tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56749633073788932072024-02-02T08:48:32.273-05:00Max's BlogBobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678625307778257125noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5674963307378893207.post-17761334130198029232011-08-26T10:49:00.000-04:002011-08-26T10:49:54.558-04:00Slight Tumor Growth?<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: dark2;">Max’s most recent MRI seems to show a 5mm growth in the tumor that is around his optic nerve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is some uncertainty because in his May scans his head was oriented just a little differently so the pictures between the two scans can’t be lined up as accurately as one would hope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Comparing the tumor in question to his February scans there doesn’t seem to be as noticeable of a change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, that comparison was done only by the doctor and I, not the radiologist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The radiologist has far better tools for matching things up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because of the location of the tumor, if it is growing it could further impair his vision but his vision exam showed no change and, oddly enough, was actually a little better than May.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rather than start chemo right now, he’ll go back in 6 weeks for another MRI and vision exam. If he is stable, he'll move back to visits every 3 months otherwise we'll have to decide on treatment or just closely following things.</span><br />
Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678625307778257125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5674963307378893207.post-15865217259372667442010-12-15T09:33:00.000-05:002010-12-15T09:33:11.466-05:00Max's Shunt - followupMax had a follow up with the neurosurgeon on Dec 9 at CHOP. The doctor says that he's fine and from our perspective, things went really well. He isn't scheduled for an MRI until February, which is when we'll see the interior handiwork. Should be interesting.<br />
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Some things that were different than we had expected :<br />
<ol><li>The shaved part of his head was not "small" as had been described to us in pre-op. To be fair, it also wasn't large, but we were expecting something that would easily be covered by recombing the hair and it was too large for that. Max does have rapidly growing hair so within a few days you couldn't see it from the front and 5 weeks later it is only easy to make out once you are close.</li>
<li>The bulk of his pain stemmed from the muscle in his stomach on the side opposite from his incision. Not sure if this something unique to Max but he still has occaisional complaints.</li>
<li>He was alert after surgery far sooner than I had expected. He could answer questions within an hour. This was a welcome change as his early MRI's required sedation and it normally took him more than 2 hours to get to the point where we had any idea where he was and what was going on.</li>
<li>He was able to move about sooner than expected. By lunch he had made his way to the bathroom once. </li>
<li>Walking with full mobility and stamina took much longer. He was home from school for the whole week because we just didn't think he'd be able to keep up with moving throughout the halls, even with an elevator key. We had focused all of our attention on his head and had given zero thought to how cuting the muscle in his stomach would affect him. As far as the impact to his life, the stomach had far more of an effect. There really wasn't much to do with his head other than shampoo it.</li>
</ol>Max, and nearly every other person we're aware of, is eargerly awaiting Christmas.Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678625307778257125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5674963307378893207.post-24102909974396210252010-11-08T16:50:00.000-05:002010-11-08T16:50:00.256-05:00Max gets a VP ShuntWe left home at 3:45 am, got coffee'd and gas'd and made CHOP by 5:45 am. Very quiet down here at that hour, but not desolate; we were patient number 3 for surgery. We were called into the pre-op area at around 6:30 am and Max was asleep and on his way to surgery by 8 am. His surgeon came out around 8:45 and told me that everything had gone quite well. He was surprised that Max wasn't showing other symptoms as there had been a good deal of pressure built up. <br />
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I was re-united with Max in the PICU where I found him huddled under many warm blankets but shivering and mumbling that he was uncomfortable. He wasn't really awake enough to give me any details but we got him turned around on the bed and a little more comfortable. At that point I got my first look at the scar that we'd recently been advised would be faily small. It isn't small. To be fair, it isn't large. Clearly, it will take some time for hair to grow back in and cover this. The scar is probably 3-4 inches long and sits inside a shaved area that is slightly larger than an egg (but I don't bake much so ...). There is also a scar of the same size just above his belly button that I saw a few moments ago is bruising quite nicely. One of the doctors that came in early said that would be painful for a while as they had to stitch up some muscle there.<br />
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Max was given fentynol (sp?) for pain earlier and recently had some Tylenol and Oxycodone. He napped nicely both times and is still sleeping from does two. When he's awakened they, of course, shine a bright light in his eyes, and do a brief neuro check that seems like it is pretty annoying but he just takes it in stride. Right now the nurse was giving him an antibiotic while he seemed to be sleeping. When she went to check his blood pressure on his left arm, he moaned and raised his right arm (which is his bp preference). He's a remarkable young boy.Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678625307778257125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5674963307378893207.post-61034284004203091712010-11-04T19:19:00.002-04:002010-11-04T19:19:20.823-04:00The Pre-Surgery Visit<span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Today was mostly uneventful though we did learn some details of the surgery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We now know that Max won’t have a significant part of his head shaved but also won’t be able to get a haircut for quite a long time after the surgery so he’ll be getting a shorter than normal cut this weekend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We find out the rest of the aftercare details on Tuesday, before we leave the hospital.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The day of the surgery, Max will get a cup of “giggle juice” (Versed & Tylenol).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the past that’s been enough to get him to sleep but we’ll see if that is still true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’ll use it before he gets the IV for the rest of the surgery so things should be smooth sailing for the 80 minutes or so that he’ll be in the room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This update is short because we’ve got to head out for Boy Scouts to get his first “self-packed” bag checked before weekend camping starts tomorrow night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While it is colder here than normal, the forecast is for the rain to stop early tomorrow morning so hopefully we’ll be dry</span>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678625307778257125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5674963307378893207.post-62361697592466361612010-11-03T13:30:00.000-04:002010-11-03T13:30:26.200-04:00Max needs a shuntHard to believe that the Make-A-Wish trip was nearly two years ago. While a lot has happened since then, things have been going well so updating Max’s blog didn’t seem all that important. Sadly, things have changed a little bit. Max’s MRI back in July showed that his ventricles weren’t draining Cerebral Spinal Fluid (CSF) properly. At that time, we scrambled a little to meet with the chief of neurosurgery at CHOP about what was likely for Max going forward. He explained that while the MRI showed a clear and significant change, he didn’t believe that surgery was warranted because Max wasn’t showing any other symptoms. The most likely symptoms for Max would be a change in the color of the optic nerves, headaches, and/or dizziness upon waking in the morning. <br />
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This past Monday was Max’s 3-month follow up MRI. This time around, in addition to scanning his brain and eyes, his entire spine was scanned because he’s showing signs of scoliosis. The spine was just precautionary and to get an initial image of his anatomy in case treatment for scoliosis becomes necessary in the future. In July and now, the curvature of Max’s spine isn’t bad enough to warrant treatment but he’s close so he’ll be watched closely as he goes through puberty and growth spurts as that is when things could change a lot in a short period of time. Adding the spine to the MRI turned what was typically a 90 minute scan into a 3 hour and 15 minute scan. How Max was able to lay mostly still for that long and be inside the MRI tube is beyond me. Near the end he was clearly, and understandably, restless and would cross his legs. I’d hear the radiologist say, “Max, don’t move.” and he’d reply with a simple “Sorry.” That happened a lot near the end. When it was all over he jumped up off the table rather quickly causing both the nurse and I to worry that he’d collapse from being dizzy. He insisted that he was fine and actually started hoping a little bit. We tried to get him to stand still but he said, “I’ve really got to pee, it’s an emergency!” Apparently he’d been holding it for a little over an hour. It is stunning what he’s able to tolerate. <br />
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While he was in the bathroom taking care of things and getting dressed, I was visited by the radiologist who wanted to make sure that we wouldn’t be leaving the hospital. I knew something was up, but she wasn’t able to share, so I let her know that we still had two doctor’s appointments to go before we could leave. It was 12:45 pm before we were able to leave and we had to be at the first doctor at 1:30 pm so we ran down to McDonald’s. Max ate his entire meal in just under 8 minutes, which is a record for him. We were able to make it to the doctor slightly ahead of schedule so we got checked in and then started to play air hockey on the new iPad from work. That was fun but we only got in a few quick games before his doctor called us in. The doctor never calls us in. We typically go in with a medical student who does an initial exam. That person then explain their findings to the doctor and he reconfirms their results and tells us what it all means for Max, always making sure that Max understands. This time there was no medical student. Max was examined quickly and then we were asked if the oncologist had called yet. I told him that no, we hadn’t heard from her yet, but we knew something was going on. He said that the team had already talked about the MRI and we needed to go see oncology before going to the orthopedist. <br />
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Not knowing what is wrong, only that something is wrong, is such a crappy feeling. Because we’d added the spine, I was worried something new was going on. Thankfully, I wasn’t given a lot of time to ponder all the what if’s as we got in to see the neuro-oncologist within just a few minutes (something else that never happens). She started right in with the MRI, showing us that the ventricle on the right side was significantly changed from last time having become larger and showing more spill over than before. The good news was that the left side was smaller than it had been 3 months ago. We talked for a while about the implications of the change being only on the MRI with Max remaining without other symptoms. The concern expressed by the neuro-ophthalmologist is that Max's optic nerves might not show a change in color because they're already so badly damaged. The fear is that Max could completely lose his vision as his first symptom. The neuro-surgeon argued that would be very unlikely and that headaches or diziness would be far more likely but also acknowledged that Max will almost certainly need a shunt in the future. <br />
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At this point we're all agreed, Max included, that Max does need a shunt and that he should have the surgery soon, rather than wait for anything further to develop. This Thursday, November 4, the whole family will head down to CHOP for a meeting where Max will get a physical, have blood drawn for testing, and we'll discuss the entire procedure and answer all of the remaining questions. Then, on Monday, November 8, Max and Bob will head to CHOP for Max's surgery. We won't learn the time until the Friday before hand but we already know that Bob can stay with Max in the hospital and that Max will be there for at least 24 hours. The expectation is that he'll get to return home on Tuesday where the girls will have a feast of McDonald's, BBQ potato chips, and milk already prepared. <br />
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On Wednesday, Max will head to Lehigh Valley with Tracy for injections that he would normally have gotten on Tuesday. While these could be given at CHOP, Max would miss his monthly visit with everyone at Lehigh Valley. Also, Max will finally get the much coveted "overnight" bead for his necklace. He's longed for this since getting his first beads many years ago but had thus far eluded the qualification of an overnight stay at a hospital.<br />
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While Max is concerned about the surgery, he agrees that he needs it to make sure that other things don't go wrong. He is looking forward to the trip to Philly with the family tomorrow, his party/feast when he returns home, his overnight bead, and some super fantastic prize that is certain to be coming his way.Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678625307778257125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5674963307378893207.post-8092316656373156292008-12-05T23:57:00.001-05:002008-12-20T23:08:16.194-05:00Make-A-Wish - The Last Day!Friday, December 5 was the last day of our trip! The night before we’d been out late finishing up <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyBV9Ov_oTkVd8b30bT01lL9qYICPeDEdG4msQzgN-Ph4QaHtjq6rHp9BdQTi1cq57wYnuJkrrm1uaILRrkBINxxkPxLZbeSeb_hJuyoXA3kG8G2K9WnsmNSskwjCiZd8wrq2W-IIwoiw/s1600-h/IMG_4909.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282088891254983970" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyBV9Ov_oTkVd8b30bT01lL9qYICPeDEdG4msQzgN-Ph4QaHtjq6rHp9BdQTi1cq57wYnuJkrrm1uaILRrkBINxxkPxLZbeSeb_hJuyoXA3kG8G2K9WnsmNSskwjCiZd8wrq2W-IIwoiw/s200/IMG_4909.JPG" border="0" /></a>shopping so the kids pretty much crashed on entering the room. Tracy was up the latest stressing over what we may be leaving by hind but it seems like she got everything. We let everyone rise on their own schedule as today would be long; our flight wouldn’t get to Newark until nearly 11 pm. The entire car was packed and we arrived for a final visit this year at the Magic Kingdom. Max had wanted to do the monorail (he remembered his co-pilot trip from early very fondly) but the line was way too long and we opted for the Ferry instead.<br /><div><div><div><div><br /><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn797BJH-FuLKg9P4X1oijgka3Y-_WJEELpmZIhkABbqFHdbe16aeklEYCx6jpyBaPVuakYJi4SSUKISCK4A3oQ_2ia12IP04ImgWIhseCbHJak2VV20wBIvSLa-0Dba2JIFHvUi8uuyk/s1600-h/IMG_4918.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282088895715337234" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn797BJH-FuLKg9P4X1oijgka3Y-_WJEELpmZIhkABbqFHdbe16aeklEYCx6jpyBaPVuakYJi4SSUKISCK4A3oQ_2ia12IP04ImgWIhseCbHJak2VV20wBIvSLa-0Dba2JIFHvUi8uuyk/s200/IMG_4918.JPG" border="0" /></a>On our walk down (up ?) Main Street USA we got several pictures with the castle in the background. Gwendolyn was dying to get on Space Mountain and not getting that done had the potential for her to consider the trip a bust so Tracy and Gwendolyn headed in that direction while Bob took Max and Olivia to get the last two cars on Max’s souvenir list. Walking into the shop Bob saw Sue Ort, yes Sue Ort the teacher at Old Farmer’s Road and member of the Ort Farm clan. Sue had watched Bob and his brother as well as Carey and Casey MItschele eons ago when cows still roamed on what is now Douglas Drive so it was great to catch up with her. She and her sister Wendy were visiting and today happened to be Wendy’s birthday. After Max met Sue he was getting impatient to make sure his cars were still here so we found and paid for his treasures and then headed to Tomorrowland where the plan was to wait outside the Laugh Floor for Tracy and Gwendolyn. </div><div><br />About 10 minutes of waiting (which had been followed by a not so short shopping trip) but got a text message from Tracy saying that Space Mountain was shut down but they were on the ride. Tracy suggested a trip on the people mover to see if we couldn’t get a picture of the oldest girls from this angle. Fortunately, the ride was already working again when the people mover cruised through Space Mountain so we met up at the Laugh Floor. During this show, Olivia was ‘chosen’ to play the part of Boo in the short story told by the animated monsters. She thought that was great – all she had to do was play Peek-A-Boo – and Max and Gwendolyn were proud of her performance. </div><br /><div>We ran out of there and through Buzz Light Year for a final visit with Buzz and Zurg. Bob no longer remembers who shot the most that time but is pretty sure Olivia beat Max soundly. At this point it time for lunch at Cosmic Rays. This lunch went pretty well but we had wisely found a table far from Ray so Max didn’t get distracted by the bad jokes. </div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV0gbeK4mLvFRCSMlnUxecQVzt8FM04TWXK7hAPqVV6YTybPX0EfPahPvi3pYQCccJh7cVULMa7g1x8uZp7KCFqdFSOXk5jsFYyPTMIG3-TzNIbzyi-DdTUJgKLvYqo3FPM-c6n7kDfGA/s1600-h/IMG_4935.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282088904018821554" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV0gbeK4mLvFRCSMlnUxecQVzt8FM04TWXK7hAPqVV6YTybPX0EfPahPvi3pYQCccJh7cVULMa7g1x8uZp7KCFqdFSOXk5jsFYyPTMIG3-TzNIbzyi-DdTUJgKLvYqo3FPM-c6n7kDfGA/s200/IMG_4935.JPG" border="0" /></a>Oh, forgot to mention that today was in the 80s temperature wise (and we were back to a possible snow storm). With the heat Max was getting a little cranky so he and Bob opted for a break by the carousel while the girls tried to ride Dumbo. Dumbo was just not happening – the line was at least 40 minutes and we were on a short schedule today. The girls moved over to the carousel where we have a wonderful picture of Olivia expressing her pleasure (not) at skipping Dumbo. </div><br /><div></div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Fz3TWnrVFDZUiL4FwmC4XYxUJj52YH6Am0YIFTl2RgFoIBLLh6pRzfnovt085yIwZm69jJtxPzyjnheCgTHuidM_-7jqkftbUqxp4lWhvnbuSq6972ifOnFL2fFFTkfK1UXRBjAXioY/s1600-h/IMG_4944.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282088909581717618" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Fz3TWnrVFDZUiL4FwmC4XYxUJj52YH6Am0YIFTl2RgFoIBLLh6pRzfnovt085yIwZm69jJtxPzyjnheCgTHuidM_-7jqkftbUqxp4lWhvnbuSq6972ifOnFL2fFFTkfK1UXRBjAXioY/s200/IMG_4944.JPG" border="0" /></a>That part of our trip we headed to Thunder Mountain! This time, we were sent around to the exit by the cast member working the entrance. This was way cooler than the FastPass line; we got to talk to the Cast Members running the ride and we were told that the back of the coaster is the faster, cooler seat. Back it was for Bob and Max while the girls rode one seat forward. </div><br /><div> </div><div> </div><div><br />Gwendolyn loves the wet rides but we hadn’t done any yet. Max really didn’t want to do Splash Mountain but relented when he was told we could do Thunder Mountain one more time … after Splash Mountain. Max wanted to ride with Tracy even though it is common knowledge that Tracy ALWAYS gets wet on these rides. Bob rode with the girls in the back of the car as Tracy had chosen the middle as the ‘dry’ seat. No shock when the ride ended with Tracy soaked, Max a little wet and the rest mostly dry. She dried a little on our last ride on Thunder Mountain before we headed towards ToonTown to see Mickey without Christmas garb. </div><div><br />On the way to Mickey we stopped by the Haunted Mansion but Bob fell asleep as soon as he sat down so there is really nothing to report :). The visit with Mickey went well and then we headed to the Laugh Floor which would be our final ride of the trip. Bob texted in a joke (Q: How do you cut the ocean in half? A: You use a Sea Saw of course!) with Gwendolyn’s name that he done last time with Max’s name. We’ll Gwendolyn was now nearly as famous as Olivia was earlier. Max was just happy to hear his joke read and wasn’t jealous that he hadn’t gotten credit. It was a nice way to end things. </div><div><br />On the way out of the park, Tracy had to shop for one more thing (how Bob didn’t see this coming is just beyond him). Gwendolyn went along to help while Max, Olivia and Bob shared a popcorn by City Hall. They were able to finish the entire box of popcorn and wash up before the shopping was done. All but Bob changed from shorts to pants in the parking lot. We finally got on our way at about 4:15 pm. </div><div><br />The Orlando airport (MCO anyway) is a little confusing for returning rental cars as there is one notice at the very beginning of the loops but nothing more until you’re right on top of the turn. Thankfully we didn’t miss it and found the AVIS return just fine. The guy that checked out the car found a sky cap to help with the bags and we were on our way home. Gwendolyn grabbed a sandwich while Max and Olivia got milks (Liv’s was chocolate, of course) while we waited for our plane. The flight home was uneventful; Max and Olivia slept for most of it. We arrived at Newark right on time and were greeted by <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEFA_Ag_WBmab52PHCe___i3-wMbYA1cVaHmWy5eH9FrFNyJ1V-oYg32Jr7lE9aPa5rzifMFbpgQvTIitduV7SzO4TFSP3oSi79cEd-NcQwUjhI0k8QWf9EIJNoOx4Ylqe2ee4q8kbUOQ/s1600-h/IMG_4962.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282088917808153922" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEFA_Ag_WBmab52PHCe___i3-wMbYA1cVaHmWy5eH9FrFNyJ1V-oYg32Jr7lE9aPa5rzifMFbpgQvTIitduV7SzO4TFSP3oSi79cEd-NcQwUjhI0k8QWf9EIJNoOx4Ylqe2ee4q8kbUOQ/s200/IMG_4962.JPG" border="0" /></a>Jim, our limo driver, who had secured two carts in anticipation of our having a really large number of bags. Good call. Everyone was excited for the ride home but only Olivia and Bob were awake by the time we got to Route 78. We arrived back in Flanders safe, sound, and utterly exhausted at about 11:00 pm. Jim and Bob got the bags inside while Tracy got the kids ready for bed. Bob then ran to the A&P to get essentials before they closed knowing that doing it in shorts and 25 degree weather while he was still awake would be preferable to having to get up at 5 am when Max came to let him know that there weren’t any bananas or milk ;-)</div></div></div></div></div>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678625307778257125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5674963307378893207.post-33189478541366638582008-12-05T00:14:00.006-05:002008-12-15T23:36:44.676-05:00Make A Wish Day 5<div><div><div><div>Thursday, December 4 was the fifth day of Max’s Make-A-Wish Trip. We’d been running long <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHWl3wi-QZcISdbnf4y6pL58Aj8LXdYV-iJnONjdLxloz94-1HbRqQv-XHvVFxWuIM_D9qwzZdrkyPw9L5FI-fXVzNqOQh6EHP3OSgm_PEnpMQ5nprmWazRfI9mjhD5DyT6WACWXD-7vo/s1600-h/IMG_4789.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280238659878010034" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHWl3wi-QZcISdbnf4y6pL58Aj8LXdYV-iJnONjdLxloz94-1HbRqQv-XHvVFxWuIM_D9qwzZdrkyPw9L5FI-fXVzNqOQh6EHP3OSgm_PEnpMQ5nprmWazRfI9mjhD5DyT6WACWXD-7vo/s200/IMG_4789.JPG" border="0" /></a>and hard for four solid days and tried to recharge a little by taking it easy this morning and not arriving at Animal Kingdom until 10:30 am. Max, of course, had been up far earlier as he was looking forward to lunch at the McDonalds inside Dinoland. The park didn’t seem too crowded so we took our time going in and stopped for photos outside the gates and then twice more for different angles of the Tree of Life. Once we’d had our fill of photos we headed off to the Kilimanjaro Safari. There we saw plenty of animals and were entertained by our driver. </div><div><br />From the Safari we headed to Restaurantosaurus in Dinoland. We’d done lunch here in the past because they had Max’s favorite –the Chicken McNugget Happy Meal. Oh the horror when we learned it was no longer a McDonalds. In retrospect, a flag should’ve gone up when we found that the character breakfast that used to be at this location was moved to the Tusker House and had a completely different menu but Bob had incorrectly assumed this was just an attempt to dress up the breakfast location a little (it was a McDonald’s after all). Max was so upset that he had a little rant and then through his hat in disgust because we had promised and we were ruining his life. It so did not look well :( Bob was able to get him to pick something to eat, a hot dog and fries, and then he and Gwendolyn got on line while Tracy found a place to sit with Max and Olivia and fed those two their yogurt and fruit. Ordering lunch made things even worse. Well, getting lunch was the real trial, ordering actually went very smoothly. In Bob and Gwendolyn’s little queue there was one woman in front of them. Oddly, the first meal to come out for their queue was the gentleman behind Bob. Maybe he just had a small meal? Nope. The next one served was a good five minutes later and was again someone behind Bob. Of the six service lines that were going all had at least two orders kind of stuck while people behind were getting served. One of the servers finally, after at least 10 minutes of people having to step awkwardly around those that had ordered before, realized what was wrong and grabbed a series of meal tickets from the holder on the counter. Now things were going to get fixed! Nope. No idea whatsoever what happened to that troglodyte but it took another 15 minutes before a manager finally came out, got all of the orders reprinted, and got the people at the front of the queue served their meals. </div><div><br />Bob had assumed that he’d be walking from this little slice of heaven into a far worse slice run by an agitated Max that had now had nearly 40 minutes to stew over just how ruined his life was becoming. Imagine Bob’s great surprise to find Tracy, Max, and Olivia laughing and having finished their yogurts, fruits, and juice. Things were starting to look up. While everyone else was eating, Bob called Amy, our Disney guru, to confirm that there was a McDonald’s in Downtown Disney where we planned to go later for souvenir shopping. He had to do something for Max as he had adjusted so well to this deviation. </div><div><br />After lunch we ran down to Camp Mickey Minnie to do meet and greets with some characters while we waited for 1:30 pm which was when we were supposed to meet Allie, Max’s teacher’s daughter. Donald was on break but his line was really long because people were waiting for him. However, Daisy was holding court in the hut and either those in line had already seen her or decided to just wait for Donald because the three kids ran right up to see her. The Disney photographer got some good pictures of them running up as well as group photos. </div><div><br />On our way to Mickey’s hut, we saw that Kona from Brother Bear was out and about so we got on line to see him and another bear. We did Kona, Mickey, Minnie, and <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmrBkumQeXciYcSvx1ar-8sxjiR-n9uqO-WTn0AdvIeBbEhsopo8_ORIsgk5yIHvamznc3r04e5mgIh-pk1Zz5RFze7t-Zukm2Xnb9EJFVtHmUNU-U1Yj-8e8xfFLSJywhT3SncWFyshE/s1600-h/IMG_4825.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280238662229668946" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmrBkumQeXciYcSvx1ar-8sxjiR-n9uqO-WTn0AdvIeBbEhsopo8_ORIsgk5yIHvamznc3r04e5mgIh-pk1Zz5RFze7t-Zukm2Xnb9EJFVtHmUNU-U1Yj-8e8xfFLSJywhT3SncWFyshE/s200/IMG_4825.JPG" border="0" /></a>Goofy before 1:30 pm. The line for Donald was a little too long so rather than risk it we decided to go to the meeting place at the exit for the Lion King show. There Tracy, accompanied by Max and Gwendolyn, talked to a cast member about Allie to find out what more we needed to do. Bob was standing further back with Olivia when the doors for the exit opened and a tremendous crowd came out making it impossible to join back up until all had passed by. Olivia took this time to climb all over jungle gym Bob but only kicked a few passersby. </div><div><br />Once we all got back together we learned that Allie would come and see us soon and soon it was; our Disney angel walked out just a few minutes later. Allie, Tracy, Gwendolyn and Max talked but Bob couldn’t hear much of it with the crowd noise so the details are sketchy but he saw the kids get pictures with <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2gw7dxN5TGYXlPNoj6mhddTpaQwtHWpn-epuwvb_XDXgqZjNLtENqxTQNwY8MjHqbGZoE8NIIXkBnfgegykh0g4L59tAghBbLGc0LndtbQlqWMGcZUcerOpNlA-G4yt8kcKl1w-WznYM/s1600-h/IMG_4829.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280238673446957314" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2gw7dxN5TGYXlPNoj6mhddTpaQwtHWpn-epuwvb_XDXgqZjNLtENqxTQNwY8MjHqbGZoE8NIIXkBnfgegykh0g4L59tAghBbLGc0LndtbQlqWMGcZUcerOpNlA-G4yt8kcKl1w-WznYM/s200/IMG_4829.JPG" border="0" /></a>Allie and got her to sign their autograph books. What happened next was that we were escorted in to the theater via the exit and then taken to front row, VIP, seats in the elephant section. A few minutes later Allie ran back and asked the kids to come with her to help start the show! Max thought it was great but Olivia decided now was a good time to be shy and wouldn’t budge. Gwendolyn wanted to go but was also being shy. Bob let her know that this would never happen for her again and she’d be very upset with herself if she didn’t participate. Remarkably, she took the advice (though we understand that this will stop in two years when she turns 13 :( ), and Allie, Max and Gwendolyn taught the audience how to do the hand jive. The kids had a little trouble keeping up with Allie, especially at the end when it was really fast, but they had a great time! </div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUxwGuSwtPaGlDmx9QEWiP9fzC_BldVSLEeJOsG5ai2r8hyawAnSWz3lIc0AJwiBbptXwrkw-vgaEyApXuB8geELulWaDOwsU-IGFHNpUJKmLZ122RopMkiKk54P0NLR1Nu7Awm4m1QJ4/s1600-h/IMG_4836.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280238680536790514" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUxwGuSwtPaGlDmx9QEWiP9fzC_BldVSLEeJOsG5ai2r8hyawAnSWz3lIc0AJwiBbptXwrkw-vgaEyApXuB8geELulWaDOwsU-IGFHNpUJKmLZ122RopMkiKk54P0NLR1Nu7Awm4m1QJ4/s200/IMG_4836.JPG" border="0" /></a>The show was awesome! We were sitting so close to the action that the kids got high-fives from many of the cast. We’ve seen it before and thought it was a great show but sitting this close was very cool. At the end of the show, while the lights were still down but the cast was still on the floor, Allie came over and said, “Follow me.” We all jumped up and ran after her to end up in an alcove where she said Max and the girls would meet the cast in a few minutes. That meeting was fantastic! Everyone came out in costume so the pictures are full of brilliant colors. Timon (a character from the Lion King movie) made an appearance as well so the kids got pictures with him and autographs. It was a great visit but Allie had another show to get ready for so we had to say our goodbyes. </div><div><br />We got out after most of the crowd had dispersed so the line to see Donald Duck was minimal. The kids got pictures and autographs with him and Max took a moment to let Donald know that he had made a mess of Mickey’s house (in Toontown at the Magic Kingdom) and that he really needed to make sure he cleaned up. Donald just looked away. On our way out of Camp Mickey Minnie we saw Pocahontas for autograph and pics followed by a trip to the ice cream stand. Max didn’t want anything, Gwendolyn had a fruit bar and Olivia completely wore the Mickey Mouse ice cream thing that she had ordered so it took a while to clean up. </div><div><br />From there we were on our way to Expedition Everest where the agreement with Max was that if Olivia was tall enough he, too, would have to ride. He remembered that the ride went backwards, something he isn’t very fond of, so he was hoping that Liv was too short. In route we learned that the parade was starting in a few minutes so we took a spot that looked good as we’d never actually seen the Animal Kingdom Parade. Max and the girls sat in front of the stroller and <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdiVYS_DbZFrQsbvhbLYatoJZUPvhAx_COe2mTaSDeyemKUNnTJ_p5RxrMBW2XIMF-AhXnhL5TV8av6dFmu5LHTL4ObIFTtobyH8oniPihSSCfzoL8-g9N-JV4KdATZrolohpxTMMHYJ8/s1600-h/IMG_4866.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280238682927482082" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdiVYS_DbZFrQsbvhbLYatoJZUPvhAx_COe2mTaSDeyemKUNnTJ_p5RxrMBW2XIMF-AhXnhL5TV8av6dFmu5LHTL4ObIFTtobyH8oniPihSSCfzoL8-g9N-JV4KdATZrolohpxTMMHYJ8/s200/IMG_4866.JPG" border="0" /></a>within just a minute or two, Max had folded himself up, lying across his pretzel lap, and fallen asleep. He was the talk of most people around us for the next 10 minutes or so. The parade was fun and what we realized, because we had such great seats at the Lion King show and could see the cast members there close up, was that many of the folks in the parade were from the show. One of the men came up to Olivia and asked if she could light her shoes up for him, as she had done during the Lion King show. That was fun. </div><div><br />We made a quick detour into It is a Bugs Life. Max had said that <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2F9UK_3dMC5w7PZ2yHin6k1qUumEXgs7k-wYoemV4_Y8EnopZg_7ErBZWSdbXdC3ZYrPDVvl0X8z1gopGZWbvK_mIdP7xO-T_FzNQ5D4iiWnlbGGwl0r1_D10mnX8lVTfstogRG3aCes/s1600-h/IMG_4881.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280240310786832610" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2F9UK_3dMC5w7PZ2yHin6k1qUumEXgs7k-wYoemV4_Y8EnopZg_7ErBZWSdbXdC3ZYrPDVvl0X8z1gopGZWbvK_mIdP7xO-T_FzNQ5D4iiWnlbGGwl0r1_D10mnX8lVTfstogRG3aCes/s200/IMG_4881.JPG" border="0" /></a>he didn’t want to go in as early as yesterday so he was more than reluctant. Olivia did not like how dark it was inside and everyone but Bob (who can’t smell anything, ever) hated the stink bug part of the show. I think that show may get by passed the next few times :) We got out and headed to Expedition Everest where Max was overjoyed to learn that Olivia was at least two inches too short for the ride. Gwendolyn argued this for a bit but Bob, Max, and Olivia split while Tracy and Gwendolyn did the ride with Max’s fast pass. </div><div><br />Because Max hadn’t wanted ice cream earlier, Bob offered him a soft serve at a cart. He only wanted vanilla but Olivia wanted more ice cream and would only take chocolate so we compromised on a swirl of the two. Bob paid, took the ice cream and asked Max to grab some napkins and we headed toward the restroom area that we had just stopped at, prior to splitting, because there were several unoccupied benches there. Or so Bob thought! Bob got Olivia’s stroller parked so that she had a good view and then realized that Max wasn’t there. In less than 200 yards and in a fairly thin crowd, Bob had lost Max! It didn’t take long to spot him in his neon green Make A Wish T-Shirt so Bob and Olivia walked over to the group that Max was talking to. He was in the middle of about 15 people and they were obviously all talking to him. Bob was hoping that Max had decided to ask someone about the most recent state quarter or jumped into a conversation that he found interesting but this was not the case. While Bob didn’t run, he also didn’t crawl so the time that had elapsed over the 200 yard walk was well less than a minute. However, during this brief period of time, Max had 1) gotten a pile of napkins, 2) decided he was lost when he didn’t see Bob (who is freaking huge, wearing a Hawaiian shirt, and pushing a stroller), 3) and flagged down a group of people whom he informed of his status as well as Bob’s cell phone. The group saw Bob well in advance of Max. When Bob was pointed out to Max, Max did get excited but didn’t seem all that distressed. However, when Bob and Max got a chance to talk afterwards it was learned that Max really did think he’d been abandoned for about 14 or 15 seconds and he thought that he had done just what he’d been told to do if lost. He was close but had forgotten about the “look for a name tag with mouse ears” part of the rule. Thankfully it happened in the nicest place on earth and he wasn’t really lost (at least that is Bob’s story and he’s sticking to it). </div><div><br />The older girls loved the ride and Gwendolyn wanted to go again but it was getting late (around 5 pm) and we still wanted to try and do the few rides at Epcot that the kids were looking forward to before heading to Downtown Disney for dinner. On the way out of the park we stopped by Guest Services to check on two Disney passes that we had left over from our 2004 trip to see if they could be used tomorrow by Bob and Tracy. We were hoping that each had a day left from that previous trip when Amy and Tara had not done the parks but stayed at the rental house with Owen and Olivia to rest up. Imagine our surprise when we learned that we, in fact, had 2 days left! That was great, but now we have 2 more adult tickets and 2 kid's tickets that might still have 1 day left on them but we need to find for the next trip. </div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Pcf1Vtg7c8_PnlULjY0VvpHbu1iMRZraYuqB__eHJQwgTStzPCo1tFnqweWrig3ekf1hg7CLXxM78DhyT0Mm8K-YYT8kq5e1qU-BW-S_EI_0Olr88DF5-PgqFD4G79bMGBnhWCl9s_0/s1600-h/IMG_4885.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280240320647816722" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Pcf1Vtg7c8_PnlULjY0VvpHbu1iMRZraYuqB__eHJQwgTStzPCo1tFnqweWrig3ekf1hg7CLXxM78DhyT0Mm8K-YYT8kq5e1qU-BW-S_EI_0Olr88DF5-PgqFD4G79bMGBnhWCl9s_0/s200/IMG_4885.JPG" border="0" /></a>On the heels of that great news we headed to Epcot arriving there at 5:40 pm. We left everything in the car because we weren’t staying long. We made a bee line for Turtle Talk and walked in just as the show was starting. Having Max get picked the last time we were here to describe a bikini had set the bar very high. While this show was fun, it was far more entertaining to have Crush talk to Max about Max wearing a bikini top to the beach while Max thought he was only talking about a bathing suit. On the way out, all 3 kids decided that they wanted to do the Nemo ride which Bob had thought was somewhat less than entertaining on our last trip. Bob was correct but it only took 5 minutes out of our lives. </div><div><br />From there we went to Soarin. On our last trip Bob and Olivia had stayed outside because she was far too short for the ride back then. Now, everyone was tall enough, but Max was not looking forward to the ride as he has a minor fear of heights. He agreed that he would sit next to Tracy, hold her hand the whole time, and close his eyes if things got to be too much. He did fine and everyone had a great time. From there we headed to our last ride of the day, Test Track. Here we saw a friend of Gwendolyn’s from school, Emily. Neither had known the other was in Disney the same week so that was nice, unexpected surprise. </div><div><br />We ran back to the car and then raced over to Downtown Disney to get dinner at <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiopSukEXZ581nXoiOd9vK8sBx4kLG18qXGJlfwNnKK3Y8i6A7TFEhO9nfNuc8jn1tIdvkqm6v9N5U4nVRjjd-tiZzHXeMqAirglbDGpNdmDjz9b_MOKqbFaTtOdD8YtfcjeL_43n2bmBc/s1600-h/IMG_4887.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280240324830666450" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiopSukEXZ581nXoiOd9vK8sBx4kLG18qXGJlfwNnKK3Y8i6A7TFEhO9nfNuc8jn1tIdvkqm6v9N5U4nVRjjd-tiZzHXeMqAirglbDGpNdmDjz9b_MOKqbFaTtOdD8YtfcjeL_43n2bmBc/s200/IMG_4887.JPG" border="0" /></a>McDonalds and finish the souvenir shopping. The parking lot was packed but we finally found a spot and we were done with dinner at 8:37 pm! We went over to the Disney store where Tracy and the girls went their way and Max led Bob on what was expected to be a long, painful, and possibly horrifying journey. Max was done in five minutes! He had decided he wanted some Matchbox type cars that were $5.00 each. He had done the math ahead, and had picked his cars during his other trips. He struggled a little bit because the Star Wars cars were not available but getting both C3PO and R2D2 was going to put him over budget. Bob let him know that because we were done so quickly he could get both cars the next day at the Magic Kingdom where we’d seen them earlier in the week. Bob cannot describe how wonderful and unexpected this was. Max had been brutal to pull out of the stores for the entire trip, insisting on stopping at each and every kiosk to scope things out and taking a really long time to do so. Here, it paid off handsomely though. He didn’t even ask for anything else. It can be so hard to try and guess what he is thinking, but often comes through at times like these. To his credit, this kind of thing happens more and more with him as he ages and the tantrums that involve throwing his hat are becoming few and far between.<br /></div><div>Max and Bob were finished and able to find the girls again within about 10 minutes. Olivia had found her souvenir so Bob took she and Max back to the counter to pay for these purchases and pick up a discounted (Disney discounted anyway) duffle bag to bring all of the purchases home. After this, Bob and Max tried to help Gwendolyn figure out <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXTS_wmWXxwmx8s3cctSFjPy7trnPRn0OeP47CKdqgg3hj_i7T962w5Js-meVuXSaQoskz1aOhVfk0uTQQjiokr60aQm-n8l906tVBtQWj__7-MablxrlTsKRSygfB0RiPcCnw6NNKbts/s1600-h/IMG_4893.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280240328703890402" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXTS_wmWXxwmx8s3cctSFjPy7trnPRn0OeP47CKdqgg3hj_i7T962w5Js-meVuXSaQoskz1aOhVfk0uTQQjiokr60aQm-n8l906tVBtQWj__7-MablxrlTsKRSygfB0RiPcCnw6NNKbts/s200/IMG_4893.JPG" border="0" /></a>something appropriate but she was having a very hard time. She is at a stage in her life where she understands that things cost money and is unwilling to spend money on herself or have people spend their money on her. That mentality made for a long time in the store but she finally found something she liked. Gwendolyn rejoined Tracy to finalize shopping while Bob, Max and Olivia headed outside to ditch the chaos at 9:46 pm. By 10:17 pm, all three kids were sound asleep in the car as we headed to hotel to pack and prepare for the last day of our trip. </div></div></div></div>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678625307778257125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5674963307378893207.post-38512730519891753502008-12-04T08:52:00.005-05:002008-12-07T16:49:02.004-05:00Make-A-Wish Day 4This will be shockingly short :). We started Wednesday, Dec 3 at the Magic Kingdom thinking that Hollywood Studios didn't need a whole day and we were likely to have to ditch plans to see/hear Neil Patrick Harris (who doesn't love "How I Met Your Mother") read a Christmas Story accompanied by a 50 piece orchestra. We got to the Magic Kingdom when it opened, took the train back to ToonTown, ran through Mickey's House, Minnie's House, and rode Goofy's Barnstormer then saw some characters in the Circus Tent / Shopping arena. Took the train back to the entrance and left the park sometime between 11 and noon.<br /><br />We got to Hollywood Studios right around 1 pm. We had missed the stunt show's first performance so grabbed lunch (very late lunch for us this week) and then zipped all over the park for the next 7 and half hours. Bob made a very costly and very bad call by getting everyone into Prince Caspian ... something or other about Narnia. It was just a really long preview of the movie that took 30 minutes of our lives. Ugh.<br /><br />We ended that day with walk through the Christmas Lights which is really cool and Bob's favorite part of this whole trip. On the way out we grabbed two more pressed pennies for Max (that will make more sense as details of today and yesterday become available) and then headed out to try and find dinner - it was 8:30 pm as we headed into the parking lot.<br /><br />Bob made a wrong turn at the Hess station; he actually just failed to make any kind of turn. That prompted a discussion with Tracy on the need to rethink buying souvenirs on Friday at Magic Kingdom after having packed for the trip home and instead possibly doing Downtown Disney to shop Thursday night so that everything could be packed when we leave the hotel for Disney. That prompted a discussion about skipping Epcot all together during which Tracy (yes, Tracy, not Bob) suggested that it was already 8:45 pm and the Epcot fireworks thing was at 9:30 pm so maybe we should do that. We did. It was a little cold and we had an issue with an incredibly ignorant older woman who nearly stepped on Max (he was sitting in the middle of a fireworks show though) and then stole Gwendolyn and Olivia's position at the viewing railing. In spite of harsh words from Tracy, glares from everyone around and a wonderful couple next to the old hag that let Gwendolyn stand in front of them, the woman didn't move. Tracy did her best to ruin every picture the woman tried to take and after about 10 minutes she and her not so obnoxious friend left.<br /><br />Oh, we had hot pretzels, hot dogs, and water for dinner at 9:45 pm (Bob believes it is mandated that prisoners eat slightly better ... though at less expense). If someone still has our Parents of the Year application, you might want to hold off until next year ;-)<br /><br />We've slept in a little to start Thursday. We'll be going to Animal Kingdom and have to meet up with Max's Teacher's daughter, Allie, as she works in the Lion King Show and has something special for Max. (Gwendolyn also had Mrs. Sulley, the teacher, last year). We just wanted to write to let everyone know that all is well and the parks have not yet won; the Kimpland Family has just had to re-prioritize a little. Nothing big is planned for tonight but pretzels and water weren't planned for last night so only time will tell.<br /><br /><strong>Details of the Day</strong><br /><br />Last night was min-golf until late and Bob ended up cutting the Blog entry short that night as well as the next day because all of our waking moments were being spent doing Disney, Universal, and other magical stuff and there was only time to backup the pictures and videos before succumbing to sleep. This was made worse by a power outage in the hotel at 1:15 am on Wednesday, Dec 3. This seemed like only seconds after Bob had fallen asleep but was probably more like 30 minutes. To Bob it sounded like he and Max’s ‘camping’ trip in the outfield at the Sussex minor league park where it started raining, thundering and lightning around 2 am and for the next hour all we could hear were campsites being taken down (in the rain and lightning). This morning, all Bob could hear for the next 45 minutes were doors opening and closing, people arguing in various languages, and just a lot of commotion. Bob did check the hallway quickly to make sure there wasn’t a fire because not a single emergency light had come on, that he could see, and he was slightly worried that the smoke and fire detection/suppression system operated on the same circuit. It is worth a quick note for anyone considering staying at the Radisson at 2900 Parkway – if you plan on doing anything but sleeping there – you probably want to look elsewhere (Bob would be happy to share his reasons).<br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><br />In spite of a late and eventful night, we got to the Magic Kingdom as it opened. Our plan for the day was to hit all of <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbQbLvGqi1vKgs_tcqqHLBLDUfw3vT59Nv7WranXe9r_puh0aleHb5PRB_2uf4IXva2A2jIYRQKDAQhQcJ11sIoT7XxtYb2bW_DxmO1zIeHOybvjT3QI3AZO3LP6DM8cLshRU4MTKNclA/s1600-h/IMG_4675.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277158575299314418" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbQbLvGqi1vKgs_tcqqHLBLDUfw3vT59Nv7WranXe9r_puh0aleHb5PRB_2uf4IXva2A2jIYRQKDAQhQcJ11sIoT7XxtYb2bW_DxmO1zIeHOybvjT3QI3AZO3LP6DM8cLshRU4MTKNclA/s200/IMG_4675.JPG" border="0" /></a>ToonTown then head to Hollywood Studios for the rest of the day. With that laid out, we entered the park without our stroller and headed for the train station. There Bob got several complements on his Dr. Teeth Band Muppet t-shirt (okay, it was just one compliment but it was from the engineer and he was really excited so it should count for a lot). The train ride was something that only Bob had done before and that had been many, many, many years ago. It was a nice way to get back to ToonTown without having to navigate the crowds. Our first stop in ToonTown was Mickey’s house where Gwendolyn (she says it wasn’t her but the video Bob has seems to say otherwise) set off the same alarm that Bob set off a few years ago by leaning too far into Mickey’s living room. </div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilyk_Gk23T8P16b1buvT24qx-9oHpjNBvD9WdSnBNmc3hklIyd6Su2cQODB-oeJr5yBRXPrZkRJPbj4M44uP3D7-hCgpYmnI5Jlrq_9ycU5LWccEczAB3m7CE-51KhcqKrFOcLK51V7VQ/s1600-h/IMG_4668.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277158581345234690" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilyk_Gk23T8P16b1buvT24qx-9oHpjNBvD9WdSnBNmc3hklIyd6Su2cQODB-oeJr5yBRXPrZkRJPbj4M44uP3D7-hCgpYmnI5Jlrq_9ycU5LWccEczAB3m7CE-51KhcqKrFOcLK51V7VQ/s200/IMG_4668.JPG" border="0" /></a>A quick tour of the front of Minnie’s house was followed by a long stop in the kitchen to play with the refrigerator, oven, and microwave as well as shoot some pictures. The kids and Tracy then went on Goofy’s Barnstormer while Bob tried to figure out what the purple roofed building on the park map could be. It sits behind Donald’s Boat/House and to left of Goofy’s ride but there is nothing there. The problem is that Max has seen it on the map and insists that he is missing something. While the map isn’t to scale, it seems accurate short of this single building that isn’t really there. Bob walked Max all around the area where the purple roofed building should’ve been but Max just could not be placated and was angry that we were depriving him of whatever this was. Unfortunate. </div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid3bkEIGhfUIZDwpHUjfYE1H3d5GODwjlas6mgxWxXM41kEvwqp3BuNEleGDS97SulX4zqDZ9nA8z2_2KpBxOZMx-QQrA-nr-i3QCY7IRvI6Hs1INxoKIe2Ou3Y3B7053qO4HLKopCxmQ/s1600-h/IMG_4684.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277161447636523090" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid3bkEIGhfUIZDwpHUjfYE1H3d5GODwjlas6mgxWxXM41kEvwqp3BuNEleGDS97SulX4zqDZ9nA8z2_2KpBxOZMx-QQrA-nr-i3QCY7IRvI6Hs1INxoKIe2Ou3Y3B7053qO4HLKopCxmQ/s200/IMG_4684.JPG" border="0" /></a>Our next stop was the County Fair where Princesses and Fairies were doing meet and greets. The line for the Fairies was over an hour but Tinker Bell was in attendance and the girls all wanted to see her. We checked on using Max’s pass for this but the attendant told us that they no longer did alternate entrances at this venue. Ah well, we got on the princess line which was only labeled as 20 minutes. While it was actually only about 10 or 15 minutes, Max’s complaining the entire time about the line made it seem like hours. It was clear that he would not be able to do the fairies but Gwendolyn and Olivia were very upset about not seeing Tinker Bell. After seeing Aurora, Cinderella, and Belle, Bob went and asked the new greeter for the Fairies line if it would be possible for the girls to wait in line and have Max re-join them when they got to the front <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvxtkYZ4ubTs64EoC0UN-TfGjQF3iR06_5cxM5mJc9QgO552JGd8c8RMtUCMo1VfQeHOTAn-zy1rWDoWxASqqPUzRUWUREJGSQmMy48QZb8NBalKYVRuT0_0etgUbDTfJj5oUx3hxXzm8/s1600-h/IMG_4702.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277161457331283602" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvxtkYZ4ubTs64EoC0UN-TfGjQF3iR06_5cxM5mJc9QgO552JGd8c8RMtUCMo1VfQeHOTAn-zy1rWDoWxASqqPUzRUWUREJGSQmMy48QZb8NBalKYVRuT0_0etgUbDTfJj5oUx3hxXzm8/s200/IMG_4702.JPG" border="0" /></a>as he would not be able to tolerate the line without being disruptive. This new greeter looked at Max’ pass and said, “He doesn’t have to wait on line, just go over there (pointing to the exit) and someone will be with you shortly.” That was nice, but we’re not clear why the first greeter was so misinformed. After waiting just a few minutes, we were greeted by Kenneth and he talked to the kids about Max’s visit with Peter Pan, how the kids would have to be shrunk with some pixie dust to make them able to hear and see the fairies, and then shared some bad jokes. The kids then got to visit with Iridessa, Tinker Bell, and Rosetta. </div><div><br />We shopped for about 20 minutes (longer than the 5 that Max needed but Tracy was the culprit this time ;-) ) before taking the train back to the park’s entrance. We took the monorail out of the park just before noon. This turned out to be a great time as there was no one riding so Max, Gwendolyn, Olivia and Tracy go to ride in front with the conductor (only 4 are allowed there) while Bob checked email and did a quick 5 minutes of return phone calls. </div><div><br />At 12:36 we were parked in Hollywood Studios and heading to Rosie’s for a little lunch. Max decided he didn’t want chicken so he and Bob headed to Telousse’s Turkey Legs for a hot dog and a chili dog (what else would they name a hot dog stand?). Gwendolyn and Bob ate very quickly and ran to do the Rockin Roller Coaster while Max and Tracy finished lunch and Olivia took a well needed time out to collect herself. This wasn’t an official timeout, just a break that our 4 year old traveler sorely needed because she refuses to nap and we were keeping her up for very long days. Gwendolyn loved the roller coaster and tried to talk her way into a follow up ride but we had a very tight schedule to keep so she was denied. </div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrXTRR_t1MCVYW-u3MlXMk_QYrjVVVz8tJPBcrF1Hnxd7qhyX5z695s_eqOQFOZfZ2ES5pXhMtpqpj24O68h-Ll2h3F8dlOtTayRwCgTzIwdfhJPzhWMiZH7AUgTF56rJJkE6GQ0Z5nPY/s1600-h/IMG_4734.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277165367821346370" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrXTRR_t1MCVYW-u3MlXMk_QYrjVVVz8tJPBcrF1Hnxd7qhyX5z695s_eqOQFOZfZ2ES5pXhMtpqpj24O68h-Ll2h3F8dlOtTayRwCgTzIwdfhJPzhWMiZH7AUgTF56rJJkE6GQ0Z5nPY/s200/IMG_4734.JPG" border="0" /></a>We headed toward Mickey’s sorcerer hat where we found a stand selling baseball caps that we thought would make great souvenirs. Bob was able to snag a Grumpy hat for a mere $4.99 while the rest got the hats that appealed most to them. After making our purchases we still had time for a ride before the parade so we headed to Narnia’s Prince Caspian ride. It is so NOT a ride. It is a blatant advertisement for a movie that came out on DVD a while ago. We waited in fairly long queue and then entered a room. Oh, this will be like the Haunted Mansion Bob thought. Foolish Bob. We stood around the broken slab that Aslan was killed on in the first movie and then a movie started. OK, not a movie, a trailer. Sure it was a long trailer and a little info on the special effects that were used but it still just a damn trailer that we waited 15 minutes to see and took 10 minutes to watch. What a waste of effort on their part and a waste of time for us. </div><div><br />At this point it was time to get a seat for the parade and we headed to the spot we had used two years ago right outside of the Star Wars ride and near the Jedi Training Stage. We were there for a good 10 minutes before we learned the parade ended here instead of started, as it had last time. There really wasn’t time to move before the parade started so we decided to stick it out here. About 10 minutes later we learned that the trampoline and dancing would NOT take place where we were sitting but, instead, the parade would stop in front the commissary, far to our left, for 20 minutes for that show. Now, it was way too late as there was a crowd around us and the parade had already started. We stuck it out a while longer and Olivia danced with some of the women doing crowd control so we were all entertained. We did have a good position to see everything as the parade rolled by so it wasn’t a complete loss. We also go to see them do gymnastics in the street and all the dancers gathered in front of us while the rides went through a gate to our ride. At the end, we saw a whole dance routine and then caught some balls that were thrown over the gate at the very end so we ended up happy with our decision. </div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAg4HHbyAH3iE3TUmL0akIvUuoW1QQIzs1ssYQfkXQmwLvIF_ZY8HZ1a9USDU3HeBuQggp0B_2uVhBIyVds5ow2NFO6kHtrDsQLaWkR_IMyfTDIYmDlA-PmgkUYsBMnZ4Afb8A_FaDBXk/s1600-h/IMG_4764+-+Copy.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277167538183117266" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 129px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAg4HHbyAH3iE3TUmL0akIvUuoW1QQIzs1ssYQfkXQmwLvIF_ZY8HZ1a9USDU3HeBuQggp0B_2uVhBIyVds5ow2NFO6kHtrDsQLaWkR_IMyfTDIYmDlA-PmgkUYsBMnZ4Afb8A_FaDBXk/s200/IMG_4764+-+Copy.JPG" border="0" /></a>From here we ran to the Lights, Motors, Actions Extreme Stunt show that had come highly recommended for Max. We were late but Max’s pass got him reserved seating up front. The stunt show was going very well for our group until Herbie, the Love Bug, made his appearance. This is Max’s favorite car, in front of even Lightning McQueen, so having Herbie show up was a great treat. Unfortunately, Herbie makes a wrong turn and ends up cutting himself in half. Fun for everyone but Max who was devastated. Explaining to Max that it was a just a trick, like everything else they were showing us in the show but he just couldn’t let it go. </div><br /><br /><br /><div><br />We got out of the stunt show a few minutes before 5 pm and realized that Playhouse Disney’s last show was at 5:00 pm. We explained to Max that were going to miss that this time around and we were told, in no uncertain terms, that this was unacceptable. OK. We ran across the entire park to the Playhouse Disney site just as they were closing the doors. Tracy got Max and Gwendolyn in while Bob found a stroller spot with Olivia and then re-joined the group. We were fortunate to have made it as both Max and Olivia had a wonderful time. For Max, the show is just as magical and real as it is for Olivia. They loved seeing all of the characters from their favorite shows. </div><div><br />Toy Story Mania was our next ride. This was way cool. Similar to the Buzz Lightyear ride in that you’re in a car and shooting at targets, but it is really huge 3-D video game. You move through the ride to six sets of targets, all with different values. Everyone had such a great time that we <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipCNqK5NOPKnZsNNy0YDelAN12x0MyN7H-am8u8JGSoVGOz7GTEBhsDXnDvh0nVHVZR1owVN53vaVB7x5xhH7cSCB7ORNJspwcNrzWOPUGH7FAxAGeRnKo9xoDvEkn9AMmTzNbFR82Xjs/s1600-h/IMG_4784.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277167540224952274" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipCNqK5NOPKnZsNNy0YDelAN12x0MyN7H-am8u8JGSoVGOz7GTEBhsDXnDvh0nVHVZR1owVN53vaVB7x5xhH7cSCB7ORNJspwcNrzWOPUGH7FAxAGeRnKo9xoDvEkn9AMmTzNbFR82Xjs/s200/IMG_4784.JPG" border="0" /></a>immediately got back on line and bettered our scores. After this was the moment that Max had been waiting on for years, a visit to Pizza Planet. He was thrilled to be playing in the video game parlor from Toy Story. Unfortunately, or thankfully depending on the point of view, it did not measure up to Max’s expectations. He didn’t like any of the games so it did not end up costing nearly as much as we had feared. Having spent only a few minutes here we headed to Muppetvision 3-D. In the waiting room, there were only about 30 people and Olivia made quick friends with two girls. They ran around, danced, and played until we were able to enter the theater. Bob has no more recollection of the movie as the world went dark for him as soon as he sat down. </div><br /><div>We exited the movie and headed to the Osbourne Family Spectacle of Lights. We got there just as the Transiberian Orchestra’s song was starting to play in sync with the lights. That was a cool <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPgSqWW1P6UvClXHdKayD7ssgviEeJ-_5-8ZJ5LaB_8jQbAh3E00g00RwPp_gCwFhoyGUrr_sPxICxi2uBODFIAzrMbTjZtjhZsWhWSQHZiyCo9N_OzDhTe0Bajh90REUCXHyt0gmfJA0/s1600-h/IMG_4787.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277167546683674034" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPgSqWW1P6UvClXHdKayD7ssgviEeJ-_5-8ZJ5LaB_8jQbAh3E00g00RwPp_gCwFhoyGUrr_sPxICxi2uBODFIAzrMbTjZtjhZsWhWSQHZiyCo9N_OzDhTe0Bajh90REUCXHyt0gmfJA0/s200/IMG_4787.JPG" border="0" /></a>way to start. We walked through the streets looking for hidden Mickey’s and got our picture taken with the lights as the background. On our way out we stopped by the penny pressing machine under Mickey’s sorcerer hat so that Max could add another pressed penny to his collection. We were tired and unfed but the food venues had all closed for the evening. Tracy made a quick call to Max’s teacher to get final instructions for his visit to Animal Kingdom and then we headed out of the park. </div><br /><br /><div>On the way out, Bob missed a turn while he and Tracy were discussing a revision to the plan of buying souvenirs on Friday in the Magic Kingdom because of the problems we might have with getting those things packed. We thought that we might do better to try and visit Downtown Disney tomorrow night since Animal Kingdom closes at 6:00 pm. As Bob corrected for his missed turn Tracy suggested doing Epcot this evening as it was already 8:45 and fireworks there were at 9:30. The story of this adventure is recounted in appropriate detail above :)</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678625307778257125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5674963307378893207.post-67225194001858509062008-12-03T00:01:00.007-05:002008-12-06T13:34:04.062-05:00Make-A-Wish Day 3 - Universal OrlandoToday was cold; cold for Florida anyway. The high was around 61 and the wind was 15-20 mph so all but Bob had on sweatshirts with Capri’s or jeans. Bob just thinks he looks funny in Capri’s so he opted for shorts and a long sleeve undershirt. This morning started early for both rooms so everyone got a bath or shower this morning. Oddly Olivia completely forgot to take off her underwear and undershirt before getting into the tub. Once she got rid of the rest of her clothes she was cleaned and ready to leave at 8:30 am. We’d never been to Universal before but had a general idea that was in the same direction as Sea World so we headed out sans map. Oops. We took exit 74 as the signs nearby said 74 – 76 would all work. 74 needs another , bigger sign as you exit the highway so that you don’t miss the first turn and end up driving around in the many condo areas near Dr. Philips, FL (never heard of a town name like that before but it seemed a little odd for a name of a town). After a short excursion through this oddly named town we got back on the highway, took the next exit and arrived at Universal Studios for the very first time.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5aNItWIfTRl4DPxMFYv54O8HJ9nIx_0dx3Fsv0V2__BlGWUcIc1frlBV5MH8wdsR0qZNghbPj_3zzUxyX236n7xc08JWAQxhhN9Xl-8iEDdm3HhoWODujtjtIpzryY9ihqz-F_BbX624/s1600-h/IMG_4571.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275424962343692962" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5aNItWIfTRl4DPxMFYv54O8HJ9nIx_0dx3Fsv0V2__BlGWUcIc1frlBV5MH8wdsR0qZNghbPj_3zzUxyX236n7xc08JWAQxhhN9Xl-8iEDdm3HhoWODujtjtIpzryY9ihqz-F_BbX624/s320/IMG_4571.JPG" border="0" /></a>Universal offers a preferred parking section for $17/day (compared to the non-preferred rate of $12/day). Bob and Gwendolyn had seen this pricing at Great Adventure over the summer but had passed as it was an additional $15. That worked out well because that day we were so early that we parked next to the preferred folks. Today we decided to go nuts and spend the extra $5 as a treat for Max (even though he had just bitched Bob out for driving around aimlessly on his ONE day at Universal). That seems to have been money well spent as we were very close to the parking lot entrance from the parks but the distance from the parking lot the parks was pretty formidable.<br /><br />Here we need to interject a bit of history as we’d been told by nearly everyone that Max was not likely to enjoy the parks as many rides are roller coasters which, for the most part, he wants no part of. We’d also been told that when compared to Disney for service and appearance it loses hands down (which isn’t hard to believe given Disney’s attention to every single detail). There were far too many comments like that but cold weather aside today was a fantastic day!<br /><br />We started at Guest Services where Maria asked Bob for his confirmation number. Bob felt like he’d been punched in the stomach. Confirmation number? Well, he didn’t have that but did have his own name and a drivers license to prove it was his name which was all that Disney required. Well, he had his PDA and access to the most recent two weeks of emails so maybe he’d gotten it in an email and just needed to find it. While he was frantically pressing buttons and trying to figure out how to search on the damn thing Tracy said, “It’s the same as all the others … 11 something or other.” That feeling of being kicked in the stomach was quickly replaced by a feeling of being kicked in the balls without warning by someone with steel toed boots. “What confirmation number,” Bob asked. “You know, the one in the Make-A-Wish packet,” replied Tracy. Bob knew full and well that the Make-A-Wish packet was back at the hotel because he’d asked Tracy if she brought it when he was driving through the condos in Dr. Philips and could’ve used the AVIS map that was stuck in there so he was a little puzzled by this not being mentioned a little early. Thank God for Maria though because she was able to find the reservation by name putting an end to the train wreck that was looming just around the bend. Maria asked us when we’d be returning to the park because we were being given a two-day, two-park pass but we politely said that we didn’t know if we’d make it back this trip as we’ll be leaving Friday (Tracy explained that while Bob just turned red because he can’t even think about lying without his face flushing fuller red than Rudolph’s nose – yeah that’s great at the poker table). Maria explained that wasn’t a problem at all. The tickets would be good until Dec 26 of next year, 2009. The special needs card that she was giving us could be brought back with the tickets and re-issued for whatever day we could come back. Oh, and the special needs card was even better than the cut-in-line pass that you can buy from Universal (they call it something else but it is one of the things we’d heard was beyond annoying). This card didn’t just get us toward the front of the line, it got us someone to take us to the front of the line. It was cold and the park had very few people but for the two rides that we did get that kind of attention it was pretty amazing; more on that in a bit. In a nutshell, this was starting off better than our first day at Disney.<br /><br />While Tracy, Bob, and Max had been talking to Maria (Max was very busy sharing bad jokes with someone new), Gwendolyn was busy with the map trying to figure out how to get to Jimmy Neutron and Shrek as those were Max’s first two choices for rides. We took about three steps when Max yelled out, “I see it! I see Jimmy!” This, of course, caused Gwendolyn to be horribly upset because she’d done a lot of figuring in trying to help Max and he had the nerve to ruin it by actually looking at things. Oh yes, Bob can completely bask in knowing that this is the kind of pain that he and his brother, TR, had caused their own parents though those fights often quickly turned to violence and the need for medical attention. Karma has a nice way of smiling on Bob like that every so often. While Tracy consoled Gwendolyn, Bob took Max aside and explained the work that Gwendolyn had put into trying to help him out and that maybe, just maybe, he could pretend that he really needed her help. That actually went well for more than just the next 5 minutes though it eventually broke down.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnVy1JWOvuOGYQLaxyBHLAVrJii3bAQgxLWBw5Z2BOgI9_AG8BOj5EjdTlbDUa7gaJshHfxwIMeR_pkNLB4GYYu8BWGaOP_OKru2-MKjB7bbupvCKUo8UHj-ZoskcvbTdbLXsDYnv6rzA/s1600-h/IMG_4600.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275424969423916178" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnVy1JWOvuOGYQLaxyBHLAVrJii3bAQgxLWBw5Z2BOgI9_AG8BOj5EjdTlbDUa7gaJshHfxwIMeR_pkNLB4GYYu8BWGaOP_OKru2-MKjB7bbupvCKUo8UHj-ZoskcvbTdbLXsDYnv6rzA/s320/IMG_4600.JPG" border="0" /></a>The Jimmy Neutron ride was a virtual ride with a big screen movie and seats that moved around to simulate movement (many rides here are like that). It ties in well with the cartoon and the movies about Jimmy Neutron so everyone was happy … until … Max got wet. Oh, did he scream. It was really just a few drops but he screamed and screamed. Thankfully he started laughing at the show again and was in stitches along with the rest of the family when Carl started the Chicken Dance music and the seats bounced in tune with the song. It was a great way to start the day as well as to prepare Max for what would be an endless supply of minor wetness that would follow him the rest of the day. While he never got to doing anything less than screaming like he girl he was able to laugh the wetness of almost immediately for the rest of the day. Oh, to be clear, these were all sprinkles of water – never enough to get more than an inch of clothing wet – he just HATES rain. Shower is fine because … well … just because he is Max and shower is different than rain for some reason that only makes sense to Max.<br /><br />…<br /><br />Bob is now actually dizzy from laughing so hard at memories of growing up with TR. That and a scarcity of sleep the past few days necessitates a break so this will get finished later. Bob has decent notes on today so the memory erosion should be minimal (Bob is disappointed that he NEVER thought to do this before and instead relied on Tracy’s map markings to bring everything back)<br /><div><div><div><div><br /><div>…</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpRf-GICW5KJbQAe0bkUM9pFK6UbhQ64U0RJOxY4d_KWGyx23xVJWwWoZDCDw3kGsTJb88CgmZHsEDJ4v6iI6etREe9OhGhkB8KoBR93eKWIVd6A8UXOACZRKBiFujiYFO1iZiVOZbXog/s1600-h/IMG_4573.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276744174626932418" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpRf-GICW5KJbQAe0bkUM9pFK6UbhQ64U0RJOxY4d_KWGyx23xVJWwWoZDCDw3kGsTJb88CgmZHsEDJ4v6iI6etREe9OhGhkB8KoBR93eKWIVd6A8UXOACZRKBiFujiYFO1iZiVOZbXog/s200/IMG_4573.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Ogre Vision 4D followed the Jimmy Neutron ride. For this ride, there is a holding pen that serves as a torture chamber before you enter the ride. There Mirror on the Wall and the Gingerbread man entertain you with the help of Pinocchio (who is upside down in a box with only his feet and nose sticking out). Lots of bad jokes with Pinocchio’s nose growing while he tells Lord Farquad’s Ghost that he doesn’t know where Fiona is so everyone had a good time in the pre-ride. The ride itself is a 3-D movie so everyone needed glasses again. Donkey sneezed on us in the very beginning so Max got sprinkled again but recovered quickly. This was a fun ride but everyone’s favorite between the two was Jimmy Neutron (Limo ride was still the number 1 ride for Max).</div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaz6oXuAAH9AOLI_0KimHBjbpVx4uh521q5WMGW2uxMKAu8NMjY5djItRMnnVQS5dW8XDCz3BR-XEdvuVSwbmGAq90FgYucZReqH_1UYTiNM4JRDTq9f4gAPSPg8Sh196fg7Mb6IoGv_E/s1600-h/IMG_4578.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276744543361239362" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaz6oXuAAH9AOLI_0KimHBjbpVx4uh521q5WMGW2uxMKAu8NMjY5djItRMnnVQS5dW8XDCz3BR-XEdvuVSwbmGAq90FgYucZReqH_1UYTiNM4JRDTq9f4gAPSPg8Sh196fg7Mb6IoGv_E/s200/IMG_4578.JPG" border="0" /></a>Exiting Shrek’s ride we found Twister to the left. Amy had said that the ride was pretty cool but the kids probably wouldn’t like it. Anne Marie had said Max definitely should not go on the ride (though for Bob this was third party knowledge, through Tracy, and could be considered suspect). Bob did make everyone go on the ride and in the holding pen we were treated to videos of Bill Paxton (sorry if that is the wrong Bill but he is not a friend of Max’s after this ride) and Helen Hunt. Bob doesn’t remember Bill’s role in the movie as being particularly masculine but man, in these setup videos, the guy defines swagger. Or, more appropriately, swagger wanna be. It’s ridiculous. He’s standing there with his denim shirt open several buttons, his chest swelled up and in a stance that made us think he was sitting on a horse and trying to lean forward. Oh, and the deep voice that he affects doesn’t suit him. Well, most of that is really just distraction here because while Bob found the ride very cool (pre-ride aside) he exited the ride with three hysterical children, all balling, and asking “Why did you make us do that? Anne Marie said it was BAD!” Oops.</div><div><br />After that we got pretzels for a mid-morning snack and started walking towards the ET ride. On the way there we came across a show had several characters dancing on the stage and signing a song that escapes Bob right now but probably isn’t critical. Olivia had just gotten out of the stroller to dance when the music stop and they announced character meet & greets for those in the show so we lined up for Curious George and the Man in the Big Yellow Hat first. Max told several jokes, Olivia stamped her bells and flashing sneakers for George, and we learned that the Man in the Big Yellow Hat’s name is Ted. From there we got on the Shaggy and Scooby line <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2P7GdX_1S2zICxwBaPAwIKDWovnUkdwXmquwlYg6C0DEb9e3FJR4VAuW3EVwkdqrvrKdvvlrce-4VWbPT6W1vPoUsfaDVX2_hxADZoub3m1WVZzzUaJqUYJOAibS1q-SNz8uuTzWl2TI/s1600-h/IMG_4587.JPG"></a>where Bob looked dubiously at <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrJkAjYH_DNBvcefKzuRUAoHZO0adHeD6vUYaouuzm3GrRFJlyiXQWKKjnPNWs4b-D-xg4lcx4QV9MWbrQNjCjpwizBb-eyo6OrGkmSlJq5Jh6tt5F27xZ-vTLTHbRZX4_6kjYEO5NnIs/s1600-h/IMG_4587.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276746258206925234" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrJkAjYH_DNBvcefKzuRUAoHZO0adHeD6vUYaouuzm3GrRFJlyiXQWKKjnPNWs4b-D-xg4lcx4QV9MWbrQNjCjpwizBb-eyo6OrGkmSlJq5Jh6tt5F27xZ-vTLTHbRZX4_6kjYEO5NnIs/s200/IMG_4587.JPG" border="0" /></a>Shaggy as the wig seemed off from Bob’s memory of the stoner in the show. Well, that was the only thing that was off as Shaggy nailed every other aspect from the slightly raspy with a hint of bubbling bong water gurgle in his voice to his “Hey Scoobs” and finishing with his peace signs (clearly not rabbit ears; a mistake some amateurs make by holding them too high). Max and Shaggy shared bad jokes and Max learned a new one that has stuck with us </div><br /><br /><br /><div><br />Shaggy: Hey Max, do you know which letter is a pirate’s favorite letter?</div><div><br />All: Arrrrrrrrrrrr</div><div><br />Shaggy: Oh, well, do you know his second favorite letter? </div><div></div><div>[pause here because none of us had thought the joke went on from there so we just stared stupidly]<br /><br />Shaggy [pointing to his eye]: Ayeeeeeeeeeee </div><div><br />That was a fun visit which we followed up with the ET Ride. Bob and Tracy had heard great things about the ET ride but given his experience in watching the movie (cried and cried and cried when ET seemed dead) Max did not want to go on this ride. We made Max join the rest of us and we were escorted to the ride by the greeter. We boarded our bikes and took off on a journey through the setting of the movie with police cars pulling into our path, lots of shouting from police and dogs searching for ET and the kids, and followed by a visit to ET’s home planet. Bob’s opinion is that the ride could better have been called “ET’s ride to planet suck” because it seemed horribly dated for a movie that reigned as highest grossing film for such a long time. The kids all agreed that the only cool thing was that ET said “Thank you Max, Gwendolyn, Olivia, Tracy, Bob”</div><div><br />Next up was a visit to Woody Woodpecker’s roller coaster. Bob sat out being far too large for the seats of nearly every ride and likely to break something (knee or ankle) on the kiddie rides). Everyone else got off the ride excited that it was so fast but disappointed it was so short. We did a brief walk through Curious George’s play area and thankfully got out before something like half a million gallons of water spiller from the top of a building and off an awning soaking everything inside. Not only would Max have been beyond pissed about being that wet but being that wet in the cold and wind would’ve forced a trip home. </div><br /><div>Danger avoided we headed to the Simpson’s Ride which seemed to have no line at all. That was very deceiving though because it is only a few months old and was build to disguise the fabulously long queue behind animations, whole walls, and even a second level of queuing. The second level on our side was a ramp up the outside of the building where we could feel the full force of the wind. That was a long few minutes standing shivering but we were rewarded with entrance to a staging room where 7 screens played quick Simpsons clips (each at a different time) that were interrupted by an announcement that Side Show Bob had escaped from prison and was looking to kill the Simpsons for their role in his being captured. For the ride we sat in a car that rose through the ceiling where it stood in front of a gigantic movie screen – this is very similar to Soarin at EPCOT but the ride is all about humor, Simpsons’ style. Everyone felt it was a great ride.</div><div><br />Men In Black was our next ride and was met with some trepidation from Olivia as it was a little bit dark. It is a shootout with Aliens, similar to the MIB movies and the Buzz Lightyear ride at Disney. Lunch was next but wasn’t very memorable as Bob, Tracy and Max are unable to recall a single detail just a few days later. On the way out of Universal Studios we ran across Doc Brown and his Delorean. Max talked to Doc for a long time but Doc was having a hard time following Max’s train of thought.</div><br /><div>In Islands of Adventure, our first ride was Caro Suess el. Max isn’t a big fan of carousels because they make him dizzy and he hates that the horses (Seuss characters here) go up and down while going around so he wanted to sit in a car. He didn’t communicate that very well though until after the ride was over :( Next up was The Cat In The Hat ride which is a trip in a car through the story. At the start Tracy snapped a picture of Max, Olivia and Bob and immediately the ride slowed, the sound track stopped and voice came on saying, “Please secure all cameras. Photography inside the ride is strictly prohibited!” Oops. Tracy and the kids rode 1 Fish 2 Fish (like Dumbo) and then we all got on the High In the Sky Trolley Train ride. That was appropriately named as it is just a train running about 20 feet off the ground and through the restaurant and rides in Seussville.</div><br /><div>Our next attraction was the Eighth Voyage of Sinbad which was a show. We initially sat very close but then realize we were in a soak zone and with the bitter temperature we opted to relocate outside the zone. The show was nice but, in spite of the weather, they seemed to have the air conditioning on inside the pavilion as it was a good 10-15 degrees colder inside. The cold prevented everyone from napping during the show. After the show Tracy talked to Max’s teacher, Mrs. Sulley to find out about seeing her daughter later in the week as she’s currently in the employ of Disney and was trying to setup something special for Max at the Lion King show in Animal Kingdom.</div><div><br />We took a long walk around the park past some roller coasters that seemed cool to Gwendolyn and Bob but we were quickly losing Max to fatigue so we rushed to the Spider Man ride which we’d heard good things about. This ride was neat as it was 3-D but you sat in a car that took you to various sections that had 3-D movies. Max liked everything but the bumps. Olivia didn’t like it saying, “I was afraid because I didn’t know if it was all pretend like Disney.” Too bad it was the last ride for her or we could’ve cleared up that misconception.</div><br /><div>Before leaving the park, Gwendolyn and Tracy rode the Hulk. Gwendolyn came off beaming and asking to ride again while Tracy came off disoriented and wishing she hadn’t done the ride at all. Apparently Tracy is no longer a fan of the fast, looping coasters. </div><br /><div>Max had been talking about the Hard Rock on and off before we left and then non stop once he had seen the coliseum type building near the entrance to Islands of Adventure. We compromised on a walk through the Hard Rock rather than having dinner there as we still had something we wanted him to do tonight. He agreed but walked with his hand blocking his view of the building so that he would be totally surprised when we got there. We still don’t know why Max was so excited about the Hard Rock but it was not at all what he thought it was because within a few minutes he said he was done and we could leave. No explanation as to what was missing or different then he’d expected; just “I’m done.”</div><br /><div>We did dinner at Denny’s in 30 minutes; a record for Max and Olivia. After making a quick pit stop for warmer clothes at the hotel we headed out for Max’s surprise. He loves mini-golf so we decided he would probably like mini-golf at Disney. We got there at 8 pm and it was deserted. Possibly this was due to the cold but we were ready in our winter coats, hats, and gloves/mittens. They offer two course and we opted for the Fantasia course which was clearly the right decision because what we saw of the other course were bunkers and sand traps making for a course that would’ve taken us hours to complete. The course has lots of tubes and funny shots to make all with characters from Fantasia incorporated along with a guide at the beginning of each hole which is sort of a riddle for the best way to attach the hole. Bob and Olivia each got a hole in one on the 5th, Gwendolyn on the 10th and Tracy on the 15th. Max didn’t hole-in-one but was very excited the entire time. As late and cold as it was he was remarkable for not having napped. His spirits were high because he was having a great time figuring out how the tricks in the course worked. On the 17th hole, Max putted and then walked around a sunken walkway to the left of the green. As he passed each of the 6 brooms with buckets, water shot out of the buckets and into a fountain. Since he did not get wet, he thought it was great though he seemed to be hoping that at least someone in our party would get hit by the water. Thankfully, that did not happen. We finished our round of golf at about 9:15 and headed home.</div></div></div></div></div>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678625307778257125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5674963307378893207.post-83042719509272068942008-12-02T01:09:00.008-05:002008-12-02T08:18:42.483-05:00Make-A-Wish Day 2Today started a little later than we had hoped so we ended up at the park at 9:30 am instead of 9:00 am but we were all a shade better rested than we would’ve been. Tracy's night with Max was not as bad as she had feared though she did find Max sitting up in his bed doing nothing a little after 4:00 am. It is strange behavior that Bob has seen on overnight trips before where Max is just sitting there, wide awake, doing nothing at all. It is the kind of thing you see in possessed people in movies and even though we're mostly certain he is not possessed it is very disconcerting at that hour. Once Tracy suggested going back to sleep Max did just that right along with Mommy. The delay gave Bob and Gwendolyn a chance to check out the hotels pool and they found it to be full of possibilities. There is a 40 feet slide that drops about 10 feet over its run into a large pool that maxes out at 4.5 feet deep. There is also a small kiddie/wading pool, a heated pool and a sauna in addition to a huge chess set (makes the Frontierland set look small by comparison), a foosball and ping pong table. The weather was crisp but in the high 60s or low 70s so we opted for wearing shorts all around, some wore sweatshirts, and kept jeans in a bag for when the sun finally went down as today would be a long day. <div><div><div><div><div><br />We ended up parking in Pluto 17 which isn’t too far away from the gate but we had plenty of company so rather than wait for the trams we hoofed it into the park. Max was very cheerful that it was “Great exercise!” which was unexpected given his near constant complaining during Cub Scout parades. Might have something to do with what is at the end of the walk I guess. On the walk, Tracy was able to talk to Amy from North/Central Florida Make-A-Wish and started to firm up plans for Max’s special visit with Peter Pan. We got through security and checked in at Guest Services where Make-A-Wish had 15 one day tickets (5 of us for 3 days each) waiting for us along with a card that the attendant told Bob would give Max access to everything he needed. Once inside the park Tracy took a look at the card and realized it was quite different from the Special Needs card that Max had been given on our last visit. On that trip, we’d visited City Hall with Max on the advice of a friend and they gave us a card that hooked Max up for special treatment but that we used very sparingly. Tracy did talk to a greeter inside the park who in turn talked to a different person at Guest Services and we were assured that Max had the appropriate credentials so we headed into the park. </div><div><br />We started our Photo-Pass on Main Street with a shot of the five us with the castle in the back ground. Prior to leaving Bob had found (on allears.net he thinks) a way to purchase the photo-pass CD in advance for a discount so we are trying to make sure we fill it up and we’re off to a good start with 40 so far today. From there we headed into Tomorrowland where Max was anxious to see the new Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor. It is interactive with the animations interviewing audience members (who get show on the screen up front) and making jokes about the answers. Max loved the bad jokes. Olivia was a bit confused by her picture not being up on the screen but she was undeterred answering the first several questions quite loudly. Bob had to cover her mouth during future questions because she tried to answer them all. </div><br /><div>From there it was a quick run over to Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin where Tracy scored highest in our group but clearly had been helped by Max as her scores in the past have been … low. Max scored the lost but that was primarily due to the fact that he shot only at Bob, Gwendolyn, and Olivia in the car in front of him. On leaving Buzz Lightyear’s ride the plan had been to split up with Tracy and Gwendolyn doing Space Mountain but we saw that Stitch and Buzz were nearby doing autographs so we did that first. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMzpOHsOa2PkpddWMH4KUQ1lbn1IeAZw9UJ3ruAKuU1raunXwD3mZgtv4r6h8YQ3-74IaLslgLgxQYbYZK_fu5WwtYEFf0uoKoe3c1bfo5kioYsbZfDY3JHVvLDJI2dHiOivXQYbx4ObA/s1600-h/IMG_4456.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275074151659242690" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMzpOHsOa2PkpddWMH4KUQ1lbn1IeAZw9UJ3ruAKuU1raunXwD3mZgtv4r6h8YQ3-74IaLslgLgxQYbYZK_fu5WwtYEFf0uoKoe3c1bfo5kioYsbZfDY3JHVvLDJI2dHiOivXQYbx4ObA/s320/IMG_4456.JPG" border="0" /></a>Stitch was first and he absolutely loved the bells on Olivia’s sneakers. (Olivia has worn bells on her shoes for all Disney park visits because she wanders endlessly and the loud jingle helps to find her though sometimes it is the absence of the jingle that alerts us to a real problem) Stitch, the photographer, and the handler all had a ball having her bounce around while Stitch made funny faces. It really is a joy to watch Olivia interact with everyone and everything.; she has a complete lack of fear, an amazing self confidence, an exuberance of energy and just a exudes a contagious sense of fun that is impossible to ignore. Max said something to Stitch about salsa that made Stitch turn his attention from Olivia but I didn’t quite get what he said but I’m sure it comes from the TV show (as do nearly all things that Max says). While Olivia was putting on her show Tracy was chatting with the photographer and eventually they talked about it being Max’s wish trip and the woman asked to see Max’s card. She confirmed Tracy’s earlier suspicion that it was not marked correctly or not the correct card and suggested that we visit City Hall to have it corrected. After a quick visit with Buzz we continued on our prior plan with Tracy and Gwendolyn heading to Space Mountain while Bob, Max and Olivia headed to the Tomorrowland Transit Authority which Bob likes because of the ability to catch a quick nap. However, the car moved quite a bit faster than he had remembered and when Olivia nearly fell off the seat all hopes of a nap were dashed. </div><div><br />The discussed plan of action following our reunion had been to do the Indy Speedway but Max said he had no interest at all in doing it. Mind you, he has ridden that on the previous 4 visits and laughed hysterically from the first jarring hit against the guidepost all the way to the very last which often numbered far too high to count. He said that he remembered riding it in the past and felt it would make him dizzy so he didn’t want to ride. We decided not to pursue the matter since we weren’t sure if we could get three to a car and Gwendolyn was not ready to drive solo so we headed for lunch at Cosmic Ray’s. That place is bad jokes on steroids and most haven’t changed since Bob’s parents first took him way back in the 70s. But they a respectable lunch quickly and provide a pretty good atmosphere. </div><br /><div>After lunch we headed to City Hall to try and get Max’s card adjusted. Tracy took Max inside while Bob and the girls hung out. The card got adjusted to include being able to sit up front where appropriate to help with his visual problems and the ability to ride an attraction a second time (hadn’t seen that one before). Tracy still thought it was incorrect but didn’t want to argue or seem pushy so we headed back up Main Street and into Fantasyland where we took Peter <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivg34fMlEHIvrCkb8ubzqJ4W_eiswL54KQVkPZfdD97nRDRf7O-5tdR387UG1ZtgxcZ9POXVH-704lpp9fUUzjzfT9lYSN0xH11eV6_InZhh7ADGpNkmyB5a2vZBKsRtajCRlvhc7AkQA/s1600-h/IMG_4480.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275074166235515154" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivg34fMlEHIvrCkb8ubzqJ4W_eiswL54KQVkPZfdD97nRDRf7O-5tdR387UG1ZtgxcZ9POXVH-704lpp9fUUzjzfT9lYSN0xH11eV6_InZhh7ADGpNkmyB5a2vZBKsRtajCRlvhc7AkQA/s320/IMG_4480.JPG" border="0" /></a>Pan’s Flight. It is one of Max’s favorites due to the subject matter and he elected to ride with Mommy. Max loved it again but to Bob it, like Cosmic Ray’s, seemed unchanged and possibly a little dated. Next was everyone’s favorite, It’s a Small World. Everyone but Tracy that is. To be honest it wasn’t Bob’s favorite until he understood just how much the ride bothered Tracy so now it ranks way up there ;-) </div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>At this point, a little more on how Max’s pass works is in order. Basically it is used to get him access to FastPass (sort of cutting, but not cutting because you get a ticket to come back at a later time and use a shorter line) without having to get the FastPass ticket. When we had visited the last time his Special Needs pass also got him quicker access to characters at meet and greets because of his autism. The reason that this is important now is that It’s a Small World is not a FastPass ride. We learned on our last visit that all rides have some kind of accommodation, this one being a trip down the exit ramp to board the boat in the same manner as wheelchair bound folks that can’t navigate the queue for obvious reasons. Here we learned from the woman at the gate that Max definitely did not have the correct pass. We explained that Max was here as part of a wish and further explained his issues with the line and she (Bob does know her name but is withholding it so she will be our nameless savior in case what she told us shouldn’t have been told) explained exactly what we needed to go back to City Hall and get for Max. She did allow our party through the exit ramp where we met a wonderful woman whose name Bob did not get. She chatted with us a bit and shared that Bob would be more comfortable in the 2nd row because of his height adding that she knew some tall people. Tracy called her bluff and said, “I’ll bet none as big as him” in a joking way and she said, “No, but my husband is close to that tall. In fact, he’s right over there.” Turned out that while she worked the off-loading side of the ride her husband was working the loading side of things. If Bob could stand the heat in the summer down here he could see working here in retirement as both he and Tracy are huge fans of complex. Can’t imagine that the same arrangement at small world would work out, funny as it would be to Bob.</div><div><br />On our second trip to City Hall we were assisted by Wes from Milford, CT. Wes was great! He listened to our story, sympathized, and informed us that Disney did not, in fact, have the card that we needed (it is provided by a third party), but worked at seeing what could be done that was similar. While we were waiting for Wes to come with an alternative we got a call from Amy at Make-A-Wish North/Central Florida checking to see if Max would be available at 4:25 today for his visit with Peter Pan! Knowing that would be perfect to pick up Max’s mood from the trips up and down Main Street, we told her that would be great and she said she’d get back to us with details after confirming with Disney and that she be happy to get involved if Wes turned out not to be able to do anything for Max. No worries as Wes got Max a Special Needs pass with a green light stamped on it that simply read “All access”. There was some fine print but was basically a free pass the front of everything. Before we left, Max asked Wes if he knew of a good place to get cinnamon buns because Max had smelled them earlier and now had to have one ;-) </div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZCYbfjGFL-abTo5L-q21fCJTSM5enP7lqiT-OQidaOMwIVHWtnZpjeDzoy2OA4ob2WRsZuy7BuHvS69K_lLhbvKcRlSwjic2hAYHQtUz62ssZrOUBR_hiPkhcVm2x61J2FsaIAUW8aQo/s1600-h/IMG_4494.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275074170807817922" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZCYbfjGFL-abTo5L-q21fCJTSM5enP7lqiT-OQidaOMwIVHWtnZpjeDzoy2OA4ob2WRsZuy7BuHvS69K_lLhbvKcRlSwjic2hAYHQtUz62ssZrOUBR_hiPkhcVm2x61J2FsaIAUW8aQo/s320/IMG_4494.JPG" border="0" /></a>We made a stop at the Bakery on Main Street where Max got a cinnamon bun and Olivia got a small chocolate bunt cake. While eating Gwendolyn and Olivia expressed a strong desire to ride Big Thunder Mountain which Max had liked last time around. This time, though, he said that he didn’t want to ride it because he did not want to ride backwards. Well that made no sense as the ride didn’t go backwards. In spite of a long discussion Max was convinced that he did not want to go on the ride but was fine with the girls going while he and Daddy waited. This did not sit well with Gwendolyn though because it was assumed to be a ride that could only accommodate 2 riders per car so there was a chance that she would have to ride with a stranger sitting next to her. Rather than risk that happening she did not want to go. Bob had a discussion with Max that lead to his agreeing to grant Gwendolyn one single wish and that would be for him to go on the ride and talk the attendant into letting Gwendolyn ride without a stranger! He was very proud of this contribution. </div><br /><div>On our way there we had to head through a parade and ended up cutting through Frontierland and taking a detour on the Jungle Cruise. This ride turned out to be extra entertaining because Olivia thought that all of the snakes, hippos, and other animals were real and was very scared until Bob shared that nothing in Disney could hurt her and these were all actually pretend animals. At that point she started saying, “I’m not scared because I know that those are pretend” to our neighbors every time we came upon something new. They found her endearing rather than annoying (or at least that is what Bob’s rose colored glasses have seen). Near the end of the ride we got a call from Amy that things were all set for 4:25. Then, as we neared the docks, our boat stalled while waiting and the captain (can’t remember his name and he said it dozens of times :-( ) couldn’t get it restarted right away. Several workers on the dock were giving him a hard and it looked like we were going to be there a while but he suddenly got things working again. </div><br /><div>We still had time before the meet and greet with Peter so we headed so we went to Big Thunder Mountain where the boys road behind the girls. Max was not looking forward to the ride at all but taking one for the team even though it turned out that the girls were able to fit three in their car. We had barely started out from the station when Max started laughing! That continued the entire ride; through every bump, twist and turn. He loved it so much that we went out and got right back on. For the second ride Bob and Gwendolyn rode in front and Bob tried to video tape Tracy, Max, and Olivia riding behind them. That was as difficult as Bob had imagined but some of it came out. We’ll try to get it on YouTube upon our return north. </div><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnisakrAb7NrKbh0Q5nzlBm4QXncpkC37Jkl54f4z2miR7wU1LDVVAivN2_z7pm1lzHTnevhbBb4A9Vbf-sqrZsav0zU9c-FvkTcoSbC7jsMeldi-k1NXkdRNKOkDL0IZztvWTKwP716I/s1600-h/IMG_4534.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275074175733429170" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnisakrAb7NrKbh0Q5nzlBm4QXncpkC37Jkl54f4z2miR7wU1LDVVAivN2_z7pm1lzHTnevhbBb4A9Vbf-sqrZsav0zU9c-FvkTcoSbC7jsMeldi-k1NXkdRNKOkDL0IZztvWTKwP716I/s320/IMG_4534.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Next was Max’s visit with Peter. Max and Olivia didn’t know it was going to happen but Gwendolyn had been privy to the secret as she’d gone with Tracy to confirm things with the cast members. We were told to wait in a somewhat secret garden (we’ve never noticed it before but it isn’t gated) and were greeted by cast member Trina. She came in and told Max that she’d heard that Peter was hiding in the bushes and she needed help finding him. When she asked if Max had any ideas on how to find Peter he immediately cawed (like Peter does in the movies). He got a very loud caw in return and was beaming from then on! Peter came in and they talked for a while about fighting pirates, Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, and bad jokes. Bob had to stand way back though and while he’s praising the wide screen of the new camcorder he isn’t sure if the audio will be intelligible. For as much as Max will peak through the cracks of a restroom stall, he stands many feet away while talking and until the picture taking started it was difficult to get Peter and Max in the same frame. Peter and Trina were both great and it was beyond terrific to see how happy Max was to be meeting and talking to THE Peter Pan! At the end he got an Honorary Lost Boy certificate signed by the boy himself (reminds Bob of the Little Orphan Annie Secret Decoder Ring with all its benefits and privileges). Bob will have to work on the video when we get home but right now that extended videotaping is leading to a lack of pictures in this email because backing the video up to Amazon’s S3 storage is taking a really long time … sorry but probably a double dose of pictures tomorrow. </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNpuwGjge5lggP2FPLbsE2wUSNU4SKj6DPCYtlP5LDRCahvxXGHM3ogQNfaEsIi_XG9HYQld9-jFMIjhc7xPbOp_U-GO2L_hbyJM4LtTdb70euy1mErNhdyv9tNvXF6sdrHynkut9z2mw/s1600-h/IMG_4539.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275074180093805970" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNpuwGjge5lggP2FPLbsE2wUSNU4SKj6DPCYtlP5LDRCahvxXGHM3ogQNfaEsIi_XG9HYQld9-jFMIjhc7xPbOp_U-GO2L_hbyJM4LtTdb70euy1mErNhdyv9tNvXF6sdrHynkut9z2mw/s320/IMG_4539.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>While it couldn’t possibly get any better than meeting with Peter, no one was ready to call it quits so we headed to the Pirates of the Caribbean. The ride was particularly fun for Bob as he got to hear Olivia explain how everything in the ride was just pretend and she knew that because this is Disney and Disney doesn’t have things that can hurt you :) Although she wasn’t quite sure about the two dogs; those she thought might be real just very well trained. Walking out of the ride Max saw Trina helping Peter handle an autograph session and he ran through the line to Trina and said, “Do you know how many pirates there are in there … 48 … 44 alive and 4 D E A D dead.” She laughed at that and said, “Hang On” then quickly disappeared. She came back, asked Max to hold out his hands, and dumped some pirate booty (gold coins and gems) into his hand. OK, that was almost better than Peter because Max loves all things having to do with money, especially coins, and extra specially pirate coins! </div><br /><div>After such an eventful hour we had to stop and refuel so we all had chicken at Pinocchio Village Haus. There we realized that we were running out of time if we were going to see the parade at 7 pm. Trying to hurry Max just made him angry. We gave up on Toon Town for today and the made him even less happy. Then we made him go on The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh which Max deemed “scary” for some odd reason. Bob decided to scream like a girl through the ride and while Max cracked a smile he didn’t laugh (nor did he seem particularly scared). Max then rode with Tracy on Snow White’s Scary Adventure while Bob took his daughters. Olivia remained unafraid of all things “pretend.” We then headed out for a viewing spot for the parade and fireworks. What we found was a decent spot for the parade but terrible for fireworks; it was far better attended than we had anticipated so spots were very scarce. The kids enjoyed the parade but the girls needed jeans afterwards because it was getting chill. We all enjoyed the fireworks and then headed into the stores for some window and real shopping. Bob got tired of trying to navigate the store with Olivia’s stroller so they left and watched a few minutes of movie then found the Build-A-Hat store at the end of Main Street. They didn’t buy anything but had a great time trying on all kinds of hats. We finally got home around 9:45 pm and all three kids were out by 10:15. Bob had some work to attend to so the writing of this is later than he had hoped but he know full and well that putting it off even for a day means that nearly 4 decades of only slightly taxing use will erode some of the finer memories of the day and this is a trip where that cannot be allowed to happen. This will likely get tweaked with images as well as grammatical corrections but please pardon the errors in the meantime. </div><div> </div><div>Tomorrow we head to Universal. While Max, Tracy and Olivia will miss everyone at Lehigh Valley, as Tuesday is chemo day, but Max is pretty sure that he'll get over the pain ;-)</div></div></div></div></div>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678625307778257125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5674963307378893207.post-5709479555879716292008-11-30T23:26:00.006-05:002008-12-06T13:34:39.547-05:00Make-A-Wish Day 1<div><div><div>Today Max’s Make-A-Wish trip started pretty magically although bleary eyed. Tracy stressed herself out enough to get sick last night as happens before every vacation so she and Bob were up until 1 am. Alarms started going off at 5:15 AM and by 5:45 AM, <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn2bpJ7xj9sy6iyqRGU7cJUSElO5Tq2gKdtQL4P9g-WxUrHnQmfp9a5nQ64T4Ab0DYHteSO7TnBvCMAI90EW5uD2nUKlLmJra1eB4KR3MXbjfqtKhn1vCFcpY4D7QTrNoHSAUKY035xNg/s1600-h/IMG_4445.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274673700141857586" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn2bpJ7xj9sy6iyqRGU7cJUSElO5Tq2gKdtQL4P9g-WxUrHnQmfp9a5nQ64T4Ab0DYHteSO7TnBvCMAI90EW5uD2nUKlLmJra1eB4KR3MXbjfqtKhn1vCFcpY4D7QTrNoHSAUKY035xNg/s320/IMG_4445.JPG" border="0" /></a>Tracy, Max and Bob had showered and Gwendolyn and Olivia were awake and dressed. Nighttime accoutrements were stowed in a carryon bag and a small scramble to figure out what had been forgotten was started. Bob venture outside at 6:10 am to make sure that our driver would have no problem finding the house and was surprised to find a white stretch limo with driver, Arlan, waiting at the end of the driveway in a lightly falling snow. It was just like out of a movie. Max was called outside to see what would be his first limousine. Max played about inside the car while the girls finished primping and Bob brought the bags and stroller out to Arlan. </div><br /><br /><div>By the time the limo was loaded with bags and passengers nearly a half an inch of snow had blanketed the street, grass, and cars. That along with the few that had deployed their Christmas decorations over the Thanksgiving Weekend made for a very pretty departure. On the ride, the snow turned to a heavy, wet snow and then to rain so that by the time we got to Newark it was simply a rainy city. Traffic at the airport at 7:15 am on a Sunday was about what you’d expect for one of the most traveled days of the year – absolutely packed!. It took about 10 minutes to get the limo up to the curb through all the traffic but only a minute or so to unload to the curb. It was nice not having to park the car and take the air train around. Getting the bags checked didn’t take long at all and for a change we did not get pulled out for special screening at security. In fact, we got to start our line without having to tell anyone Max was on a wish trip. We were early enough that we were able to get McDonalds at a table and relax before heading to the gate. While the girls took a bathroom break Max and Bob watched out the window and saw all 4 suit cases get onto the plane. We either missed the stroller or it has received some special attention … time will tell. </div><div><br />We did learn when we boarded the plane that we should’ve told the gate attendant that Max is traveling courtesy of Make-A-Wish as the would’ve let him tour the cockpit and meet the crew prior to boarding the other passengers. We’ll do that on the way home. We got situated and pulled away from the gate on time but waited in the big queue of planes for about 45 minutes. We’re now airborne and south of Dover Delaware and expect to arrive in Orlando on time. </div><div><br />… </div><br /><div>Well, we ended up getting to Orlando a little late but nothing too bad. The flight was uneventful aside from mild turbulence for most of the trip. Gwendolyn was able to complete her reading assignment on the way and is now officially done with homework until December 8! Because of weather in the area we did take a while to land but we were in row 8 so we got off the plane very quickly. As is our normal routine, (since Bob had the misfortune of being with Max in the plane commode just prior to descent when we hit some wicked turbulence and scared Max so badly that he won’t go on the plane short of a dire emergency) we stopped at the restrooms near our gate. The girls went first and quickly. I headed in with Max but he has to wait for a stall rather than use a urinal so Bob was finished well in advance of Max. After cleaning up, Bob looked around and saw that Max was trying to peer between the cracks of a handicap stall :( The bathroom was packed with people, some equally shocked by what Max was doing, so one failed attempt to put an end to his behavior was enough and they left with Max’s bladder still full. On the walk to the next restroom Bob tried to explain to Max that looking through the cracks like that was a huge invasion of someone’s personal space but he was stuck on the thought that the stall was unoccupied but locked. We settled on a rule of “It is okay to push the door gently but if it doesn’t move, that is the end of testing because it is either occupied or broken.” I’m pretty certain he still does not understand because he immediately looked between the cracks in the next restroom but that one was completely unoccupied. Note to Bob: figure something out before Max gets hurt by someone that doesn’t find that at all amusing. </div><br /><div>As we walked to the baggage claim area Bob noticed that he had a backpack, a car seat and a rolling carryon, Gwendolyn had a rolling carryon and a smaller cooler, and Tracy had a bag and the hands of Max and Olivia (Max will leave the party as soon as something new and shiny comes along while Olivia will just leave without any provocation). Doing the math of 4 new and much larger bags about to join our party along with a stroller that would need pushing, it didn’t take much work to realize there might be trouble ahead. Well I only wish that I had gotten our saviors name. He showed up with a huge sky cap cart that held everything but the stroller and new exactly where AVIS was located. Bob was able to use the escalator and go ahead to do the paperwork while savior and Tracy took the elevators. I’ve never seen any airport rental car location so unbusy. Truly remarkable as there were 3 attendants and no other clients. Max informed them that he was there on his wish and all 3 women thought he was great. They didn’t even try to sell us the insurance, just told Bob to initial here to decline it all! We were done by the time the bags came off the elevator so we all headed to the minivan where savior loaded everything into the back and Bob got the car seat installed. We’re pretty certain that from baggage claim to leaving the airport took all of 20 minutes – a clear record for traveling with a family and well faster than anything Bob has done solo. </div><br /><div>Leaving the airport we found that it was raining. Driving a little ways we realized it was, in fact, down pouring! Honestly, Bob had driven in rain like that less than a dozen times in his life. It was crazy how hard it was raining. At one point we had to stop and glide through a 2 and a half foot ‘puddle’ in the left lane of the highway that Bob thought certain would foul the brakes or stall the car but all was well. With the only real commitment of a 5:00 pm reservation at the Hoop Dee Doo Review there was no rush so we were all able to enjoy the insane rain. By the time we got to the hotel it had mostly stopped and had completely let up when we had to unpack so things really have been going well. The only hitch so far has been that the two rooms that we have do not have connecting doors. A bit of a pain but the rooms are large enough, have a safe large enough to accommodate the laptop and other electronics, and two large dorm fridges (one each) so we have plenty of cooling. Bob and Gwendolyn are sharing a king bed while Tracy and Olivia share a double in a room where Max has his own double. That will probably change when Max wakes at 3 tomorrow morning and Tracy wakes the hotel in frustration but for now Bob intends on sleeping well for at least one night.<br /><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ODWiBvbuINNyBca26mO2kPAhlRTJsG35_kg84WEm0d3tXkHfPwbhKbXAhdkhwht0MYpAWA5blksRqgaV_LqpwLr9tFQYA0lOY6E-aOO0-cf-5YHdWRb4GoH8wKkFJLp3OLldqJficNQ/s1600-h/IMG_4446.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274675052265258370" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ODWiBvbuINNyBca26mO2kPAhlRTJsG35_kg84WEm0d3tXkHfPwbhKbXAhdkhwht0MYpAWA5blksRqgaV_LqpwLr9tFQYA0lOY6E-aOO0-cf-5YHdWRb4GoH8wKkFJLp3OLldqJficNQ/s320/IMG_4446.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Not having been to the Hoop Dee Doo Review ever before as a family and not for Bob since he was 13, we left plenty of time to get there. We met a very friendly guard named Kevin (I’m paying very close attention to names this week in an attempt to capture everything for Max and those that help with his wish – normally I’m beyond terrible with names) (… now that I write that Kevin might have been the guy at the ticket window – damn it) Anyway, the very friendly guard, who from this day forth shall be known only as Kevin, told Bob that he had taken the wrong entrance, needed to go a shade further and park close to an RV that was visible from their current location. He also said that a bus would be needed to get to Pioneer Hall (home of the Hoop Dee Doo Review) but that all three lines would go to Settlers. He did recommend Pierre as the fastest driver but wasn’t sure if Pierre was working today. Max and Olivia liked the bus ride a lot – they are very sheltered children living within walking distance of their own school. We drove through the Fort Wilderness cabins and saw that some folks had decorated for the holidays. It was cute. We got to Pioneer Hall and learned that we had about an hour before someone would come out to greet the crowd so we headed to the Trading Post to get Max a snack as he had refused the turkey sandwich that Continental had provided on the grounds that it was not 1) yogurt, or 2) grapes, or 3) a bagel. We found some BBQ chips, apple juice, and water and headed to the front porch of the Arcade where there were rocking chairs, blocks, dominoes, and a large chess set.<br /></div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnaRP_rk-9HEzKdZTQ8OyPzOhRHzkoys5DKfIerq8xGixhZ_tzj706C3NDAdC8fPG5O4jHTVnRkHDK1jWkwNmZBbz5kXZUDQKtcpluPuauPIH9jkH7Lu5tAWNIfZfme-w09MmbgPIquTo/s1600-h/IMG_4452.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274675756973234850" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnaRP_rk-9HEzKdZTQ8OyPzOhRHzkoys5DKfIerq8xGixhZ_tzj706C3NDAdC8fPG5O4jHTVnRkHDK1jWkwNmZBbz5kXZUDQKtcpluPuauPIH9jkH7Lu5tAWNIfZfme-w09MmbgPIquTo/s320/IMG_4452.JPG" border="0" /></a>Bob learned that Gwendolyn had already finished a chess class at school so they played a game which Bob only narrowly won but drew quite a crowd. We messed around a little more looking at campers that had decorated their campsites for Christmas – one such camper had easily 3 dozen large inflatable decorations. As only Bob had been to dinner here before no one knew what to expect so when Allen sat us and said to study the menu as there would be a quiz, Max and Gwendolyn got to it. We got to talk to Tom from Camden as he was the chef and would be making sure that Gwendolyn did not have dairy or peanuts in her meal. He put everyone at ease and then Arvyn <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMJMol7YY5qTNz-gJei7-sjsWfhuNx1eiGzL0vBmcRk3Jmf6xSaEVSz_mhwhR59537eCoLSo3pVMFJKyzGUEcQewSpRm5TZJVzApx8qgBEGyHCV4Qyuyq71kNK9ogr3eX689uguoOP1Qo/s1600-h/IMG_4450.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274675750895955010" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMJMol7YY5qTNz-gJei7-sjsWfhuNx1eiGzL0vBmcRk3Jmf6xSaEVSz_mhwhR59537eCoLSo3pVMFJKyzGUEcQewSpRm5TZJVzApx8qgBEGyHCV4Qyuyq71kNK9ogr3eX689uguoOP1Qo/s320/IMG_4450.JPG" border="0" /></a>started bringing food to the table. The corn bread was to die for but after only a nibble Max was on his way to falling asleep at the table. At a loss for how to keep him awake Bob blurted out, “Come on, this show is all about bad jokes and you love bad jokes. But these are funny bad jokes I promise. In fact, if you don’t laugh at the show, I’ll pay you $20 when we’re done.” Max tried to work out an agreement where he could laugh but still get money but Bob could see that he was fully awake and working overtime to figure out how to get the money. The show was great and everyone, yes even Tracy, laughed and laughed. The food was great, Arvyn was great and the show really was a superb display of corny humor (where Roy Clark went wrong with Hee Haw I will never know ). Max attempted to renegotiate several times after small fits of laughter but during the Hokie Pokie when the red head (yeah, didn’t get those names at all) swung her hips and knocked a pan off the wall he completely lost it and just asked if he could still have the money :) </div><div><br />We made a stop at Super Target and Publix on the way back to the hotel and got in a little before 9 pm. The kids were in bed with most stuff unpacked by 10 pm. Tomorrow we’re heading to the Magic Kingdom for a very full day with an open of 9 am and a close of 8 pm. I have read that Max might be able to rest in the first aid room if needed but we meet with Guest Relations first to over things. We’ll certainly have more to report tomorrow.</div></div></div>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678625307778257125noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5674963307378893207.post-53694179591919583522007-08-07T14:36:00.000-04:002008-12-12T01:33:32.639-05:00Chemo in Rhode Island<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6JL-IpL_g1rIutXmYHJEPrJCIaAkh5Sd_v6LYCOJS7_7YoT7om_wQ1GlaDH6mei8EJcoEHmyLzD_VwzQdJQB5FFa7vybd4Dl8dVbvFoQEAirW9i9PHy9U_s3XMkfWeP8xsn4DNVmyUT0/s1600-h/MaxAtHasbro.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5096030202638428114" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6JL-IpL_g1rIutXmYHJEPrJCIaAkh5Sd_v6LYCOJS7_7YoT7om_wQ1GlaDH6mei8EJcoEHmyLzD_VwzQdJQB5FFa7vybd4Dl8dVbvFoQEAirW9i9PHy9U_s3XMkfWeP8xsn4DNVmyUT0/s320/MaxAtHasbro.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>While today required a lot of advanced planning on the part of Tracy and the <a href="http://www.cancer.org/">American Cancer Society</a> things went very well for Max, Tracy and her Dad. They took the early morning high speed ferry from Block Island to Point Judith where they were met by Kathy from Road To Recovery. Road To Recovery is a program run by the ACS that provides help to cancer patients getting to and from their treatments. Everyone thought that Kathy’s Lexus with the GPS and video display for backing up was really cool. It came in especially handy when they tried to find a McDonald’s for Max to get lunch! Kathy is a retired school nurse from Succasunna, NJ who now volunteers for Road To Recovery in her spare time. I believe that Tracy told me Kathy’s sons went to URI.<br /><br />The visit at the hospital went well. Max was expected and they treated everyone wonderfully. They do chemo a little differently there so it took a short conversation to explain what Max was used to as far as his IV placement but the great thing was that the blood work was turned around in just 20 minutes. Tracy sent me a picture of Max at the hospital waiting for his medicine to be prepared – the item in his lap is a hospital toy of some sort. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ7tPypM3H10t0Us3dSFQO9ZbU7Ehe1dAw-FGY-wd2bN7-sU2bGekeZKenkvqt9rvbltR1AT2vHLHb3W8FhhhdWXrj0CaydcElyEITbgu2AWZI5wsthSTD4K-36j4tIWmwBkiXSkf_9Fw/s1600-h/MaxReturnsOnFerry.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5096030670789863394" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ7tPypM3H10t0Us3dSFQO9ZbU7Ehe1dAw-FGY-wd2bN7-sU2bGekeZKenkvqt9rvbltR1AT2vHLHb3W8FhhhdWXrj0CaydcElyEITbgu2AWZI5wsthSTD4K-36j4tIWmwBkiXSkf_9Fw/s320/MaxReturnsOnFerry.jpg" border="0" /></a>She also send me a picture of Max on the ferry ride home. With any luck they should now be on their way to the beach. </div><br /><br /><div><br /></div><br /><br /><div></div></div>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678625307778257125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5674963307378893207.post-60452438500714865412007-07-30T22:09:00.000-04:002007-07-30T22:10:39.424-04:00No Change in Treatment ... yet?Today we had planned on leaving by 9:00 but that wasn't critical so after gas, caffeine, and cash it ended up that we hit the road at 9:30. We made great time until we were about 11 miles away when we stopped dead for a little while. The accident that was responsible was on the other side of the road and looked to be an SUV that had flipped. The firemen we're looking at their handiwork in cutting the roof clean off the vehicle and the tow truck guys were trying to figure out how to winch the wreck onto the flat bed. It looked like the north bound lane was going to be there a while. Even with that small delay we got here by 11:30 am and registered with oncology.<br /><br />Max got his patient bracelet and triaged right away (4' 9.5" and 102 lbs) and then talked to the art therapy person about the book of the week. This being Monday Max got to pick the new book, read it, and come up with the question that all who will follow him will need to answer. As a reward he chose the 2nd book of the Harry Potter series on audio tapes. We'll be starting that on the way home, I guess. Max got his IV started and then we headed downstairs for lunch. In the car he had outlined his lunch plan for me a number of times and it was to include a six piece chicken nugget happy meal with french fries and a low fat milk … and a toy, can't forget the toy. He was pretty excited about all that and was pretty shocked to see that the entire McDonald's space was in a shambles as it was being renovated! There was note on the door that said they would be closed July 29 to Aug 1. He was like a deer in the head lights - far too shocked to process what happening and get angry he just stared in disbelief. Workers were milling in and out and we were in the way so I got him to move and we talked about what we could do instead. That went far better than I had thought with only one "Why does my WHOLE day have to get RUINED by YOU!" <br /><br />On the way to the main hospital cafeteria we ran into his endocrine doctor. While I was talking to her Max took off so I had to leave before I could catch her up. I like her and felt bad for ditching her but she understood. The new plan for lunch went pretty well with Max eating everything without a fuss but breaking wind quite loudly at the end. Thankfully it was loud in there and no one could pinpoint the source. We got to his ophthalmology appointment about 20 minutes early but had to wait a little while to get in. This place is always incredibly crowded. The visit went as expected but I learned the correct name of the new issue is "dense bilateral hemianopsia". I found a very cool site at the University of Indiana (<a href="http://www.indiana.edu/~pietsch/hemianopsia.html">http://www.indiana.edu/~pietsch/hemianopsia.html</a>) that explains hemianopsia and the eyes in general. If images of cadaver brains make you squeamish, you might not want to visit (just brains, not their containers). In a nutshell, Max has lost almost all peripheral vision to the outside from each eye and this is more commonly referred to as tunnel vision. I had always thought of tunnel vision to be similar to looking through two paper towel rolls but I learned today that it is includes the area between the two tunnels as well. The thing for us to keep track of until our next visit is Max getting clumsier about walking into things. <br /><br />After ophthalmology we went back to oncology where we knew we would have wait. There were two other very young children in the play area and Max went right up to the two Moms who were there talking and said, "Do you know what the book of the day is?" It is a real struggle for him to remember not to interrupt but here kids are forgiven an awful of lot social missteps. Anyway, Max was able to hijack the conversation and let everyone know that he had not only selected the book of the day but come with the question. He was also more than willing to help figure out the answer if there was any confusion. He retrieved the book for one of the Moms and she prepared to read to the two toddlers. Max had to get closer to see and hear the story, which had to be less than 40 words and he had read just a few hours ago, and in the process tried to walk through a wagon (wagons are often used as strollers/wheel chairs for toddlers). He ended up surviving just fine but everyone was terrified (including me) by how he reacted to what seems to have been just a fall to his knees. We did meet with his oncologist and much to my surprise she suggested that what we stay with his current treatment rather than change courses. This was good news as Tracy and I are both more than concerned about Max developing Leukemia regardless of how slim the chances. The thinking now is that the MRI that showed growth and movement in the tumor back in April was ahead of the impact to Max's vision. It could be that the nerves were already compressed but weren't suffering yet. What backs up this thinking is that the two eye exams that are 2.5 weeks apart show no significant change (yet do confirm a change). If the tumor had just started to damage the nerves they were expecting to see the damage progress, even in such a short period of time, as the area affected by this is crucial to both eyes and something more was very likely to have started going wrong. This means that the current chemo is likely to have stabilized the tumor. We don't want to wait too long to confirm this so Max will be scheduled for a follow up MRI and chemo/shots visit Sept 17 in Philly and a follow eye exam the following week on Sept 24 also in Philly. The only downside to the news is that while we thought he was going to take two weeks off of his treatments, instead Tracy will spent tomorrow coordinating insurance, hospitals, and referrals so that Max can get chemo on the two Tuesdays that he'll be on Block Island. Tracy was able to learn today that the hospital nearest to the ferry is in-network for our insurance so she just has to get contact information for everyone tomorrow so that they can talk and work out his treatment. Tracy and her Dad will take Max on the ferry back to the main land the first Tuesday and then I'll do the 2nd week (I'm only going up Aug 4, 5 and 11-18). With any luck it will all be arranged tomorrow and will only impact half a day for everyone. The next update will probably be from Block Island.<br /><br />Thank you all for the love, prayers and keeping Max in your thoughts. We are all truly grateful.Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678625307778257125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5674963307378893207.post-48143545117726032722007-07-12T23:19:00.000-04:002007-07-12T23:21:16.385-04:00Questions AriseToday could have been better on a number of different levels but it also could've been worse. We had gone into today expecting to essentially get a rubber stamp at Children's Hospital in Philly that Max was doing well with his current chemo treatments and find out when Max would get schedule for surgery to put an access port in to make setting up his IVs a little easier. We had good reason to believe this as we had learned that the MRI Max had on Monday showed him to be stable. Unfortunately, that was only part of the picture. We learned during our visit with his neuro-ophthalmologist that Max appears to have had a fairly significant loss of his peripheral vision. <br /><br />The apparent problem with the MRI is that it is not as detailed as one might think. Don't get me wrong, it is a truly amazing work of science and medicine. The alternatives of CT Scans or exploratory surgery for Max, especially given that he has had more than a dozen MRIs now, aren't even imaginable. Even so, the MRI gives a somewhat broad picture of what is going on in Max's head because there even millimeters matter and some of those millimeters are incredibly significant. While it is possible to see the swelling of Max's optic nerves as they come from the back of his eye to where they meet in the optic chiasm, it really isn't possibly to differentiate tumor and nerve in the chiasm to any great degree. <br /><br />As I understand it now, after speaking to both the neuro-ophthalmologist and the neuro-oncologist, the tumor has further affect the optic nerves, most likely in the chiasm, which is causing the loss of peripheral vision. The chiasm is thought to be the source because both eyes showed the same dramatic loss and that is where the left and right eye's nerves cross on their way to the brain. What remain unknown are a few things though. <br /><br />First, we don't for certain that Max has an issue. As it stands now the plan is to continue his current treatment for two more weeks and then visit CHOP again on Monday, July 30th to have his vision evaluated again. There is the possibility that today Max was just behaving oddly but I don't believe that scenario has good odds for two reasons: 1) He has always been very cooperative for his eye Dr. even when he has been uncooperative for the Dr. that does the initial evaluation and 2) His Dr. stopped me on the way out and said, "Dad, do you understand?" I replied with a simple "Yes" because both Max and Gwendolyn were with me but he followed up with "I'm very concerned." While I don't know him well I've seen him enough times with Max to get that this is no small change. Ugh.<br /><br />Second, we don't know when this became a problem for Max. [This part wasn't discussed with the oncologist but will be July 30 - Tracy and I came up with this reasoning on our own while talking this evening.] Our theory is that the nerves could've been progressively getting worse but not shown detectable signs until after his exam in May. Extend the thinking a little bit and it seems reasonable to think that the chemo may have actually stopped a problem and that time might show stabilization or even improvement. <br /><br />The reason that we are hoping the current treatment is effective is because the next choices all have side effects that we'd rather avoid, the worst being a less than 10% chance of developing secondary leukemia. That one frightens us quite a lot so will be trying to learn more in the next two weeks so that we can be well educated when discussing the next course of action on July 30. <br /><br />In the meantime, a prayer for Max along the lines of "… hope Max was just having a bad day and the eye exam July 30 shows his peripheral vision is just fine …" might go a long way. Unfortunately, if that is what happens, Max will get the beating of his life for scaring us like that ;) <br /><br />Quickly, before closing, the other 'level's that could've been better:<br />1) not getting up at 5:00 am after not being able to get to sleep until 1<br />2) not finding CHOP to be in the middle of a computer upgrade that isn't going as well as it should (I feel bad for them though as I have lived their pain)<br />3) Max eating his breakfast in the car, as I had thought he was, instead of not eating or drinking anything at all and then learning about that problem part way into a 3 hour session that could not be interrupted for food. (the instructions on eating the car had been very clear)<br /><br />On the bright side, Gwendolyn did join Max and I today to see what Philadelphia is all about. It must seem to her that it is primarily about waiting. She did pick up that there is a problem and we've talked about it with her. She remains concerned but agreed there wasn't much to do until July 30.Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678625307778257125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5674963307378893207.post-41487075354610391912007-07-09T22:26:00.000-04:002007-07-09T22:34:26.148-04:00A Fish Ate My HomeworkMax had his follow up MRI today along with a visit to Endocrinology; all to see how things are progressing. As Max had done the MRI three months ago without sedation, we scheduled this one without sedation but had him fast since 4:30 am just in case he couldn't make it through the scan without staying still. Having stayed in the scanning room with him last time, I knew to bring a book and not bring my typical laptop, PDA, and other electronic gadgetry as I had to leave it all outside the room anyway. Thinking thin I had taken only the paperwork that I needed, a pad of paper, and my new paperback that I had purchased last night and placed it on the fish tank. That kind of preparation paid off handsomely as the entire bundle still sits atop my fish tank keeping the fish entertained while I'm here trying to explain to everyone that I really do have all the paperwork (referrals, prescriptions, test results, etc.) but I just forgot to bring it. I'd have thought I was beyond the old "… the fish ate my homework …" but alas, it just isn't so.<br /><br />In spite of my incompetence, things so far had gone very well. We didn't hit any traffic at all so we arrived at the hospital early around 11:00 am. We weren't supposed to arrive until noon and then start the scan at 1:00 pm but with the early arrive and some sweet timing with everything else we were done with the MRI at 1:22 pm. Our next appointment wasn't scheduled until 3:00 pm so we had time to hit McDonald's as a reward for Max because, in his words, "I faced my fears so maybe I deserve McDonald's". His fear, of course, is NOT needles, being trapped in the MRI tunnel, or suffering a terrible fate from the truly caustic chemicals that are pumped into him weekly. No, the fear that faced was that of wearing a band aid. Oh - he's also terrified of rain - really.<br /><br />When we got to the registration desk at the endocrine office I knew I was in trouble. I must have tucked away in the back of my mind just how afraid I am of these women and their ruthless pursuit of all paperwork. All is in my best interest, so that I don't end up stuck with bills that otherwise would be covered by insurance, but somehow I never seem to get it all right when we visit the endocrine office. Today, as you've already learned, was not going well paperwork wise so when she finished with most of the check-in questions and asked, "Do you have a referral?" I replied, "Yes" and held my breath while looking at my feet. When I realized the silence was a little too long and looked up I found that she was staring up at me between her glasses and slightly furled eye brow. When she saw my eyes were looking at her she said, " … and I will have this … ?" I pleaded, "Yes, I know, I'm an idiot. I called my wife as soon as I realized I had left it at home. She called the doctors to get test results faxed down but now that I'm here I realize that I didn't ask her to get the referral faxed down. I really do have it at home and I'm sure it has been filed but the pediatrician's office might already be closed - is it okay if I fax it tomorrow?" She was very kind and pointed to the fax number on the wall in a way that told me I wasn't the only lummox that did this on a somewhat regular basis.<br /><br />We weren't there very long before they called Max back to see the nurse practioner for his doctor. Unfortunately, it took only a few minutes to realize that we were seeing her based on another doctor's schedule and she was afraid that our doctor might have left. She hurried off to try and get him to wait if he hadn't already left. Things sort of worked out in that she found but he did have to leave so we tried to hurry through the visit. Unfortunately Max was in a very talkative and silly mood so it did take longer than normal. Essentially we have learned that Max grew about 1.3 cm, maintained weight, still showed normal hormone levels for his age and actually had lower than normal growth factors since our visit 2 months ago. He said that the lower than normal growth levels just need to be watched. Alone they don't mean too much but if the trend continues in 3 months they'll need to re-evaluate the growth suppression drug as the tumor may have changed and is no longer impacting his growth hormones the same way. I was surprised that he was happy with Max's growth because it is a little rapid but he said that it might actually be a way for his chronological age to catch his bone age. The more I think about that now, several hours later, I'm a little confused but will simply trust that the news was essentially good and will not worry myself about my trying to figure it out right now. His shots will continue, we'll get more labs in 3 months and see them again in January 2008.<br /><br />Max has chemo tomorrow at Lehigh Valley. Yes, this could've been done at CHOP today but he looks forward to seeing everyone at Lehigh Valley and we felt that it was worth an additional stick this week. On Thursday Max and I head back to CHOP to meet with his neuro-ophthalmologist at 8:30 am and his oncologist at 10:00 am. That is when we'll find out the results of the MRI as well as map out the road ahead.Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678625307778257125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5674963307378893207.post-47479597672889202002007-06-25T23:05:00.001-04:002007-06-25T23:05:34.210-04:00Stomach Pain & a Fever but doing OK<span xmlns=''><p>Today, unexpectedly, we had to take Max to the hospital at Lehigh Valley because of some abdominal pain. It started Sunday night with him complaining on and off that his tummy hurt and then complaining enough at dinner so that he didn't eat. Then, though, he said he did feel well enough to eat some cherry cobbler for dessert so we didn't believe the pain too much. This morning, however, he didn't eat breakfast and he ALWAYS eats breakfast so we figured something more might be wrong. I took Gwendolyn to school and then headed out to Lehigh Valley with Max while Tracy called them from home to see where we had to go. It turned out that they could take him at the normal clinic office so we went there and saw most of the normal crew. Max complained of a lot of pain on the way in and by the time we got there he was running a fever of 102.1. They got him an IV and into a dark and quiet room while they waited for blood work to come back. <br /></p><p>His counts are mostly normal with his ANC count having jumped back up to 2,000 but that is probably because of his fever. The rest of the blood work that they ran came back normal but he also had an ultra sound of his abdomen to see if anything visible was wrong. We're waiting for the reading on that now and assuming it is also normal he'll get the shots he was supposed to get tomorrow but they're going to wait until Wednesday for chemo because they want him 48 hours without a fever before giving another dose.<br /></p><p>…<br /></p><p>We got the radiologist reading and everything in his abdomen was fine. He got his shots and then we headed home. When we left he still had a fever of about 102 but they had ruled out pretty much everything except for abdominal pain being caused by the chemo or by stress. It may be the Max suffers more internal stress than we thought and it is finally catching up with him or it could be that the chemo took a while to affect his stomach and that caught up with. Either cause should be cured by the Zantac. The fever could be related or could be viral but it is not the result of an infection. <br /></p><p>Right before dinner we gave Max his Bactrim, some Tylenol and the first dose of Zantac. He promptly threw them all up in a yellowish mess laced with pink. He didn't seem too trouble by that but obviously hadn't gotten any medicine so we waited half an hour then gave him the Zantac. That stayed down and half an hour later he got some Tylenol. His fever appears to have broken and he said that his pain was gone before he went to bed. We didn't bother with the Bactrim because the antibiotic that he got at the hospital will cover him for 24 hours against nearly everything anyway. Tomorrow morning he'll get Zantac and Bactrim and, if he feels well enough, will go to school. Wednesday Tracy will take him back to Lehigh Valley for chemo; it kind of works because that is only a half day of school.<br /></p></span>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678625307778257125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5674963307378893207.post-56311935173239495182007-06-19T22:39:00.000-04:002007-06-19T22:40:49.386-04:00Lehigh ValleySorry for not getting an update out last week but all is well. Last week's appointment was uneventful for Max and Tracy. This weeks appointment also went well but there was a somewhat large crowd this week so the appointment took longer than normal (and not because of talking about Bon Jovi's newest album). Max's neutrophil count is a little low at 858 with a normal range between 1,500 and 8,000. If the count next week is below 750 then chemo will be skipped for that week. We won't know until after the blood test but Max needs his monthly shots anyway so the trip won't be a 'waste'. I get to take him next week because Tracy will be attending Gwendolyn's end of the year party at school.<br /><br />I've managed to nail down his schedule for follow up appointments in Philadelphia the week of July 9 so that he and will be there Monday, July 9 for an MRI and an endocrinology appointment. We'll return Thursday, July 12 to get the results of the MRI, have his eyes checked and figure out what is next at a meeting with his oncologist at the end of it all. If things are going well we'll probably get him setup for surgery to have a port put in place after he gets back from Block Island.<br /><br />As a quick note, I got a chance to talk to Max the other night about what he thinks of his visits to Lehigh Valley. He told me that while sometimes he gets a little nervous about the needles that it is always okay in the end and really likes going there. I asked him if the shots hurt and he told me that he doesn't even feel them anymore (we do use a lot of numbing cream to help with that). He said that sometimes the needles in his hand hurt but not for very long. Tonight he told me that there is no pain in his hands. He did get a Ariel tattoo on his hand so it was impossible to tell if there was any bruising.Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678625307778257125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5674963307378893207.post-16665063397962807522007-06-05T17:04:00.000-04:002007-06-05T17:10:04.146-04:00Sleepless in Flanders (in the morning anyway)Today went well. Max continues to have trouble staying asleep after about 4:00 am and is, obviously, quite tired during the day. It is now something he recognizes as a problem but seem incapable of dealing with. Review of the trial medicine with the doctors simply confirmed that most medicine is geared towards A) getting you to sleep or B) keeping you asleep if you sleep restlessly. Max doesn't suffer from any of that as he goes to bed quite well between 8 and 9 pm each day and sleeps soundly until 4 or 5 am most days. There have been single days where he has slept until 6 or even 7 but those are few and far between. Unfortunately what it all boils down to is that we've stopped the medicine and Max will likely continue to rise very early. Hopefully he'll continue to stay out of trouble but now that I've written it down I expect a flood in the house shortly (hopefully not worse).<br /><br />In addition to Max's sleep issues he started to complain yesterday about a pain in arm/wrist when he was in occupational therapy at school. Tracy talked to the doctor today about it and they've decided to wait a week to see if it continues and is likely caused by the chemo or this is just some passing thing. If it is stemming from the chemo there are a couple different medicines that could be used to stop the pain but they would, oddly enough, make him sleepy so he'd still get up at the same time but be drowsy during the day. Hopefully this pain does not continue but we'll see.<br /><br />Max's labs from last week aren't all back so it will be another week before we know if his hormones from puberty are still be adequately suppressed. Since there aren't any physical signs we expect good news on those labs.<br /><br />In other news, Gwendolyn's softball team has made the playoffs and originally had a game scheduled for tonight but that has been postponed until Thursday because of the threat of a storm. Hopefully playing after school will suit them well as at their final game on Saturday they got creamed because the game the started at 9:00 am and the girls weren't really awake until after it was all over.<br /><br />In case you noticed that Max's blog is still lacking pictures I'm patiently waiting at my spot in the queue of things on Tracy's list. I've heard a rumor that I'm next but that source wasn't very reliable (Olivia says "yes" to a lot questions and consistently answers "10" to any math question).Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678625307778257125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5674963307378893207.post-49033167141536270162007-05-29T23:48:00.000-04:002007-05-29T23:49:41.469-04:00Memorial Day, Max's Cheesburger Hill, Lehigh Valley Visit for shotsHopefully everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend. We celebrated by marching in the Mount Olive Parade; Max & Bob marched with Cub Scout Pack 47 while Gwendolyn, Tracy and Olivia marched with Brownie Troop 1199. This year Max was well prepared for a long walk because last year Bob learned, after two parades, that Max had no problem chastising his Dad in front of the town in the middle of a parade. We had chatted many times the week before about how long the parade would be and how it might rain or be really hot but that we'd been walking a lot so this wouldn't be as painful as last year. I'm not sure but I'm pretty certain that all that talk was in vain and what really sealed the deal was my epiphany the night before when I told Max, "If you can get through the whole parade without complaining I promise there will be a great surprise at the end of the day. But remember no complaining and no asking about the prize." Max looked at me, thought about it for a moment and started to say something when I interrupted him and said, "Remember, no asking about the prize means not all … including right now … got it?" Max said, "Yes, I knew that but wasn't going to ask about the prize. What I wanted to know was if it is like when I open presents – is it that kind of surprise or is it more like a Happy Meal prize?" I explained to him how that was still asking and he said, "I'm sorry I didn't know … do I still get the prize?" We left it at "Yes" but agreed not to talk about it anymore (after all I needed time to figure out the prize).<br /><br />Memorial Day morning started out a little drizzly and, in case you've forgotten or not heard, Max hates getting wet, especially when it is because of rain. We loaded up the car with kids, a stroller, water, and rain coats. Thankfully by the time we got to the marshalling area the storm had passed and it was pleasantly sunny. We had to stand around for about 30 minutes while everyone got situated. Max entertained himself by naming all of the instruments in the High School marching band (what is the horn that is bigger than a French horn but smaller than a tuba and is not a trombone? Oboe? We discussed that at length but no one in our group knew for certain). <br /><br />As soon as the parade started I remembered that I had wanted to remember to bring small flags for the boys to hold and candy for them to toss to the crowd. Unfortunately this was the first time I had thought about it since the July 4th parade last year. I hold only a modicum of hope that I will remember for the July 4th parade this year. Anyway, as soon as we started walking the cub scout pack in front of us started throwing candy to the crowd of 4 or 5 people at the beginning of the parade and our boys immediately ran up and snatched it out of the road in a mad scramble. We tried to reign the boys in but it happened again just a few minutes later so we had to stop our pack, and all of the people behind us, for a minute while we told the boys in no uncertain terms that they were not to stop again or there would be trouble. With the next toss of the candy by the boys ahead of us I watched to see what would happen and was pleasantly surprised that while all the boys looked not one made a move to claim the candy. Then a few of our parents ran up to grab what appeared to be a new candy. !@#$%s Ugh. <br /><br />We made it to the bottom of the beginning hill and started up the far side and I was realizing that Max hadn't really said anything but was simply holding my hand, keeping pace, and looking a little tired. We were next to Roy, another scout leader who had marched with us last year (and heard Max's rants), and he must have thought the same thing I was thinking but he put it to words by telling Max that he thought he was doing a great job. I wasn't sure what Max would say but hadn't wanted to say anything myself for fear of starting a rant but Max surprised me by telling Roy that he was a little tired because of the hill and had a small cramp but was otherwise doing okay. Once again I had my heart melted by my not so little boy. Thankfully the hill wasn't all that steep and Max made it to the top without incident. I got him to drink a little water when the parade stopped for traffic but otherwise he simply walked with everyone else up until the end. Near the end he said that he was too tired to wave and complained that my hand was sweaty. I told him that I was fine with him not holding my hand by he had to keep up the pace. He said, "No, I want to hold your hand but I also want you to know it is really sweaty." Not knowing what to say we marched until we saw TR and Kathy near the very end of the parade. That brightened Max's spirits enough to get us across the highway which was the 'finish line' of the parade. His prize ended up being that he was allowed to watch a movie, Over the Hedge, when we got home along with the promise of a McDonald's Happy meal after his hospital visit the next day.<br /><br />For dinner yesterday Bob cooked hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill. When we asked Max which he wanted he said McDonalds. I felt bad that he had been so good all day, especially at the parade, but also knew that he was getting it the next night because I was running out for a softball game. I tried to talk to him about that and he said he understood and would settle for "Mommy Chickens, Mommy French Fries, and ketchup." I told him that the whole point of the grill was to make less work for Mommy when cooking dinner but he wasn't happy about that. Not sure why but I then told him that when he was little he used to love McDonalds' cheeseburgers and that he would eat them all the time and wouldn't touch the chicken nuggets. He couldn't tell if I way lying or not but he just kind of smiled at me like he thought I was so I said, "Really. You even stole Mommy's sometimes." That made him laugh and he decided he would have a McDonalds's cheeseburger for dinner. I don't remember now how I got out of that but in the end he ate a home cooked cheeseburger with ketchup on it. It is odd that such a thing is a milestone for a near 8 old year old but for Max it was quite an accomplishment. For Tracy and I it means that we can go to cookouts this summer without worrying about what to feed him. Unfortunately Olivia took 2 hours to eat just 3 bites of a hot dog but that is a story that is just too painful to recount right now … perhaps with time ;)<br /><br />Today was the first time that Tracy was taking Max for shots. We use numbing cream on both 'cheeks' to make the shots less painful and Tracy had only done that once before and hadn't really understood where the shots went so this morning she asked me to mark his butt so she got it done correctly later in the day. Being the incredibly funny Dad that I am I used a fat permanent green marker to draw a dashed circle on his right cheek and then a nice smiley face on the left cheek. Not sure how that went over at the hospital (it didn't come up in conversation with Tracy yet) but it had Tracy laughing this morning but quickly led to reminders for Max from both Mom and Dad that no one at school should be shown Dad's handiwork (probably should've thought of that beforehand).<br /><br />As yesterday was a holiday the hospital was a little busier than normal today but not too bad. The new nurse couldn't get Max's IV started on the first try so another nurse got him hooked up. I think that we're all hoping that his July scans go well so that he can get a port put in even tough it means another 9 months of chemo. The bad part of the day was that the lab work took a really long time to come back. Max started his day this morning at 4:18 am so by 4:00 pm, when labs still had not returned, he announced that he was " .. done with this ridiculous place and it was time to go home." It didn't work out that way for him but he did get a tour of the kitchen area where he was allowed to grab some cheerios and milk to hold him over until his labs came back. That seemed to work but they didn't get out of the hospital until 5:00 pm. On the bright side, while there was traffic on Route 22, which is the first route out of the hospital, the rest of the way home was smooth sailing. <br /><br />Another good thing that happened today is that one of the women from church brought over dinner for us while Tracy's Mom was here with Olivia this afternoon. I had softball immediately after work so I had picked up McDonalds for the kids before running out. Tracy and I got to eat BBQ chicken breasts, corn bread, and chocolate chip cookies for dinner. The BBQ was fabulous and the chicken was amazingly tender and we are grateful for all the effort that went into the meal. The church offered to do this every Tuesday but we felt guilty about that so we agreed on once a month – the Tuesday's when Max gets his shots because on those nights the kids all get McDonalds as a special treat for Max doing so well with the shots.<br /><br />Max did have some extra hormone lab work done today and we should know those results in about two weeks. I have started the scheduling process for his July follow up MRI and medical appointments but that will take some time to complete. Because he has the MRI and has to see 3 doctors we qualify for the Complex Scheduling service where they will try to coordinate seeing all the doctors the same day. Unfortunately the scheduling software that they use is being updated June 5th so they can't schedule the doctors until after that. I do have his MRI setup for 1 pm on July 9 so hopefully the doctors will all be that Thursday but time will tell.Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678625307778257125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5674963307378893207.post-39433925143762048172007-05-22T15:58:00.001-04:002007-05-22T16:00:53.858-04:00Showdown at Lehigh ValleyToday looked to be a record breaker as far as time was concerned. Tracy and Max made the trip alone for the first time so Tracy got to blast music while Max watched a DVD. By the time Tracy had finished her lunch they were only 15 minutes away so it seems that there was little to no stress now that she's comfortable with the route. Max was seen almost right away so his blood workup was started pretty much as soon as was possible. During the talk with his doctor they decided to try some new medicine to help Max stay asleep at night as his rising so early in the morning is leaving everyone a little frazzled. This morning even Gwendolyn was up at 6:30 am and she NEVER gets up early. Anyway, they decided that since Max shows no signs of having any issues with chemo and because his initial labs showed normal red and white cell counts that there was no need to wait for the more involved breakdown of his neutrophils but would get the chemo in and finish up for the day. Unfortunately, before his chemo was done and they could leave, a water 'gun' fight erupted.<br /><br />For those that don't know Max is all about getting other people wet but HATES to get even the tiniest drop of liquid on himself. It is so bad that he will rant and rave about how you have ruined his shoes by simply getting a drop of water of the rubber part. I swear this is true. Anyway, Max immediately got involved with a syringe of his own that was filled with saline instead of water (can you sense where this is going?). Lots and lots of wetness filled hilarity ensued … until … Max took one in the eye from one of the ladies with the super soaker of syringes. Fortunately hers was filled with water and not saline but Max immediately crumbled like a fallen soldier. It took another 20 minutes to get him calmed down enough to return to the car. He almost got to bring home the giant syringe but Tracy put the kibosh on that and instead it will be kept there, with his name on it, for eternity (or until someone takes the tape off and takes it for their own).Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678625307778257125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5674963307378893207.post-58468912314331029852007-05-15T16:27:00.000-04:002007-05-15T16:28:06.462-04:00Tracy flies solo (sort of)Things seemed okay when Tracy and I talked about her trip to Lehigh Valley with Max and Oma (her Grandmother) last night. That sounds ominous but so far there is no plot twist coming, that I know of, that will alter the course of the story and turn things into a complete disaster. I called home at 11:30 am just to remind Tracy of the current time as she has a penchant for losing track of time when she is doing … well … anything. She answered the phone from outside the house where she and Olivia were covered in dirt because they'd been planting flowers. Tracy told me that she was trying to rush but still had to put away the flower stuff, clean herself and Olivia, run to the store, feed Olivia, and … well you can imagine that wasn't going to fit into the next hour so she cut her list a little short.<br /><br />I got the next call from Tracy at 12:45 pm, 15 minutes after she was to have picked up Max. Things seemed on track as everyone was in the car and they were already on their way. The only glitch was that the navigation software on her laptop wasn't working exactly right. I was able to talk she and Oma through turning on the GPS because it doesn't turn on just by plugging it in (seems to be a bit shortsighted) and within 2 minutes the computer was telling her where and when to turn. Things were still going well.<br /><br />The next call came at 2:15 pm, 15 minutes after their appointment was to start. It seemed that things were already under way as Max had already been triaged. Tracy learned that he has gained 0.4 Kg this past week but he also drank a very large quantity of juice on the way out so it could all be water weight? Max had not yet gotten his IV but they are checked in and the process is started. Because of vacation there seems to be a new nurse at Lehigh Valley but it could be someone that Bob and Max have met over the past 3 years but whom Max says he does not remember. His recollection of names used to be great but he is quickly turning into Bob who forgets names while being introduced.<br /><br />The last call came at 4:17 pm and they were already on Route 78 on their way home. A new nurse had started today and she had trouble getting an IV started on Max's right hand so Max was given a special bead for his necklace (String of Strength) and also a special prize for being such a trooper about getting stuck twice in one hand and then switching to the other hand. Once they were in the car, Tracy panicked a little because the mapping software wasn't telling her where to go but it turned out that the problem, again, was the GPS only this time it was on the floor instead of the dash so it didn't know where it, or Tracy, was at the time. <br /><br />There could be more when Tracy and I have more time to talk but I suspect that this will be it until next week.<br /><br />-BobBobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678625307778257125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5674963307378893207.post-68578397566152671902007-05-12T12:00:00.000-04:002007-05-15T06:24:39.524-04:00Endocrinology follow upToday Max and Bob went to Philadelphia to follow up with endocrinology. All in all it was a good day. We left the house shortly after 9:00 AM stopping at the library first. Max found a book and Bob picked up an audio book. We arrived at Philadelphia about an hour early so we had time for lunch. Max had grilled cheese and French fries and tried very hard to finish within the hour. He was close.<br /><br />The exam went well and Max is fairly stable. His bone age is 11.6 years he grew about 1 cm this past six months and his growth factors are within the Normal Range for his bone age. His Dr. believes that he will need to raise the Sandostatin dose at some point in the future. We talked briefly about when Max would come off of the Lupron and start puberty but decided that is still a little ways off. We also discussed when Max would return to endocrinology and the plan is to return in July on the same day as his visit to oncology. Hopefully that will all work out.Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678625307778257125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5674963307378893207.post-82311354630790748972007-05-08T06:04:00.000-04:002007-05-15T06:15:32.527-04:00Last Trip to Lehigh before Tracy starts to fly soloOn Tuesday, May 8, 2007, Tracy drove, for the very time ever, to Lehigh Valley! She drove there and back and while it was a little nerve racking with Bob saying things like “Are you sure you want to go that way?” and Max saying, “Daddy, stop yelling at Mommy. This is her first time and she’s doing a good job.” We got there right on time and without a ding, dent, or ticket.<br /><br />This was our first chemo only visit to Lehigh Valley in a long long time so we weren’t sure how long it would take but we had very high hopes. Unfortunately it took longer than Tracy thought it would but it is so hard to just get in and get out because Max really does have a good time while he is there. This week everyone knew that it was, potentially, Tracy’s last non-solo trip so they tried to make her feel at home (Max has already indicated that he is looking forward to going with Mommy and loves everyone there so his comfort was not in question). The ladies at Lehigh Valley did a nice job singing Bob’s praises, talking up how much they will miss his smiling face, etc. (need to remember to send that checkJ ) but they also did a great job going over everything again with Tracy. <br /><br />We were a little better this week about getting in, getting Max triaged (height, weight, blood pressure, and body temp), and getting his blood drawn for testing. There were more people there this week though and summer vacations have started so it didn’t happen right away but it gave us a chance to talk to Nancy, the social worker, again which is when we learned the vacation schedules there for the summer. When Max’s IV was getting setup he was very curious about the needle (we still don’t know how he can just stare at the process of putting the needle into his hand but he does and he remains perfectly still). Anyway, his nurse took out a new kit and used it to show him how the needle pops out, the straw that stays in his hand, and how the needle pops back into the plastic housing so that no one gets stuck accidently once it has been used. Then they showed Max how the syringe with saline works but they filled it with water and let him hold it. Then Nancy convinced him it would be a good idea to push the plunger (and squirt the water). No one got soaked but many got wet. <br /><br />After all of that we headed home for dinner with the rest of the family.Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678625307778257125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5674963307378893207.post-12293185197392955952007-05-01T23:37:00.000-04:002007-05-01T23:51:33.155-04:00Starting up at Lehigh ValleyToday Max, Tracy and Bob made our first trip for this new round of chemo at Lehigh Valley. Max was very excited to have Mom along and was very anxious to introduce her to everyone. Unfortunately he'd forgotten that Mom had met everyone at prior Christmas Parties and Talent Shows so it was a shade anti-climactic. Max was extremely goofy while trying to show Tracy all the great stuff that is available to play with there. He made some canned tomato sandwiches (two pieces of bread, a toy can of tomatoes, and cheese - can't forget the cheese) along with a slew of other slightly less appetizing selections.<br /><br />We went over the possible side effects of vinblastine which aren't as bad as his prior treatment of carboplatin and vincristine (we'd done this at CHOP last week but we needed to sign a new consent form and it was a good review anyway). We also went over some recent concerns about Max's lack of sleep and behavior problems at school. He goes to bed just fine but rises very early and then ends up tired at school. He's having a hard time making it through the day without having some sort of temper flare up. Thankfully the flare ups have been minor. Our concerns are that it could be due to the tumor as it is located where his emotional control (and many many other things) resides but also could be due to the vinblastine as it is a known side effect. With only one dose under his belt though it seems unlikely that the new drug is the cause. Oh yes, the other likely cause is that he is simply a seven year old boy going through a phase that will pass as so many others already have. For now, we're waiting to see.<br /><br />After our chat and their evaluation of Max, it was time to get his IV. That went very well but brought up another concern of ours which is that his veins might not support all the 'pokes' for a year. We're going to work on hand strength with him to try and make the veins in his hand and lower forearm more easily accessible but if we get through his next MRI, around July, and it looks like we'll be doing this for the long term we're probably going to get him setup with another central line (aka "port") in his chest. The obvious down side is surgery and the less obvious is that because of the risk of infection a fever means an overnight stay at the hospital. The upside is that it is lot easier to get an IV going through a port. Again, time will tell but if we do it he'll probably have it done at the end of August after vacation but before school starts.<br /><br />Once the IV was in they drew some blood and did his shots. Max whispered to his nurse but Bob clearly heard the word "box" and thought it was Max asking for a treasure. His intent was actually only to show Tracy his "box" there which is a large shoe box decorated with a jungle theme and his name on the outside. Of course the box was brought into the room filled with a new treasure, <a href="http://www.officeplayground.com/pinart.html?engine=adwords!8540&keyword=%28nail+toy%29&match_type=&gclid=CPWo5djD7osCFRKsGgodrC0MUw">a pin art impression toy</a>, that everyone had fun playing with for the rest of the visit. Max got his shots of Sandostatin and Lupron and then we horsed around until his blood work results came back.<br /><br />His counts were fine so he got his chemo, they took out his IV, and we headed home. All in all a good trip out there. Along the way today we learned of a <a href="http://www.miracleleaguelv.org/">baseball league </a>that he can play in but it is about an hour and 20 minutes from home.Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678625307778257125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5674963307378893207.post-3618604896033020372007-04-23T03:27:00.000-04:002007-05-01T22:47:31.498-04:00The Good, The Bad, and The GoodToday we have some bad news but that is tempered with some good news. We'll start with good, then onto the bad but then back to the good. First, if you haven't already heard, Max was able to do his follow up MRI on April 11 without sedation. (His MRI was moved up a month because he had complained of some eye pain that had no visible source.) Doing the MRI without sedation is a huge achievement for him and makes future scans far less worrisome. This means he doesn't have to fast for 8 hours before scans and he doesn't need 2 days to recover from the drugs. It is remarkable that he can do this because he needs to stay absolutely still for an hour and half in a tunnel that is many times louder than the Holland Tunnel with all the car windows open. Next time we'll look into bringing music for Max, as that appears to be an option, as well as better reading material for Bob as he was left reading very old editions of Vogue since laptops aren't allowed in the scanning room. <br /><br />Onto the bad news; the scans showed that the tumor on the left side of his hypothalamus is more active and larger in size. Today we met with his oncologist at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and talked about what this means for Max. The long and the short of it is that there is very little change in Max physically but we still need to see the eye doctor to confirm this. His vision check with the oncologist went worse than Bob had expected because Max didn't really see anything out of his 'bad' eye. Part of the problem though is that waiting for a physical change means waiting for a loss of vision or a significant change in behavior, hormone, or body function. We all agreed that we did not want to wait for that so we started talking about possible treatments. (We did meet with his neuron-ophthalmologist later and found his vision to be slightly improved - go figure) <br /><br />This brings us back to the "good" news as there is a change in options from when we talked about these things in November of 2004. The options from before still exist but one that is new (or wasn't appropriate for discussion last time, not really sure) is a chemotherapy drug called vinblastine (also called velban). This will be a once a week therapy that is essentially an injection. This is different than before, when he was getting a drip, because it is an intravenous injection so there is no long wait while the drugs go in. After his blood work is done - normally 20 minutes if memory serves - there is just an injection and then we go home. Our hope is to be able to accomplish the majority at Lehigh Valley so that Max can go to school for most of the day on Tuesdays and it won't be the disruption to his life the previous chemotherapy was. We choose this option over the others as there is no chance of leukemia as a side effect. Other bonuses are that while it will likely affect his reflexes it is unlikely to be as bad as last time, his hair is likely only to thin a little bit, and finally the most likely side effect will be constipation which he dealt with before just fine. The rate of effectiveness is only 50% which is on par with the other favored treatment option which was Temodar. Temodar would've been even less of a disruption as it is an oral med that he takes at home but there is a risk of leukemia which we weren't ready to chance yet. <br /><br />At the end of 3 months we should know whether or not this course of treatment is effective or not. <br /><br />It is getting late and I really do want to get an update out to everyone before it filters through the phone chain and gets distorted. I think I've covered everything but Tracy is already asleep so you're getting this un-reviewed and un-edited. The important thing to take away is that Max is not in any pain and that the treatments that we started today are likely to have less of a negative impact on his life than his prior 14 months of chemo. Oh - he'll be missing the end of Art class at school which he assures us is fine by him.Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678625307778257125noreply@blogger.com0