Junior National Youth Leadership Conference

 

7.22.13:  2:50 PM

It seems that over the last year I have been pretty bent on new experiences.  I have adopted this new philosophy that I am a human-doer and not a human-being. So we broke away from our Independence Day traditions and tried some new things.

We opened the boat (Yes, the first time all season) and went out to Mill Creek for the boat parade and fireworks on the 3rd. The temperatures were unseasonably cool, which was perfect for Davis.  Davis can't get in the water due to the possibility of line infections. The bacteria is the water can get into his blood stream and cause a port infection. The heat also affects Davis because of his chemo. He just wilts. So you can imagine the torture of sitting on a boat with the sun beating down on you while your family swims and tubes.  In addition to that, it wasn't until after we purchased the boat that we realized that Kyle suffers from horrible motion sickness.  He will suffer along after a couple of Dramamine, but he is so groggy, he can't enjoy much. Needless to say, we don't boat much anymore.  But this night was perfect.  There was little wake because of the parade, which was good for Kyle; and it was freezing, which was good for Davis. We tied on to family, and the kids played with their cousins.  It was a night that I won't soon forget. 

 

The next day, instead of going to the park, we stayed home and did nothing.  Sometimes I underestimate how awesome doing nothing is. That evening, instead of going to fight the crowd at the public works, we shot off some beauties at Kyle's folks home. We loved it! We "oooo"ed and "awww" ed from the back porch. 

On July 5th, Davis and I headed down to St. Louis for his chemo and check-up. Davis has been hoarse for a few months now, and his oncologist planned to revisit the possible reasons why. After his check-up, it was decided that Davis needed to be seen by an ENT at Children's. It was Dr. Schapiro's and Dr. Huang's belief that Davis might be suffering from vocal paralysis caused by the chemo Vincristine. Somewhat normal side effect. After an ENT completed a check-up on 9th floor in the hem/onc clinic, we were escorted down to the fifth floor to the ENT clinic where Davis received an endoscopy.  It was pretty fascinating. The fed a camera tube through his nose and positioned it right over his vocal cords, and then the doctor started asking him questions.  We were able to watch his chords and his throat move.  The whole procedure took less than three minutes.  The two ENTs performing the test determined that Davis did not have vocal paralysis; he was suffering from inflammation and irritation caused by acid reflux.  Davis was placed on Zantac and given some diet restrictions.  It's only been a couple of weeks, but he is doing much better already.

After the long day at Children's, we headed to The Hill to eat at one of our favorite restaurant.  We love the place, and it's a real treat to go. 

On Saturday the 6th, Davis and I headed up to Chicago because we were going to fly out to Boston early the next morning.  Davis attended the Junior National Youth Leadership Alumni Conference. You might remember that he attended the initial one in Washington DC last summer.

During the conference, Davis spent time in Plymouth, Salem, and Boston. He did some fantastic sight-seeing. He visited Plymouth Plantation, Plymouth Rock, Salem Witch Museum. He walked the Freedom Trail and spent time on the USS Salem.  For his birthday, the whole crew surprised him with a giant ice cream sundae at Hard Rock Cafe. 

 

Davis seemed to enjoy DC more than Boston.  The alumni conference was comprised of seventh through ninth graders and was much more labor intensive. They had three and four hour exploration meetings, which are very similar to school.  Davis wasn't cracked up about working on his vacation, but he managed.

Davis was chosen to give the thank you closing speech for the closing keynote speaker of the conference, Brandon Greene. The faculty advisers said he did a wonderful job.

I wasn't around much. Actually, parents aren't allowed to be around. Independence cultivates leadership, I guess.  I had a mini vacation of my own.  I think I was more excited than Davis was for this trip. I love history, especially American history, so I made good use of my time hitting all of the historical stops I could. I totally looked like a tourist. My camera about my neck, backpack, umbrella, tennis shoes, and one giant map in my hand. I managed to make it to Plymouth Rock. I toured Cape Cod Bay. I visited Old Ironsides on my way to Breed's Hill.  I saw the House of the Seven Gables, and where Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. I went to the Salem Witch Museum, and visited Simon Bradstreet's, Paul Revere's, Samuel Adam's graves. And the list goes on and on. One thing I didn't do? Eat a lobster. Can you believe I never got around to it? By day four, I was tired of fighting the Boston traffic and was ready to come home. Davis and I both missed our family.

 

 

 

Kyle and Annakate took the train up to Chicago to meet us.  They headed up early, and Kyle took Annakate shopping. She loved this. They met us at the airport on Friday, and we drove up to Wisconsin to see Kyle's brother and his family. We had a blast.

 

 

This past weekend, I completed my first 5K via the Indianapolis Color Run. Actually, there was some walking (too many people) so I am not going to officially count it as my first 5K. I went with a few friends for some girl time. It was so stinking awesome. No pressure, just pure fun.

Davis celebrated his birthday with family yesterday. It is always so wonderful to get together and birthdays are great reasons to do so. He had a great time. We all did. 

 

It's hard to believe that summer is nearly over. I think the kids and I have done a wonderful job embracing the "work hard, play hard" idea as we have played pretty hard this summer. And in all fairness, Kyle has worked pretty hard and sleeps pretty well this summer. Poor guy. He sure doesn't get to play much. Although we don't show it enough, we are so appreciative of all he does for us.

Davis goes back to St. Louis the first Friday in August. He will have to get a LP (Spinal tap) then. We will also meet with the prosthetic specialist to adjust his port cover, so he will be ready to go for PE when school starts.

I just thank God for good health. Davis is doing so amazingly well. We are just so blessed. Thanks for the continued prayers. 

We will keep you posted.