4 pm I went to Dodd Hall for my TBI Spouse support group. We meet the 3rd Monday of every month. We had a new member tonight and I think she found it helpful. I know that I always come away from our meeting feeling much better and recharged for the coming month. There is a lot to be said for sharing your thoughts and feelings with others who are going through similar situations. Sometimes, laughing, talking or crying is just what is needed to keep us going. Driving back home however, drained some of those good feelings. It started as these huge round snowflakes as I left the parking garage and soon became icy snow the further west I went. I saw about three cars in the ditch before I made it home. Oh where, oh where did those 70 degree days go? I thought the groundhog didn't see his shadow.

Thursday, February 17

Home from CHOP with her IV port still in so she doesn't have to get stuck again tomorrow.

Luke is so good with his sister and she is always so glad to see him.

Conehead sundae.

Swim class at the YMCA in Dover

This cute little feline followed us on our walk yesterday.

Today Luke and I are on our own while Mommy, Daddy and Lily drive up to CHOP (Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia) to get her radio active isotope injection for tomorrow's MIBG scan. Amazingly, Luke slept in until 8:30. We almost forgot that Luke had swim lessons today. He had a small melt down when he first got up but eventually, after a sprinkle donut from Dunkin Donuts, was ready to give it a try. It was his last class in this session and he did great and was passed on to the advanced Pike class. After showering and dressing we played on the YMCA playground and then went to Friendly's for lunch. Luke was really hungry and ate his hamburger sliders, apples and a Conehead sundae. Then it was on to Toys R Us for his promised toy. After about 30 minutes he decided on a dragon castle. For Lily, we purchased a Sesame Street play TV remote because Luke doesn't like it when "sister" gets the remote and changes channels while he is watching tv. The weather was perfect today with temps nearing 70 so when we got back home we played out in the backyard for several hours.

Lily's appointment was at 1:30 but they didn't get in for the injection until after 3. There seemed to be some confusion about sedation for the IV but they arrived here a little before 7. Lily had a splint on her arm because they left the port in her arm so they won't have to stick her again in the morning. They have to check in tomorrow morning by 7 am. I will be watching Luke until noon and then Carlo and Nancy, friends of Trish and Chad's will watch him until Trish, Chad and Lily get home. I need to head home because I am on the Docent Training Committee which meets every Saturday until April 2. Keep Lily in your prayers since this test will indicate the presence of any new nueroblastoma growth.

Mr. B seems to be doing ok. He spent Monday at the Retired Teacher luncheon at the Der Dutchman and seems to be keeping busy getting the ice off the decks. Of course I'm pretty sure the 50 degree weather is making that job a lot easier.

Wednesday, February 16

Having a great time with the family. The weather is beautiful and I am so glad that I came out because I feel like I am helping by watching the grandkids during a somewhat stressful time. Although the news on Monday was positive, another test is scheduled for Friday. Peg headed home last night so I am the sole baby sitter for the rest of the week. Trish and Chad also have quite a few horses racing this week which makes for a lot of work. Tonight was a good night with 3 of their horses taking first and the others finishing in the money. I took Luke to his basketball practice. It was very entertaining. Each and every one of the 3 to 5 year olds were having the best time. I think it has been very good for Luke as far as his social and listening skills but not so sure he is improving his basketball skills. We ended the evening with a visit to the Dairy Queen. Tomorrow Lily has to go back to Philadelphia for an injection for the scan on Friday.

Monday, February 14

A very uncrowded boardwalk.

I think I like "sand angels" better than "snow angels" but we love our Luke angel!!

Grandma was digging a hole to China. At least that is what she told Luke when he asked.

Who needs binoculars when you can chase the sea gulls and get a closer look.

The "Shirley Temple" with extra cherries, think this one must have been a little sour.

Made it out to Dover. Left Sunday morning at 6:30, a little later than usual and I seemed a little more tired than usual. Guess those tournament games on Saturday wore me out. We also have been dealing with some problems with my parents. Dad managed to escape from the assisted living facility, not once but twice and he took a swing at a nurse. It has been decided that it is time to move him to the Alzheimer's unit in the other building. Mom did not handle it the greatest but seems to be enjoying herself a little more without the worry of knowing where Dad might be. I had dinner with her on Saturday night and she was working a jig saw puzzle when I got there.

Today, Grandma Peg and I went on a date with Luke. Trish and Chad and Lily had an appointment in Philadelphia with the oncologist to find out the results of the Friday MRI. Our date started with breakfast at IHOP where we stuffed ourselves with pancakes. We then headed down to Rehobeth beach. The sun came out and the temperatures were nearing 65 degrees while we were there. Peg put her stuff down and made herself comfortable lying on the beach while Luke and I checked out the sea gulls and tested the water temps. Brrrrr, too cold to go wading. We were nervously awaiting news from Trish and Chad about Lily's test results.

Finally, at about 2:30 we got the phone call. The MRI showed normal results with no new neuroblastomas. They did learn that Lily has to go for a MIGB scan on Friday that they didn't know about. Lily has to go Wednesday to be injected with radio active isotope tracers that will attach themselves to any neuroblastoma cells. When they do the scan on Friday it will give the oncologist a better idea of what course of treatment needs to be taken. So keep those prayers coming.

After we got the news from Trish we went to the Green Turtle, a restaurant with an oceanfront view of the beach. Luke had a "Shirley Temple" with extra cherries and a Turtle tender wrap while Peg and I both got the Turkey flatbread sandwich with raspberry jam. It was delicious!! We headed home and met up with Trish, Chad and Lily. It was a good day!

Thursday, February 10

Mr. Bichler during his last physical therapy session at Dodd Hall, February 9, 2008. Today, 2011 he will be coaching his team in their semi-final game against Grandview for a chance to play in the Mid-State League Championship. Hard to believe he has come this far!!

Boy is it cold out and getting colder by the minute. As we head into tournament season, I have been reading my blog entries from 2 years ago and it was 2 years ago today that Mr. B was discharged from Dodd Hall. It was interesting reading about our stay in the Independent Living Unit to see how we would do when we got home. I remember that I was very nervous about going home because Andy still didn't have his bone flap and was still wearing a helmet. He hated wearing it as I remember. It is so hard to think about everything that we were going through at the time. When I hear a news blurb about Gabrielle, the congress woman that was shot, it brings a lot of memories rushing back. I certainly sympathize with their family. I know the progress she is making is huge but I also know that the reality is that she is no where near the person she once was and probably never will be. Life will never be the same for their family. But as we all know, life is constantly changing, sometimes more abruptly than we expect, but changing all the same. If we are to survive we must learn to adapt. Learn to live in the moment, seek out happiness and wallow in it. With God beside me, who can be against me. My daily prayer, "God give me patience and help me through this day".