'In the know'

To update you, Ashley's appt. went well, and she has since had a few others,.. an ophthalmology that came back with excellent results, an MRI that showed that the tumors have again stabalized (YES!), and a follow-up with her Oncologist. This could be a temporary stabilization and so she'll be going back in 2 months for another MRI scan.

The genetics appt. turned out with Ashley being the ONLY one with NF,.. they even reversed the decision on me saying they felt the initial clinical diagnosis provided by Ashley's first ped-neurologist was in error. That gave me such a sense of relief in the knowledge that at least I didn't give this to her,.. it was spontanteous.

Courtney only has very mild scoliosis, and so mild she will likely outgrow it. Turns out it really, truly is a poor posture thing, and so she has been working on doing better. Thank goodness.

Brittney is still doing well on the dairy-free diet!! She has been doing so much better since the big switch,... also, she is in soccer this spring for the first time, and Sat. was their 4th game, of which they not only scored for the first time ever, but they won, too! Final score: 4-3,.. way to go, girls!

Brittney has also been taking guitar lessons (electric), and Courtney is finally starting piano next month. We've been waiting for an opening as they've been booked solid, and a spot has just opened starting next month. All three of the girls have been taking swimming lessons also, and so we've been keeping even busier than usual around here.

Carol is still giving her cancer a run for it's money, and I'm so proud of her. Her strength amazes me all the time. While her options are narrowing for treatments, there are always new studies and medicines coming out so we are continuing to remain very optimistic, and she's one tough lady. I love you, Mom!

Okay, the hardest thing going on right now is with Scott,... we just found out that he has Mitral Heart Valve Disease, and it's bad enough that a simple repair is not an option. He needs a full replacement, and he needs it soon. This means open-heart surgery in 3 weeks. Our world has been shaken up all over again........ good thing we're a strong bunch. I'll tell you though, Friday, finding out the news was a really hard blow. Scott is in a state of shock, and I was hysterical. But, now that my going off the deep is out of the way, it's time for me to put on my game face. Not an easy thing to do.

Anyway, that's where I'm going to leave off. I welcome anyone who wants to remain "in the know" to save this blog address and visit back periodically for updates......