Extra prayers and pixie dust please! *update 10/26 - Surgery went well!*

[roomthreeseventeen]

*hugs to you* Let me know if there's anything I can do.

 

[Rozz]

Pixie Dust to all of you! I hope and pray your son does well. Sounds like he's going to be able to continue with his classes and has the support he needs. You are wonderful for all you do for him and your family; "family" includes the dog! We love our pets too and do what we can for them. Sometimes, I wish I didn't have quite so many...

 

[DrMomof3]

Thank you all!

Amanda

 

[wendydarling826]

Sending prayers, hugs, and pixie dust your way, Amanda. It doesn't seem right that when we're dealing with the big things in life, the smaller but aggravating things keep happening too, but it always seems to happen that way. Stay strong and take care.

 

[DrMomof3]

I didn't think it was possible but we made it on vacation. My oldest chil - the one who has been ill -is doing well with my parents and my younger 2 are being spoiled rotten by the nanny. We come home late Monday night to face our problems - the dog goes to the vet on Tues, my oldest child has 2 doctor's appointments this week, and the new boiler will be installed starting tomorrow - but we are having a fabulous time!
Our flight out of JFK last night was packed but we arrived 15 minutes early. The car service was waiting and we were quickly checked in at the Swan. We have a lovely king bed room. We made it to the bar at Il Mulino 10 minutes before the kitchen closed so we ordered some appetizers and drinks.
The weather today is perfect! We walked to DHS this morning and arrived 3 minutes before rope drop. We rode Rock n Roller Coaster, ToT, Star Tours. We decided to ride RNR one more time. Just as we were getting in line, someone handed us their FPs (thank you to that magical stranger). We stopped at Guest Services to get my birthday button and pick up our tickets for MNSSHP. Then we took the boat to Epcot.
We ate and drank our way around the World. A lovely CM in Australia (who is from the Bronx - which is where I work) handed me a free piece of cake for my birthday. Maybe it's just my smile today but so many people went out of their way to wish me a good birthday.
My DH took the boat back to the Swan while I stopped at BC to visit my dear friend Teena (she's a greeter and DIS-er). We had a lovely visit. Nw I'm chilling out and reting before getting dressed for the party tonight.
Our problems are all still there but for today at least, they feel far away!

Thank you Disney and thank you DIS!
Amanda

 

[EDuke98080]

I didn't think it was possible but we made it on vacation. My oldest chil - the one who has been ill -is doing well with my parents and my younger 2 are being spoiled rotten by the nanny. We come home late Monday night to face our problems - the dog goes to the vet on Tues, my oldest child has 2 doctor's appointments this week, and the new boiler will be installed starting tomorrow - but we are having a fabulous time!
Our flight out of JFK last night was packed but we arrived 15 minutes early. The car service was waiting and we were quickly checked in at the Swan. We have a lovely king bed room. We made it to the bar at Il Mulino 10 minutes before the kitchen closed so we ordered some appetizers and drinks.
The weather today is perfect! We walked to DHS this morning and arrived 3 minutes before rope drop. We rode Rock n Roller Coaster, ToT, Star Tours. We decided to ride RNR one more time. Just as we were getting in line, someone handed us their FPs (thank you to that magical stranger). We stopped at Guest Services to get my birthday button and pick up our tickets for MNSSHP. Then we took the boat to Epcot.
We ate and drank our way around the World. A lovely CM in Australia (who is from the Bronx - which is where I work) handed me a free piece of cake for my birthday. Maybe it's just my smile today but so many people went out of their way to wish me a good birthday.
My DH took the boat back to the Swan while I stopped at BC to visit my dear friend Teena (she's a greeter and DIS-er). We had a lovely visit. Nw I'm chilling out and reting before getting dressed for the party tonight.
Our problems are all still there but for today at least, they feel far away!

Thank you Disney and thank you DIS!
Amanda

So glad you are enjoying your time away! Sometimes it is just what is needed to refuel and give strength to face what lies ahead with renewed spirit.

 

[princessbride6205]

I'm so glad you were able to salvage a bit of your vacation. You definitely needed the break! Sending continued good thoughts and pixie dust to you.

 

[Phoenixblue]

Enjoy the break!
and

 

[DrMomof3]

Thank you all!
We had a fabulous trip filled with every kind of pixie dust! The Halloween Party was amazing. As 2 adults in costume (we were both dressed as pirates), we had a blast! We were given tons of candy, went on lots of rides, found a lucky spot for Hallo-Wishes, and a prime spot for the 2nd parade. I finally met a few Disney Geeks who I knew from the online community but never in person. During the parade many of the characters wished me a Happy Birthday and Blackbeard even kissed my hand! We were close to the exit so we hopped right on a resort bus back to the Swan.
Monday was another amazing day. We signed up for the Keys to the Kingdom Tours. We were waiting for a bus at the Swan. A bus arrived without a destination listed so we asked the driver where she was going. She replied, "Where do you want to go?" We said, "MK!" She said, "Hop on!" We picked up another older couple at the Dolphin and arrived at 8:15am for our 9am tour. They let us right in to the Magic Kingdom. We received our tour things (name tags, audio devices, etc.) and our tour guide suggested we enjoy the empty Main Street. We stopped to look at details - looked at merchandise displays, read the names on the windows, etc. An "official" looking man came over to see if we needed help (we were definitely taking our time and enjoying the scenery). We explained what we were doing and he stopped to talk to us for a good long while. Then he offered us VIP seats for the 3pm parade!
Our Tour was amazing. The VIP seats for the parade were amazing. Almost every single character stopped to wish me a Happy Birthday (hey, you only turn 40 once!). And the lovely gentleman from the morning stopped by to see how we were enjoying our day (it turned out that he was a manager). After some shopping (thank you gifts for caregivers and guilt gifts for children!), we took the monorail back to Epcot to grab our last bit of food and wine.
Our trip home was easy and uneventful. The kids were thrilled to see us this morning (or in the middle of the night, in the case of my 3 year old). All in all a great time!
Buffy saw the vet today. They are not doing a biopsy because the tumor needs to be removed, regardless of what a biopsy would show. Surgery tomorrow morning. Please send prayers for our very wonderful dog!!!

Thank you again for the support!
Amanda

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Thank you all!
We had a fabulous trip filled with every kind of pixie dust! The Halloween Party was amazing. As 2 adults in costume (we were both dressed as pirates), we had a blast! We were given tons of candy, went on lots of rides, found a lucky spot for Hallo-Wishes, and a prime spot for the 2nd parade. I finally met a few Disney Geeks who I knew from the online community but never in person. During the parade many of the characters wished me a Happy Birthday and Blackbeard even kissed my hand! We were close to the exit so we hopped right on a resort bus back to the Swan.
Monday was another amazing day. We signed up for the Keys to the Kingdom Tours. We were waiting for a bus at the Swan. A bus arrived without a destination listed so we asked the driver where she was going. She replied, "Where do you want to go?" We said, "MK!" She said, "Hop on!" We picked up another older couple at the Dolphin and arrived at 8:15am for our 9am tour. They let us right in to the Magic Kingdom. We received our tour things (name tags, audio devices, etc.) and our tour guide suggested we enjoy the empty Main Street. We stopped to look at details - looked at merchandise displays, read the names on the windows, etc. An "official" looking man came over to see if we needed help (we were definitely taking our time and enjoying the scenery). We explained what we were doing and he stopped to talk to us for a good long while. Then he offered us VIP seats for the 3pm parade!
Our Tour was amazing. The VIP seats for the parade were amazing. Almost every single character stopped to wish me a Happy Birthday (hey, you only turn 40 once!). And the lovely gentleman from the morning stopped by to see how we were enjoying our day (it turned out that he was a manager). After some shopping (thank you gifts for caregivers and guilt gifts for children!), we took the monorail back to Epcot to grab our last bit of food and wine.
Our trip home was easy and uneventful. The kids were thrilled to see us this morning (or in the middle of the night, in the case of my 3 year old). All in all a great time!
Buffy saw the vet today. They are not doing a biopsy because the tumor needs to be removed, regardless of what a biopsy would show. Surgery tomorrow morning. Please send prayers for our very wonderful dog!!!

Thank you again for the support!
Amanda

I've done it 4 times now!! Glad you had such a nice trip!!!

Hugs and prayers for your family and dog!!!

 

[NC Belle]

Amanda, hugs and prayers for you, your family, and dog.

 

[DrMomof3]

Thanks Belle!

We met with Buffy's surgeon this morning. Tom and I both felt very comfortable with her (we're both surgeons so we know what to ask ). I asked about malignant vs. benign tumors and she felt (pre-operatively) that there was a good chance this tumor is NOT cancer! Prior to that conversation we had mostly been told that this is almost definitely cancer. According to the surgeon the large tumor size is actually a good sign - usually cancer of this size has already spread everywhere.

We were just called a little while ago and told that the surgery went well. Buffy is awake and will spend the night at the hospital. The surgeon told Tom that the tumor "shelled out nicely." I think that's very positive since cancer, especially aggressive cancer does NOT "shell out nicely." We will get Buffy home some time tomorrow (lampshade and all - good thing she won't be around other dogs with the lampshade of shame!).

In other news our new boiler is now working. Three days of installation and we finally have heat. A lot of heat! I can already tell that this will be a less expensive and warmer winter than the previous 2. (The 50 year old boiler that we had wasn't big enough or efficient enough for our house.)

My oldest son, Nathaniel, seems to be doing pretty well. We have a follow-up doctor's appointment tomorrow and the doctor may adjust his medication dose due to some unpleasant side effects (Nathaniel is tiny for his age so we think he's dosed by age and not by weight.)

Despite my disappointment about the cruise, this has worked out really well. Our trip was great and I'm using my stay-cation time wisely. I've even started preparing for the holidays!

Thank you again for the good thoughts and prayers. It means the world!
Amanda

 

[jcb]

Thanks Belle!

We met with Buffy's surgeon this morning. Tom and I both felt very comfortable with her (we're both surgeons so we know what to ask ). I asked about malignant vs. benign tumors and she felt (pre-operatively) that there was a good chance this tumor is NOT cancer! Prior to that conversation we had mostly been told that this is almost definitely cancer. According to the surgeon the large tumor size is actually a good sign - usually cancer of this size has already spread everywhere.

We were just called a little while ago and told that the surgery went well. Buffy is awake and will spend the night at the hospital. The surgeon told Tom that the tumor "shelled out nicely." I think that's very positive since cancer, especially aggressive cancer does NOT "shell out nicely." We will get Buffy home some time tomorrow (lampshade and all - good thing she won't be around other dogs with the lampshade of shame!).

In other news our new boiler is now working. Three days of installation and we finally have heat. A lot of heat! I can already tell that this will be a less expensive and warmer winter than the previous 2. (The 50 year old boiler that we had wasn't big enough or efficient enough for our house.)

My oldest son, Nathaniel, seems to be doing pretty well. We have a follow-up doctor's appointment tomorrow and the doctor may adjust his medication dose due to some unpleasant side effects (Nathaniel is tiny for his age so we think he's dosed by age and not by weight.)

Despite my disappointment about the cruise, this has worked out really well. Our trip was great and I'm using my stay-cation time wisely. I've even started preparing for the holidays!

Thank you again for the good thoughts and prayers. It means the world!
Amanda

Great news. I sure look forward to hearing all this in person in December.

 

[disneydreamgirl]

So glad to hear that things are going so much better for you and yours!

 

[toothdoc]

Thinking of your family, sending pixie dust, prayers and hopefully 2012 will be a much better year for you and yours. At least 2011 is almost over.