Nathan's Magical Wish Trip- Pre-trip report

[oklamomof4boys]

Originally Posted by zeppy68

Hopefully your yard sale went well.


Do you think I should order make a wish shirts for the only family or do you think make a wish will include this? Dont want to wait to long since we leave in three weeks.



http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1958228

The yard sell went fairly well except at the end when we were cleaning up, one of my friends stepped off a curb wrong and broke her ankle! So we spent the afternoon in the ER with her!

As far as the shirts, after reading what other people said, I am guessing they only send them for the wish child. You might call your organization and ask them. I am going to call ours tomorrow. I was going to just order them from the MAW website ( thanks for giving me the heads up on that Amber! I don't know why I didn't think of that. I found all sorts of stuff to put on my "wish " list! Only thing about them is that the one they sent Nathan is blue with white writing and the ones on the website are white with blue writing. Blue shirts would stay much cleaner with my boys. So I am going to call first thing in the morning and if I can't buy them through our local chapter, I will order them. We leave in 2 weeks, surely they will get here in time. I also have to call our local chapter because in our letter it says Nathan is 9. He turned 10 a couple of weeks ago. This wouldn't be a big deal except 10 is an adult for Disney tickets. I'm not sure if this will be a problem with our comp tickets that we get at GKTW. I just want to make sure.

[oklamomof4boys]

I should be cleaning up the house, but I don't really feel very well, so I don't have the energy for that. So I will finish my ten years ago today.

After Nathan's little set back on Halloween, things got progressively better. In fact, David eventually decided he needed to get back to our home town-both to be with the other boys and to work. We had missed so much with the older 3. At just 3 1/2, William had learned to read while we were gone! We noticed this when we were having a weekend visit and we were at a restaurant. William looked at the office door and said, " That says off ice". He and Tucker then had an arguement because Tucker said it said " office". Sam also had pottytrained himself. He had just turned 2 and we were going to wait because every one said he would regress once the baby was here. It was hard to have David leave- he was my rock. But my parents were great. I didn't feel capable of driving so my dad would drive me to the hospital every morning. The first morning alone, I was praying on the way. I told God that I didn't feel strong enough to go by myself. Just then we passed a church marquee that said, " The joy of the Lord will be my strength!" For 6 beautiful days he got better and better. I could hold him and sing to him. I made a tape of music for them to play for him when I was gone. He was eating just a little bit of the milk I had pumped for him. I felt like I was finally being a mother to him. On Nov. 5, the doctor told me he thought we were over the big hurdles and on the road to recovery. That night, before I went to bed, I called the NICU around midnight to check on him before I fell asleep. They said he was doing great. 6 hours later I awoke with a start. I called the NICU. They said, " Did someone call you?" Okay, that isn't a good sign. I told them no, I just felt I should call. She said, " Let me get the doctor." I was really starting to panic. Nathan had started having a seizure almost immediately after I hung up at midnight. They still hadn't gotten it stopped more than 6 hours later! Finally they gave him some medicine to put him in a drug induced coma because he was jerking out his IVs and vent. The doctor said he would still be seizing, we just wouldn't be able to see it. Of course, David headed back to OKC. It was a dark day. They did 2 spinal taps and both of them came back with blood in the spinal fluid-they were confident that Nathan had bleeding in the brain. They just weren't sure of the extent of the brain damage. It was a Friday and they didn't want to do the MRI until Monday. It was a very long weekend. The MRI on Monday was quite an ordeal. Nathan had to be off of his IVs for the MRI so Lawanda accompanied him. We were quite close with her by now. She wore her wedding ring on a chain along with a cross when she was at work. She took it off and placed it around my neck for safe keeping while she kept my baby safe during his MRI. Waiting for the results was agony. Finally the doctor came out ecstatic-the MRI was normal! They let Nathan come out of his drug induced coma and he stayed seizure free for 8 1/2 years! They aren't sure how long his first seizure actually lasted since we couldn't see all of it-somewhere between 7 and 72 hours. They aren't sure if the seizures he had 18 months ago are related to the one he had as a baby ( he hasn't had another one since starting meds). He does have some problems with his memory, but they aren't sure if that is related either. As Nathan finished his stay in the NICU, Lawanda asked the doctor why Nathan had blood in his spinal fluid. He said, " I guess I missed when I did it." She said, " You have done thousands of spinal taps on tiny micro preemie. Have you ever missed before?" He said no. She said, " And you missed on a 5 pounder TWICE???" He said that was the only " medical explanation". She asked him if he would call it a miracle. He said he was comfortable with that. He then asked if we would mind starting to pray for some other babies that were critical! They kept Nathan for a few more weeks- until he could eat better on his own ( he always had trouble coordinating the suck/swallow/breathe) and we were all comfortable with taking him home. As I said before, we finally took him home the day before Thanksgiving!


ANd that is the end of " 10 years ago today!"-lol!

Now I can concentrate on trip planning! Hopefully I will get pictures posted tonight. David was busy all day putting a cover on the pool and doing the final lawn mowing. I still need to clean the house but I have either allergies or a cold. The kids are all a bit cranky- the extra hour of sleep didn't seem to help us much- and now they are clammoring for dinner. I've already fed them twice today-what more do they want?! lol

[oklamomof4boys]

Well, I have the house picked up at least. And guess what I found as I was digging through all the rubble- which was mostly Halloween candy wrappers. I found the cutest little drawing of a snake by Lucas. It came in one of the Big Give packages-but I'm not sure which since I wasn't home when Nathan opened them. But whoever Lucas belongs to, tell him thank you. I love the personalized touches that comes with the Big Give. Also, Nathan is wanting to wear his tie dye Mickey to school tomorrow. It might be the only way I get him out of his Mickey race car jammies- he has only had them off long enough to go to church!

[zeppy68]

mickey mouse race car jammies so cute!!!!!!!!!!!

[mom2lilnick]

Thanks for the final installment of Nathan's journey. Hugs!

I think all chapters are different, but we all have MAW t-shirts, they brought them the very first visit. Nick actually has two because the first one was small, so they brought a bigger size one when they came to tell us our official dates.

I hear ya about the white t's. If my boys get a white shirt it is a sure bet they will spill something on it, or wipe their mouth after eating something with ketchup.

[iu97alum]

Gosh! Only 10 days left!! Are you beyond excited????

[oklamomof4boys]

Originally Posted by iu97alum

Gosh! Only 10 days left!! Are you beyond excited????

I am very excited! Work is keeping me so busy that I don't have much time to think about it but the time is flying by! I have all sorts of meetings and paperwork I need to get done before we leave. I really need to pack this weekend. I'm a bit bummed about not being able to get MAW t-shirts. I know it is not that big of a deal. I just had images of pictures of us all together. I keep checking their website that maybe they will suddenly have shirts-lol! The boys are so busy with activities that we don't have a free moment it seems. In fact, right now I'm off to basketball scrimmages for William and Sam. It will be Sam's first time to play since breaking his leg.

[macntosh]

Originally Posted by oklamomof4boys

I am very excited! Work is keeping me so busy that I don't have much time to think about it but the time is flying by! I have all sorts of meetings and paperwork I need to get done before we leave. I really need to pack this weekend. I'm a bit bummed about not being able to get MAW t-shirts. I know it is not that big of a deal. I just had images of pictures of us all together. I keep checking their website that maybe they will suddenly have shirts-lol! The boys are so busy with activities that we don't have a free moment it seems. In fact, right now I'm off to basketball scrimmages for William and Sam. It will be Sam's first time to play since breaking his leg.

What are your thoughts on having your own Wish shirts made? Some great designers on this board have made some great art that can be ironed on any shirt. Here is a sample:



This designer can use many different images inside the WISH part.

Here is her thread:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread....966574&page=55

[oklamomof4boys]

Originally Posted by macntosh

What are your thoughts on having your own Wish shirts made? Some great designers on this board have made some great art that can be ironed on any shirt. Here is a sample:



This designer can use many different images inside the WISH part.

Here is her thread:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread....966574&page=55

Thanks for the link- I will try that!

[macntosh]

You may also want to buy this transfer paper. It is what I will be purchasing for our t-shirt designs.

http://www.amymickey.com/

[teresajoy]

Originally Posted by oklamomof4boys

Well, I have the house picked up at least. And guess what I found as I was digging through all the rubble- which was mostly Halloween candy wrappers. I found the cutest little drawing of a snake by Lucas. It came in one of the Big Give packages-but I'm not sure which since I wasn't home when Nathan opened them. But whoever Lucas belongs to, tell him thank you. I love the personalized touches that comes with the Big Give. Also, Nathan is wanting to wear his tie dye Mickey to school tomorrow. It might be the only way I get him out of his Mickey race car jammies- he has only had them off long enough to go to church!

That was probably from Anna's little boy, she sent you the tie dyed t-shirts. He's a real cutie!

[oklamomof4boys]

We are so blessed. I thought I had posted about our gift a couple of days ago. I guess I just posted in my mind!-lol! I hope other people do that. I think out in my mind what I am going to write but then later I think I've actually posted it! Anyway, Nathan got a nifty little package of pixie dust- lots of goodies to keep him occupied on the trip. He especially loved the Mickey Mouse magic towel- you know, one of those freeze dried like wash rags. Nathan gets very hot at night and likes to sleep with a wet rag on his head. Now he has a special one to use! I kept that package so I could write down who it was from but my husband thought he was helping and threw it away. How dare he try to help clean up the house! I think he has thrown away trash twice in his life and both times it was big give wrapping! So whoever it was from -thank you so much!

Then today we got 2 more packages. First was one for me! It is a beautiful little bit of bling for me from Maroo- a very cute blue bracelet! Then we got a package from teresajoy! It had some very cute Mickey Mouse lounge pants for Tucker. He'll have to keep a close eye on them so they don't disappear into my room! Then her son, Corey, made some adorable Mickey Mouse wallets out of duct tape. My nephew has that book on how to make things with duct tape. It is amazing what you can make. Nathan squealed with excitement when he saw them. At first he was worried they were for Tucker since the pants were for him. I assured him he could have one. He absolutely loves it. He keeps talking about how he is going to put his money in it to take to WDW and then he can keep it in his pocket and "whip it out" when he wants to buy a snack or souvenir. He says all this with a visual demonstration. Now you have to understand. Nathan has some problems with his memory and when he is really excited about something, he says it over and over and over again- because he forgets that he already said it. So I have heard and seen this spiel many times this afternoon!

I know I keep saying I will post pictures, but I promise, I really will try to get to that this weekend.

Carol

[maroo]

Originally Posted by oklamomof4boys

We are so blessed. I thought I had posted about our gift a couple of days ago. I guess I just posted in my mind!-lol! I hope other people do that. I think out in my mind what I am going to write but then later I think I've actually posted it! Anyway, Nathan got a nifty little package of pixie dust- lots of goodies to keep him occupied on the trip. He especially loved the Mickey Mouse magic towel- you know, one of those freeze dried like wash rags. Nathan gets very hot at night and likes to sleep with a wet rag on his head. Now he has a special one to use! I kept that package so I could write down who it was from but my husband thought he was helping and threw it away. How dare he try to help clean up the house! I think he has thrown away trash twice in his life and both times it was big give wrapping! So whoever it was from -thank you so much!

Then today we got 2 more packages. First was one for me! It is a beautiful little bit of bling for me from Maroo- a very cute blue bracelet! Then we got a package from teresajoy! It had some very cute Mickey Mouse lounge pants for Tucker. He'll have to keep a close eye on them so they don't disappear into my room! Then her son, Corey, made some adorable Mickey Mouse wallets out of duct tape. My nephew has that book on how to make things with duct tape. It is amazing what you can make. Nathan squealed with excitement when he saw them. At first he was worried they were for Tucker since the pants were for him. I assured him he could have one. He absolutely loves it. He keeps talking about how he is going to put his money in it to take to WDW and then he can keep it in his pocket and "whip it out" when he wants to buy a snack or souvenir. He says all this with a visual demonstration. Now you have to understand. Nathan has some problems with his memory and when he is really excited about something, he says it over and over and over again- because he forgets that he already said it. So I have heard and seen this spiel many times this afternoon!

I know I keep saying I will post pictures, but I promise, I really will try to get to that this weekend.

Carol

Yeah!! You got the bracelet...did it fit? I was worried because I didn't have your wrist size??! I hope so!!!

I TOTALLY understand about forgetting to write stuff...The Big Give is so overwhelming (in a totally good way)...but it is also so hard to keep track of everything! Getting ready for the Wish trip...and getting all of the packages...and having kids opening and tossing the wrapping...I am totally there...I can see all of that happening!!

Anyway...just wanted you to know that you are definitely NOT the only one...

[oklamomof4boys]

Originally Posted by maroo

Yeah!! You got the bracelet...did it fit? I was worried because I didn't have your wrist size??! I hope so!!!

I TOTALLY understand about forgetting to write stuff...The Big Give is so overwhelming (in a totally good way)...but it is also so hard to keep track of everything! Getting ready for the Wish trip...and getting all of the packages...and having kids opening and tossing the wrapping...I am totally there...I can see all of that happening!!

Anyway...just wanted you to know that you are definitely NOT the only one...

Thanks for making me not feel so bad! And the bracelet fit great! Thanks again!

[mom2lilnick]

YAY! Sounds like awesome gifts. I have never seen duct tape wallets, you will have to post pics of those, they sound awesome!!