Latest St Jude Check-up

We went to Memphis the week after Thanksgiving so I am a little late in posting this (along with a post I haven't finished regarding the beginning of school LOL). Dillan is still stable and there is no new evidence of disease which made a very Merry Christmas for us! While we were visiting Dillan had the pleasure of attending a very special Christmas Party hosted by Window World. The company has their corporate Christmas party at St Jude for all of the patients rather than spend money on a lavish party for themselves. We were amazed by their generosity and kindness.

Window World Christmas Party

OCC St Jude Chopper

 At the party we enjoyed painting an ornament, decorating a cookie, making a foam craft and a very yummy breakfast! The Danny Thomas/ALSAC Pavillon was decorated in a Winter Wonderland theme and the OCC St Jude bike and the Indy 500 Stinger were on display! The company also provided a new toy for every patient (Dillan went straight for a new Lego)! Dillan even chatted with the CEO, Tammy Whitworth.

After our E Clinic appointment I remembered to snap a picture of Dr. Wright.

She told him after she squatted next to him all his friends are going to wonder about his doctor since in the picture they look like they're the same height. We love our St Jude family and their happy nature with us!

As we traveled home Dr. Wright called to give us the official results of Dillan's latest MRI. They were backed up a bit due to three new patients being admitted (makes me sad for those families beginning their journeys).  She was excited to tell us his tumor and pocket of fluid area are stable. Plus some of the areas we thought would be permanent brain damage, due to his large tumor size and brain surgery in general, showed signs of improvement! She was as excited by this as we are...God continues to heal Dillan and amaze all of us with another miracle!

 Dillan being very brave after his IV clogged and caused his vein to burst...

 Our preferred means of travel includes a few redbox DVDs! We can rent them before we leave and return them when we get there!

 Dillan was very excited he was given a new blue hat

Thank you for your continued prayers. Dillan's next check-up is in March :)

A bowl full of lemons.: Home Organization 101 Week #2: The Garage

I have to say we are VERY slowly starting this organizational challenge. I LOVE how organized her garage is and have HIGH hopes ours will look this amazing very soon!! The before and after pictures will be spectacular :)
Here's the example from ABFL!
A bowl full of lemons.: Home Organization 101 Week #2: The Garage: HOME ORGANIZATION 101 HOW TO SIGN UP: If you would like to join our organizing challenge, sign up ( here ) on the event pag...

Our Recent St Jude Check-Up

Occasionally I allow myself to think and reflect on August 26th, 2011. By no means for a pity party but as a reminder of all the blessings God has given us throughout Dillan's journey. That date, as some great friends who've been on the other side of a similar date twice now, is when EVERYTHING stopped working the way we thought it always would and our new normal began.
One of the many blessings we've received is God putting such amazing people at St Jude. We love everyone we've had any contact with when there and over the phone. It is truly an amazing place of HOPE!

I meant to take a picture of Dillan and Dr Wright but I forgot :( She is, along with all of Dillan's medical army, amazing and kind. The nitty gritty of his check-up is the following:

Speech: He did great with his language abilities and vocabulary recognition. His voice continues to get stronger and his swallowing is much better (hard to believe 10 months ago he was adjusting to eating again after being on a feeding tube for a month). He still has difficulty with his soft palette but Kelly thinks we should monitor it and make a decision on any future treatment in 6 months to a year :)

Physical Therapy: Dillan received his shoe inserts and when he saw them I think he finally realized no one will know :). He still has a lot of balance issues and in time these will hopefully correct them or at least make them better.

Eyes: The doctor wanted to check his peripheral vision for a follow-up with this machine ( I had to snap a picture).

After he took the test we waited for his results and I told Tim I thought he might have been trying to "beat" the test. Surprise! I was correct! His doctor said his results were quite bad and showed him having a huge decline in his peripheral vision. We all explained to him the point of this test is to show how he's doing and make sure he's improving.

MRI Results: The biggest news is the tumor left behind is still not growing! He still has the area of concern but it seems to be a bit better. There is a contusion which will hopefully heal over time. We found out he has some nerve damage as well but in light of everything we've been blessed with we can happily except a small amount of brain damage. Since he's doing really good and it has been almost a year Dr. Wright has moved him to come every four months!

While we were there we tried to grab a few fun moments:

Like taking a minute to drive a very excited Dillan to Arkansas! It literally was just a few minutes from St Jude. Funny thing it took us driving across twice for me to snap a picture of this sign LOL

We celebrated good MRI results with some yummy dinner!

I wish I could take his place and so does Tim. His nerves are getting the best of him when we went for his blood work and IV for his MRI. Then Nurse Kelli and her sweet husband came by to visit! they brought him treats and she made him another blanket to keep warm with during his MRIs. They brought a huge smile back to him!

His eye doctor let Tim and I check our 3D vision. Dillan's is getting better!

Memphis looks beautiful from the bridge :-)

Crossing the state line AGAIN!

This pyramid is just down the street from the hospital. It was a sports arena but now Bass Pro Shop has a sign out front. 

Out for a little drive

We had no idea Memphis was the

Dillan wanted to go for a walk and see the St Jude statue.

Our home away from home, Memphis Grizzles House.

Our evening view

My morning stroll across campus is very peaceful and beautiful.

During our recent visit there was a heat wave so I thought about jumping in but I do not think the firemen checking the hose would have appreciated it.

Memphis has some really neat stuff to see...like Giant Catfish on Mud Island!

All Aboard the River Boat!

Mississippi River

Dillan finally made it to Mud Island! He has always loved maps so the Mississippi Riverwalk was right up his alley.

As we traveled home a beautiful rainbow appeared!

Are you up for the challenge?!?

I am very excited to attempt this organizational challenge! At times with four children and working as a teacher I feel overwhelmed with our disorganized home and wonder if I should call TLC to schedule a Hoaders episode. I've always been sentimental but over the last year my priorities have changed because of Dillan's diagnosis with brain cancer. Our home needs this challenge!! It always makes me very happy to have things organized and tidy. The challenge is from the same blog that posted the 21 Day Challenge last year (thanks again Ashley). I have high expectations for myself and I know Tim would be ecstatic to clear out some of our (ok, MY) stuff!

Check out Home Organization 101 on A bowl full of lemons!