Thursday, September 29, 2011

Summer's MRI Day

We headed to Toronto on Tuesday afternoon.  We enjoyed a great, but short, visit with Barb & Laurie.  Barb cooked Turkey Dinner for supper - it was a real treat!

We headed into the city on Wednesday morning, not knowing if Summer would receive her scan because she was nursing a cold...  We checked in and the nurse determined that her lungs were nice and clear so they would proceed. 

Summer chose orange scent for the mask and after all the preparation, paper work and a little waiting, we headed into the room where they put her to sleep with some gas.  She was a little scared and fought the mask a bit, which made us feel really aweful...  poor kid goes through so much.

Once she was asleep they inserted an IV and put her under a general anesthetic.  Don and I headed to the cafeteria for a coffee while we waited the hour.  My friend Heather came down from her office and joined us and we also had lunch with her later.

At 2:30 we met with Dr. Dirks and received the scan results.  Summer's ventricles have not changed size since her CT in June.  Good news.  He also said that the shunt is still not placed well and that some Neurosurgeons would consider replacing it.  However, that is not without risk:  5% infection rate, risk of a bleed, etc. 

Since Summer is not showing any sypmtoms, we all agreed that we should watch and wait.  He reminded us to be diligent about any headaches and to not dismiss any symptoms.  We don't know how long Summer's shunt has not been working well, and symptoms can have a slow or quick onset.

Summer will have another MRI in one year.  Dr. Dirks will allow us to have the scan performed in North Bay.  I am really pleased about that.

We left the hospital at 3pm, and got to enjoy rush hour traffic - making the long day just a little bit longer.

Summer in her hospital gown

What a great toy to have in the waiting room!  Squirt got his scan done too!

Groggy Girl in Recovery

*Just a side note...  it feels kind of funny snapping photos in a hospital.  One of the nurses in MRI recognized us from when Summer had her CT scan in June.  I think either because we were taking pictures then as well, or maybe it was because Summer had the same stuffie 'squirt' with her. 

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

MRI-Eve

We're off to Barb & Laurie's tonight for a quick visit before we head to Sick Kids in the morning for Summer's MRI appointment.  I am not too nervous yet, as it is likely she will not recieve her scan tomorrow because she just came down with a cold.  In an effort to get her healthy, quickly, she is at home today with Don so that she can get as much rest as possible.

Since we are seeing her Neurosurgeon tomorrow afternoon for a clinical assessment, we'll keep our appointment and hopefully I can convince him that Summer should receive her next MRI at home.

Here are a few pics from our weekend.






Here are a few pictures from our weekend. 

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Assorted Pics

We had a pretty quiet weekend.  The weather was spectacular.  We went for a few walks, played on the swingset, did a little gardening, and visited our neighbours.  It was good to recharge our batteries after the first week of school.


 You can see the beginnings of the fall colours in the background!

 Summer, Vera & Barb

Kassie and Summer at dance class last night, watching the 'big girls'.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Dancing with Attitude

Summer started dance classes again on Monday evening.  After work we headed to Kassie's house for a quick dinner, play, then off to class. 

When we arrived at the studio, we discovered the Monday 'Acro Class' had been cancelled as there was not enough registrants (we were registering that night, so she did not know that we were interested.)  But, the teacher said, well, you are here, and the girls want to dance, so I am happy to run a class at this time.  The Acro teacher was not available to teach, but Renee offered them Ballet, tap, jazz or Hip-Hop.  Of course they chose Hip-hop. 

Summer is already practicing the 'attitude' position in the mirror (arms crossed with the 'don't mess with me' look on her face).  Hopefully she will be channeling all her attitude to dance class. Yeah, right!

The girls had Renee to themselves for the whole class.  Next week some of the Wednesday night kids with join Summer and Kassie for Monday's classes.

A bonus of them choosing Hip-Hop, is that the footwear is runners.  Therefore, Summer can wear her leg brace with her runners, providing great support.



Monday, September 12, 2011

All Grown Up!

Today is Summer's first day back to school.  She is really excited.  She is sporting her new backpack and can't wait to see her friends.

Summer will be in an SK (Senior Kindergarten) Grade One split class this year.  There will be 11 grade ones and 5 SK's.  We are really excited about this because the research shows that older children mentor the younger and there are advantages to both groups.  Summer is in the split class because she shares an EA with another little boy with CP who is in Grade One.  I think this is a real bonus from being in a smaller school. 

I know she has already been in full time school for JK last year, but I still get a lump in my throat when I see her doing all the 'normal' things for kids her age.




" Check out my new shoes."

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Talent Show Concludes Summer Camp

Friday was the last day of YMCA Kids Club camp.  They celebrated with a Talent Show performance for all the children and parents.  Two groups put on a play and Summer's group did a dance.  Summer displayed her new 'moves' with her group on the stage and concluded the segment with a unision "Rock Stars!". 

The group performances were followed by some individual ones, all dances.  Groups of 2 & 3 kids got up to perform their dances.  One of the teacher's asked Summer if she wanted to do an individual dance and she said yes, raced up onto the stage and gave a 'one girl show' of the Monkey Dance. 

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Visit with Em, Gab & Zazz

We've had busy and fun August.  I am posting some pictures of our super fun visit with Don's cousin Emily, her husband Gab, and sweet baby, Zazz.  A couple of weeks ago they did a Tour de Ontario; cottaging with family in Peterborough, traveled to Ruth Lake to see us, then off to Deep River, Ottawa, and finally back to Montreal.  It was the first time they had come to our home and we were delighted they were able to fit us into their plans.  Summer and I hoping to reciprocate the visit sometime this fall or spring.