Disney - Make a Wish

This past week has been magical to say the least!  It started on Wednesday evening when our wish granters organized our send off party at the Texas Roadhouse.  Here they told us the details of our trip and gave the kids a few things to take on the trip.  Friday evening the kids made signs and posted them all over the house for Daddy's arrival. 

Sunday morning at 3:45 a limo pulled up and the four of us hopped in bright eyed and bushy tailed to catch a 6:05 flight to Orlando.  At the airport we were greeted by our Southwest friends who decorated the terminal and sent us off in style with earmuffs, Halloween pails piled high with goodies and rock star sunglasses.  The kids chatted and played the entire flight instead of closing their eyes ... they were so excited!

Upon arrival a Give Kids the World volunteer was waiting for us and helped with our bags, rental car and directions.  This little detail was a life saver with two excited children!

We were at Give Kids the World by 11:00 and while we won't share all the details with you today because we have close friends doing this same trip next week and want to keep some surprises for them .. we will share a few:

• Five parks in five days (Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, Lego Land and Sea World)
• When we weren't at the parks we were enjoying all the activities and luxuries of Give Kids the World such as mini golf, unlimited ice cream, splash pad, youth spa, candy land playground and so much more
• We met Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Donald Duck, Chip & Dale, Balo, Phineas & Ferb, and many others.  But we can't forget Maddie's favorite ... Tinker Bell

While at the parks we were treated like royalty with our Give Kids the World badge that granted us access to all rides, attractions and characters without lines.  As soon as a cast member spotted the badge we were escorted to the front of the line or in some cases brought in the back door for private sessions with characters.  We were also touched by the cooperation of other families who never gave us a look or lip.

We are honored to have taken this once in a life time trip and made so many lasting memories thanks to Make a Wish, Give Kids the World, Pat Harriman (wish granter) and Kevin Emery (wish granter)!! 

Birthday, IGG & UNH

We've been kinda quiet over the last few weeks because we've had a lot to celebrate .. Colin turned five, Mommy had a birthday and Colin's three year post diagnosis.  It was two weeks of celebration with pizza parties, Durham fair, munchkins at school, presents, more presents, cup cake decorating and so much more.

Colin's counts remain in range however over the past few weeks we've been monitoring his IVIG level which is how the body fights off infections.  It's been decreasing over the last month, coming in at 281 last week.  The doctors like it to be around 500 and transfuse under 400 so with the fall and winter season ahead of us we began the process.  The approval process for insurance took a week and he received the transfusion today.

Colin's port  needed a jump start today but Colin was very patient.  In the mean time, we tried a new trick with the Tylenol ... instead of the liquid we crushed a pill and diluted it in his 'med juice' just like we do with this daily oral chemo.  Note to self: worked great!

Once the benadryl kicked in Colin was sleepy but quickly woke when Mikey's Way Foundation came by with their cart full of electronic gadgets.  Colin chose a Leap Pad over a Car computer and quickly put it work!  During the three hour transfusion Colin continued to fight off the sleepy effects of the benadryl by playing Candy Land, four puzzles and a bunch of movies. 

We ended the day at UNH where we were honored and privileged to met the baseball team Colin was partnered with through Team Impact.  http://www.newhavenchargers.com/index.aspx?path=baseball  The guys were great and greeted us with a decorated locker for Colin that included a hat, shirt, helmet, munchkins, oreos and more!  We prepared the team to meet the normal shy Colin and to our surprise they met the wild one.  Perhaps it was the energy from the transfusion, the benadryl, nerves, or a combination of all! Whichever it was, although it was nice to see the energy, both Colin and Maddie's listening skills are something we definitely need to improve on!  Everyone made us feel very welcome and are very excited to spend more time with our new friends!

Colin's Crew Fun & Hope:  thank you to all our friends, family and supporters that came down to the Fun Hope event.  We're excited about scheduling more meal & snack distributions with the funds raised!