Back from Seattle

Hello there.

Time flies since I left for Seattle and then we are back and back to the grind. I have been so busy since I have gotten back. So here is the update from Seattle.

First of all - even though I just had a 4 hour flight from AK to Seattle - traveling by yourself with 2 kids SUCKS! I caught the famous red eye out of AK and was lucky that it wasn't a full flight and Blake was able to get his own seat (this will come to haunt me later...you'll see). And all in all was a pretty good flight. We left ontime right at 0130 am (WOW a first for me) and the boys didn't fall asleep until 345 am. We then landed around 6. Not to much sleep.

Getting a rental car was a nightmare and the car seats they gave me were hideous. I said I am not putting my children in those and you need to find me some other ones! That took forever. To the Westin we went and slept on that nice heavenly bed! It was super nice to take a nap for about 3 hours before I had to travel back to the airport to pick up my brother. The kids were both asleep when we picked up him and woke up when we got back to the hotel. Ian was so excited to see him. Ran right up to him and said "unlce Kyle is here" and gave him a big hug. Blake (who was just a few months old when Kyle left AK) doesn't know him, but seeing Ian so excited screamed and ran right up to him as well. If Big Brother Ian is excited, well so should he I guess! :)

We arrived Sunday and enjoyed the warm weather outside after some power naps. We went to Seattle center and went to the Childrens Meusem. The boys LOVED it. They could run around and explore and just have a super duper time!

Playing at the Childrens Museum

Ian loved this water thing. You pushed the buttons and could squirt high powered water to move a ping pong ball.

Blake loved this thing. You pushed the button and a gust of air would shoot up and blow the beach ball.

Monday we drove to FT Lewis. To see the Neurologist which everything turned out ok. :) He checked out fine. Then we ate at Olive Garden. Oh my... how I miss eating out! Also, we went shopping at the mall. Very exciting. I hit up a HUGE sale at Eddie Bower and added some nice things for my birthday. Then ate out. yummy!

Out to Eat

Ian loves his Uncle Kyle

Tuesday we had no appointments to go to so went to Pikes Market. LOVED that place. There were so many yummy fresh foods and veggies and milk and eggs and flowers. I ate the most juiciest peach there ever! I gave Ian 5 dollars and he and Kyle picked out a huge bouquet of flowers for only $5! It was the best. If I totally lived downtown Seattle i would be down there every day I had off. Then we went to the Aquarium. They boys enjoyed the fish and wondering around and checking things out. They loved the penguins. Then back to the hotel to nap then out to dinner and off to the Space Needle. They loved the Needle, we were "High in the sky" according to Ian. :)

Pikes Market

Store called Ian on the way to Pikes Market
Flowers!

My $5 Flowers Ian picked out. LOVE them.
High in the sky!

Very cool!
Wednesday was my birthday and Ians big day at Seattle Childrens Hospital. We checked in and off we were to the pre-op area. Things run much differently then they do here in Fairbanks. More, smoothly. Ian was able to pick out the flavor of his "laughing gas" mask. I walked with him to this gurney and held his hand while they put the "laughing gas" on and he went to sleep. Gave him a kiss and walked away. They pulled the curtain and before I could get to the room I heard the nurse say IV in and they wheeled him to the MRI. I got breakfast and came back and shortly after he came too. They also recover differently. He came back to me still sedated while in AK they go to PACU and wake up there and come back awake. They used this certain anesthesia which was awesome and I need to call them to find out because Ian was asleep for 30 min and woke up pulled his oxygen off his nose and sat up and said I want a Popsicle. IV came out, then we were off. I was like wow, I don't have to sit here for an hour and you take vitals. (they were taking them frequently while we were in the room and Ian was sleeping). Then off the neurologist office where they told me the tumor is still there. Hasn't grown. Its just sat there for the past 9 months. And that is just we want it to do. Big sigh of relief. Now we go to MRI's every 6 months for 3 times and then go yearly. Every 6 months I will start to get stressed out has it moved, what is next. I hate not knowing if this tumor is going to grow, I want to control it and hit the button and say DELETE. But that is not how things go. So we just wait...

Ian snoozing away. Sleeps like his Daddy with his eyes open!

After the MRI we came back for another power nap (Kyle was watching Blake) we hit up the pool and then the Zoo & out to our last dinner. The Zoo was ok. Tacoma Zoo is much more nicer and has more animals. (We went there last time we were in Seattle) To bad I didn't the know the B 52's were playing. I totally would have gotten tickets! Then we to Cheesecake Factory and Ian told the waiter it was my birthday and they came and brought cake and sang to me. He was so very proud that he told the waiter! :) It was the best food I have had in a while. YUMMM! Can't wait to move to the lower 48 and eat some yummy food.

Ohh Penguins


Huge Octopus

Then off to catch a plane the next day and off to work on Friday...

Seattle Pictures.

Although the trip to Seattle was very stressful. We did enjoy ourselves very much- despite all the talk about Ian's Brain. Ian really got to know his Aunt Brooke, Uncle Spencer and his cousin Kaylee. We went to the zoo, and went shopping (shopping in Fairbanks is scarce!), and had some great food (also, not many restaurants up here). He also enjoyed the airport very much. We had gotten to the airport early in Seattle, ate dinner and watched the planes take off and land. He even got to meet the pilot! He thought was the coolest thing ever! So here are a few pictures. ENJOY.

Ian and his cousin Kaylee

Ian and some animal - Can't remember what it was.

Ian liked playing with Dora's hair!

Ian and Kaylee "raced' with jackets on every night before bed. So cute.

Update

We were off to Seattle Childrens yesterday. A beautiful hospital, that would be my dream job to work there! It was wonderful, kid friendly, bright colors. As soon as you walked in you felt welcomed. They had a greater on every floor. I must have looked super lost because she walked right up to me. She asked where I needed to go...I choked when I said Neurosurgery. Never in a million years did I think that I would be in a consultation about my child with a neurosurgeon. But if I were to do it - it was a good thing that I was doing it there. They are in the top 10 Childrens Hospitals in the Country. Also, the doctor that I was going to was voted best doctor in Seattle for 2006-2007.

So he was in surgery so we had to wait on him...not a big deal at all. Just made my nerves a little hyped up. We chat with him...Good news. He is NOT calling it a tumor. He is calling it a lesion. So pretty much hes not sure what it is. A lesion is some form of brain injury. That part I don't understand. I was so emotionally drained and It was just Ian and I - I really wasn't thinking right to ask the right questions, nor did I follow my own advice when I tell patients at my work - write down questions to ask the doctor before you go into the visit.

So, with this lesion we are going to do a follow up MRI in 3 months. We are not in the clear yet - if this "thing" changes shape, position, size we return to see the surgeon and discuss a biopsy. And then go from there. If there is NO change in 3 months we will have an MRI every 6 months for a few times then it will go yearly. All results will be sent to Seattle Children's and they will discuss Ian's case in front a a tumor board. He did say that Ian could have this thing for ever and never bother him. However, if it did change size, shape or position - it would be classified as a tumor and he said that he would be 90% sure it would be benign.

I cannot thank you all enough for all the great thoughts, messages, prayers! We just need to pray now for no growth and just maybe, maybe the next MRI it could be gone. I know that is wishful thinking - but now I can relax just a little and enjoy my brother-in-law and sister-in-law a little more and enjoy playing with thier little girl Kaylee- pictures to come. They have been wonderful to us so far! :) I can't thank them enough.