Are You Frickin’ Kidding Me? An Aug/Sep Surprise Trip... (12/01) Hakuna Matata

[Born 2B a Princess]

many prayers for your sweet girl, and for all of you -- I have suffered from chronic stomach problems for many years so I definitely sympathize! I hope she's feeling better soon.

 

[ForeverDance]

Oh, man. That's rough. Having a sick child just guts you. I know. I've been there.
And it never gets easier.
I really hope you begin to see an improvement in the (very) near future.

It is definitely the worst feeling. As a parent you want to be able to make them better and sometimes you just can't.
Thanks for the positive thoughts! We should know by the end of the week if she's okay.

I pray that your daughter feels better quickly. That really must be rough to go through. My thoughts are with your family.

Thank you! It has been pretty tough, especially on PrincessK. Usually she just rolls with these things but throwing up this much has really started to bother her too.

Hugs to your whole family hope your daughter feels better soon.

Thank you! Much appreciated.

Hope she feels better soon! What an ordeal!

Thank you! It has been quite the ordeal. Here's hoping it is over soon.

I hope your daughter is feeling!

I really enjoy reading trip reports from fellow Canucks! It gives me ideas...

Thank you and
I also enjoy reading trip reports from fellow Canucks.
If you haven't already, you should considering heading over to ponzi's trip report. He's also a fellow Canuck and his TR's are so much fun... just make sure you make it back here

Poor little thing, I hope she's feeling better quickly!

Thank you. I hope so too.

Hope Princess feels better fast !

Keep the faith.

Thank you, we will.

Sending good thoughts your way. Hope the doctors can figure out what's going on with your little girl and that a solution is found soon.

Thank you for the good thoughts. I'm really hoping that they do as well.

 

[ForeverDance]

What a great surprise. To bad about the car but it could have been so much worse.

You're absolutely right it could have been so much worse. I'm very grateful that no one was hurt... just our wallet

many prayers for your sweet girl, and for all of you -- I have suffered from chronic stomach problems for many years so I definitely sympathize! I hope she's feeling better soon.

Thank you for the prayers. Sorry to hear that you've had so many stomach problems as well. No fun at all.

 

[rsbh00]

Loving your trip report so far and can't wait to read the rest. Sorry about your daughter being sick, hope she gets better fast!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I hope your little one is feeling better soon. Great report so far. Can't even imagine driving all the way from Canada!

 

[Iamthequeen]

I'm so sorry to hear the Princess is still not feeling well. Praying for some answers and relief. Hugs.

 

[misssullyinc]

Hope your little one feels better, but your report is very entertaining! Can't wait for the next installment.

 

[ForeverDance]

Loving your trip report so far and can't wait to read the rest. Sorry about your daughter being sick, hope she gets better fast!

So glad you are enjoying the report.
PrincessK seems to be doing better but she's only been off the anti-nausea meds for one day so the next couple of days should be telling.

I hope your little one is feeling better soon. Great report so far. Can't even imagine driving all the way from Canada!

Thanks and . The drive from Canada isn't so bad. We've done it so many times that it really doesn't seem like such a big deal now. The only thing I hate is driving straight through.

I'm so sorry to hear the Princess is still not feeling well. Praying for some answers and relief. Hugs.

Thanks so much for the prayers. She seems better. I'll wait to declare her "all better" until we make it a few days without the anti-nausea meds.

Hope your little one feels better, but your report is very entertaining! Can't wait for the next installment.

Happy to have you along. Nice to know that you are being entertained.

 

[irene_dsc]

Feel better, PrincessK!

 

[DonnaBeeGood]

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[Pooh's-Honey-Pot]

Subbing!

 

[ForeverDance]

Feel better, PrincessK!

Thanks. I think she might finally be starting to feel better. She was definitely in a much better mode over the weekend and didn't throw up at all.

Fellow Canadian following along! I hope PrincessK (and your car) are starting to feel better. Very glad this didn't hit her while you were away. Looking forward to hearing good news about Princess K soon.

Nice to have another Canadian following along!
The car did get fixed when we got back. It was not cheap
PrincessK does seem to be feeling better. She's not eating well yet but she's happier and hasn't thrown up so here's hoping.

Subbing!

 

[goodmorningirl]

Hope your little girl starts feeling better soon! Healing thoughts her way!

 

[BLAZEY]

Just read your whole report thus far. I hope PrincessK feels better soon. I looked after a boy with CF who had travelled to Canada for a summer camp. Your description of your morning routine brought back memories of me making sure he took his enzymes with his food and used the nebulizer in the morning and before bed. My family heading to WDW in 8 days and my DD6 also has no idea we are going. We are going to tell he the morning of when we leave for our flight to Orlando from YYJ.

 

[ForeverDance]

Hope your little girl starts feeling better soon! Healing thoughts her way!

Thanks so much. I'll have an update on her in just a few minutes.

Just read your whole report thus far. I hope PrincessK feels better soon. I looked after a boy with CF who had travelled to Canada for a summer camp. Your description of your morning routine brought back memories of me making sure he took his enzymes with his food and used the nebulizer in the morning and before bed. My family heading to WDW in 8 days and my DD6 also has no idea we are going. We are going to tell he the morning of when we leave for our flight to Orlando from YYJ.

Thanks for reading along.
Yep morning routines are a little hectic with a little CFer. We're lucky that her lungs are so healthy that her treatments are pretty minimal.
Has your DD been to Disney world before? I hope your she loves it as much as mine did (oops I guess that should be a spoiler alert) .

 

[ForeverDance]

Thank you all for the well wishes for PrincessK. She did eventually start eating last week and we were even able to drop all her meds back to normal... it lasted 3 days. On Saturday she woke up with a mild fever which got worse as the day went on. She dressed in her costume and I allowed her to do the houses on our small court but that was probably a mistake even though she was only out for 15 minutes.

By 8pm her fever was over 102F.

We spent the night with her coughing and crying. It was a very long night. In the morning her fever was almost 104F and her cough was horrible. We called the respirologist on call and were lucky that she is a fellow of PrincessK's doctor and knew who we were. She saw us and we determined that PrincessK had croup which is apparently running rampant in our city right now.

On the up side. We gave her the steroid yesterday and within a couple of hours the cough had improved enough that she actually got a few hours sleep. She's at home with Grumpy today and hopefully she'll be able to go back to school tomorrow or the next day.

Her clinic did warn us that she would probably end up sick a lot when she first started school. I guess they were right

With everything going on it took me a long time to get the next installment ready... but it's on it's way and should be up very shortly.

 

[NJlauren]

Thank you all for the well wishes for PrincessK. She did eventually start eating last week and we were even able to drop all her meds back to normal... it lasted 3 days. On Saturday she woke up with a mild fever which got worse as the day went on. She dressed in her costume and I allowed her to do the houses on our small court but that was probably a mistake even though she was only out for 15 minutes.

By 8pm her fever was over 102F.

We spent the night with her coughing and crying. It was a very long night. In the morning her fever was almost 104F and her cough was horrible. We called the respirologist on call and were lucky that she is a fellow of PrincessK's doctor and knew who we were. She saw us and we determined that PrincessK had croup which is apparently running rampant in our city right now.

On the up side. We gave her the steroid yesterday and within a couple of hours the cough had improved enough that she actually got a few hours sleep. She's at home with Grumpy today and hopefully she'll be able to go back to school tomorrow or the next day.

Her clinic did warn us that she would probably end up sick a lot when she first started school. I guess they were right

With everything going on it took me a long time to get the next installment ready... but it's on it's way and should be up very shortly.

Happy to hear she is feeling a little better.

Stupid croup it's hitting our area hard too, I know a few people who have been to the ER with it recently!

Sending positive vibes and well wishes! And hugs

 

[ForeverDance]

Got Salt?
August 23, 2015

On this particular morning when I felt something stir beside me I had no trouble at all remembering that I was sharing a bed with PrincessK… she spent the entire night snuggled right up next to me.

If I moved over, she rolled over to join me.
If I gently pushed her back over to her side, she rolled back my way.
Each time I tried to claim some space for sleeping she would return and snuggle in closer.

When I finally conceded the battle she was snuggled up so close that I had to tilt my head up to make room for her under my chin.

It did not make for a restful sleep.

Despite being pretty tired from the long trip and the not-so-restful night, I was feeling happy and excited as I went about getting dressed and getting PrincessK’s breathing done. We were in Florida and in a few hours we would be done with the long drive and free to enjoy ourselves.

We made quick work of packing up and were in the car and ready to go by 8:20am. The IHOP we were going to was only around the corner so it should have been a 2 minute drive… it took 10 full minutes A series of construction barriers and badly parked vehicles caused us to have to drive around in circles until we finally found a way in through another restaurant behind the IHOP. It was pretty ridiculous.

Since we had just eaten there the day before, Grumpy and I both changed things up and had omelettes. I can’t remember exactly which ones we had but I can tell you that both were enormous and both were delicious.

I encouraged PrincessK to try the regular pancakes since she hadn’t eaten much of the chocolate one the day before.

She did… and ate almost none.

She spent most of the time bouncing around in the booth. It was clear that two days of driving were starting to make her stir-crazy. It was definitely time to get going.

We left IHOP at 9:20 am and made our first rest stop at 10:05 am. What can I say… coffee.

I took PrincessK with me and when we got into the stall I pulled out a sticky note to put over the sensor for the automatic flusher. As I was installing the “flush prevention device” PrincessK piped up with “I wish I was as big as BGirl when she went to Disney World because then the potty wouldn’t flush on me… and also I could go to Disney World.”



I was very grateful that my back was towards her.

Back on the road we continued our drive and at 10:56 we turned onto the Florida turnpike. Grumpy and I were a little nervous because we clearly remembered all the billboards for Disney World that were along this particular stretch of road. Luckily PrincessK was so involved watching The Croods that she never looked up from the iPad and completely missed them all.

At 11:25 we reached Orlando and my heart skipped a beat a little… we were so close.



And then we weren’t.



Because it was Sunday and our Disney check in date was Tuesday.

So onward we went. You might recall that the original plan was to bring PrincessK to Kennedy Space Center but after seeing how well she was able to sit still during breakfast we quickly realized it would be in our best interest to skip it. So we changed our plans again.

What didn’t change was heading to Cocoa Beach.

A little background: When I was 9 my parents and I drove down to Florida to spend two weeks with my Grandparents who had rented a condo in Cocoa Beach. That was my first and only family trip to Florida as a child and it holds some of my very favourite childhood memories. For that reason, it has a special place in my heart.

At around 12:35 we arrived in Cocoa Beach and proceeded down the main street to the Four Points.

“Kinda busy here eh? They might not even have a room for us.”

Ah Grumpy, the eternal optimist

We pulled into the registration parking and Grumpy and PrincessK stayed in the car while I went to beg and plead for a room. I passed about 30 people waiting for a shuttle. Inside the doors, another 10 people were milling about. It wasn’t looking great but I put on my nicest smile and approached the young man at the counter.

Young Man: “Can I help you?”
Me: “I’m hoping you might have a room for me for a couple of nights.”
Young Man: “Let me look….<type, type, type>… What day will you be checking out?”
Me: “Tuesday.”
Young Man: “So two nights. Hmmm…..<pause>…<typing>… <more pausing>…. <more typing>… <even more pausing>”


Darn it Grumpy was probably right… I hate that!


“I can see a room here that I think is available but I’m a little confused about whether it’s ready or not. I need to check with the manager one sec.”

He left and returned. Alone.

Young man: “It’ll just be a couple of minutes. Sorry about this.”
Me: “Oh no worries.”

We proceeded to have a lovely conversation about this and that. We talked about how Grumpy and I were surprising the girls with a trip to Disney, about how he was enjoying his new job, and about how hot the weather was this year.

Eventually he walked to the back again. A few minutes later he returned with the manager who smiled and apologized for the long delay.

I returned the smile. “No worries.”

The young man showed her what he was looking at and they discussed what the various codes meant. Then she turned to me.

Manager: “How many are in your party?”
Me: “There’s 3 of us. My husband and my 4 year old are waiting in the car.”

The manager turned to the young man again. “Go ahead and put her in that junior suite… for the standard rate.”

She turned back to me. “Thanks again for all your patience. Have a great stay.”

Wow. Pixie dust already and we hadn’t even made it to Disney yet!


After the check-in process was complete I returned to the car and we drove up and parked. We were able to park on the same level as our room which was pretty handy. The room was easy to find and it really was great.

Nice size room.



Comfortable Beds


A great little sitting area



And a great view!



Our room actually looked out into the hotel shop which was pretty neat. Right below us was the hotel restaurant which had a shark tank and we could see them swimming around from our window.

At 1:15 we had everything settled into our room. We Skyped with BGirl a bit before she left for her rookie camp and then it was time to get out and really stretch our legs for the first time in two days!


Our first stop was the beach. PrincessK had never seen the ocean and she was so excited. She skipped and ran and jumped the whole way… which was less than 5 minutes.

By the time we got there she was bright red and very sweaty.

I handed her a cup of Pedialyte and helped her remove her shoes. She jumped into the sand and stood there for a few minutes squishing it in her toes.




We’ve been to the beach before but only the ones off the Great Lakes. Those beaches range from sandy to rocky but none have the same feel as the beach by an ocean.

She danced along in the sand a bit and eventually came running back, hand extended.




“Mommmmmmaaaaaaa….. look a shell”

It was the tiniest shell I’d ever seen but she was so excited and proud of her discovery.

We let her look around for shells a bit longer but it was so hot that we knew we needed to get her out of the sun for a while.

One of the side effects of Cystic Fibrosis is that it causes the person to sweat more and when they do they lose a lot more salt than a “normal” person. Seriously, don’t ever kiss a kid with CF on the head when they are sweaty… especially if you have chapped lips

The most problematic part of this is that the loss of salt leaves them at a serious risk for dehydration.

We hadn’t been out that long and she was really sweaty. I was starting to worry that I may have overestimated my ability to keep PrincessK safely cool and hydrated on the trip.

Since we hadn’t really eaten since breakfast we decided to grab something to eat. We ended up at Pizza Hut simply because it was close and air conditioned.

Hey PrincessK are you happy to be in the cool air?



Yep it looks like it.


We ordered our standard meat pizza with stuffed crust (I admit it, we eat way too much pizza at home) and chatted while we waited. While Grumpy and I were chatting PrincessK reached across the table, grabbed the salt and dumped a bunch on her placemat.






Yep. She was clearly in need of some extra salt.



One of the interesting things I have found is that PrincessK’s body does a good job of letting her know when she needs extra. When she’s low she seems to crave it so once in a while she’ll ask for straight up salt and it’s usually a good indication that she’s lost more than we realized.


Lunch was fine and the air conditioning was heaven. It felt so good in fact that I had almost forgotten just how hot it was… until we walked out the door.


BAM!


Ever walked into a sauna? Seriously that’s what it felt like.


But PrincessK wasn’t fazed one bit. She was loving her surprise trip to the ocean and danced her way down the street.



We decided that a bit of shopping was in order so we took a left and very soon entered the air conditioned bliss of Ron Jon Surf Shop.

We wanted to get PrincessK a pair of beach shoes for when we went to Typhoon Lagoon since we remembered the bottom being pretty scratchy. We found those quickly and almost as quickly PrincessK found something that she just had to have.

I told her how much money she had to spend for the trip and that she wouldn’t get any more so perhaps she should think about it before making her purchase. She agreed and put it back on the shelf.

We strolled around the store and looked around for anything else we might want.

After investigating every nook and cranny of that air conditioned heaven, we headed to the check out to buy our two items: the beach shoes and a shell bag.

Since we had promised PrincessK that we would get up early and search for shells the next morning we figured something to put them in would be a good idea. Sure we could have used a plastic bag but the mesh bag would allow me to wash them out when we got back to the hotel without risk of losing or breaking them.

We thought PrincessK would have forgotten about the item that we convinced her to put back but the time spent wandering around did not dissuade her so she used some of her spending money to pay for it and we headed out.

We went directly across the street to our hotel and browsed around in the shop but didn’t find anything we wanted. While we were browsing, Grumpy and I decided that we didn’t want to go out for dinner. We were hot and tired and just wanted to get to the room and stay for the night. With that in mind we went across the street to Winn-Dixie and grabbed snacks and drinks to have in the room.

We were back in our room by 4:30 pm where PrincessK promptly grabbed her purchase out of the bags.

I have to admit she certainly loved it.




And what was it?



Meet “Maddie”. The newest in PrincessK’s collection of 26,000 Beanie Boos.

At the time I thought it was a waste that she spent her vacation money on something she could probably find back home but I have actually never seen “Maddie” anywhere else, so I guess it was a good thing that she got her when she did.

The rest of our night would have been pretty uneventful except that PrincessK was crazy. The kind of crazy that happens when a child is overtired. The kind that makes you want to strangle them a la Homer Simpson.

Getting her to eat was a challenge.
Getting her to do her breathing was a challenge.
Even giving her a bath was a challenge... she splashed and threw water ALL OVER THE BATHROOM.

By 6:30 we’d had enough and put her to bed. She tossed and turned and sang for a while but was finally asleep by 7:15… not too bad considering how crazy she was acting.

Grumpy and I stayed up and watched TV. The new “Fear the Walking Dead” series was starting that night and I discovered that the hotel got AMC. I’m a huge Walking Dead fan so I was pretty excited to watch the new show.

We got about 10 minutes in before I started drifting in and out of consciousness. Eventually I was more out than in. I woke just before the episode ended but had no idea what had happened.

“Guess I’ll have to re-watch it when we get home.”
“Re-watch? Wouldn’t that imply you saw any of it at all?”

The man had a point.


We climbed into our respective beds (him alone and me with PrincessK) and I set the first alarm of the trip… an early alarm for a chance to find some great shells.



Up Next: A Shell Hunting We Will Go

 

[BLAZEY]

Thanks for reading along.
Yep morning routines are a little hectic with a little CFer. We're lucky that her lungs are so healthy that her treatments are pretty minimal.
Has your DD been to Disney world before? I hope your she loves it as much as mine did (oops I guess that should be a spoiler alert) .[/QUOTE]

Glad PrincessK's lungs are healthy considering her diagnosis. My DD6 has not yet been to WDW, although we have been to Disneyland with her and she and I went to Paris Disneylans in 2014 for a day while visiting relatives in the UK. We took the train from London to Paris and my FIL, DD and I went. I can't wait we surprise her in 5 day or 120 hours but who's counting. It will be an adventure for sure. when we went to the UK we took the ferry from Victoria to Vancouver and flew from Vancouver. This time we fly from Victoria to Vancouver to San Fransisco to Orlando. Back home we fly Orlando to Ottawa to Vancouver the Victoria. She was great on the UK flight slept 6 of the 11 hours!

 

[tabrizia]

Her clinic did warn us that she would probably end up sick a lot when she first started school. I guess they were right

My husband likes to call preschool the germ factory. I hope she feels better soon.

Your day at the beach sounded fun. I hope you have more fun at the beach before heading to Disney World.