Thanksgiving Week

The day after Theo's angiogram, November 23rd, I had a parent/teacher conference with Theo's preschool teacher and his school speech therapist. They had nothing but great things to say about Theo! You can tell that everyone loves him! They told me that they make him work hard and even though he complains sometimes, he still completes his school work. I'm excited for Theo to continue going to school with these wonderful ladies!

Theo's OT had an ornament for each of her "kids," so she bought a Harry Potter one for Theo. I think it's perfect!

[Theo waving to Harry Potter]

[I asked Theo who he was coloring a picture for and he said "dadada!"]

Thank you so much to everyone who was able to donate and/or participated in the annual "Walk Your Way!" We love and appreciate you all!

[Theo found a new toy to lay on]

On Wednesday, November 24th, I drove to Indiana to pickup pies from our favorite bakery. I looked into getting pies locally, but nothing looked as good as Marilyn's Bakery! It was a long drive, but I had plenty of podcast to catch up on.

That night I went to Walgreens to get my first COVID-19 booster shot. I'm glad I was able to get it before our trip to Orlando. 

Thanksgiving Day, November 25th:

9:00 AM - Egg boats/Deviled eggs

Noon - Thanksgiving Lunch

2:00 PM - More Egg boats

4:00 PM - Pies

6:00 PM - Thanksgiving Dinner/Thanksgiving Lunch leftovers

8:00 PM - More Pies

Josh made his delicious deviled eggs (I call them egg boats, does anyone else?) for breakfast. They had mayo, mustard, cheese, and bacon in them! Can't go wrong with mayo and bacon in my opinion.

After breakfast we watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (TRADITION!). We anxiously awaited the arrival of Grogu (aka Baby Yoda) and the rest of the fun floats.

[It's like the parade is in our home![

[Love it!]

Since it was just the two of us we decided to order food from the local Hive Kitchen. We got mashed potatoes, gravy, Mac n cheese, and BBQ ribs! It was all delicious!

After lunch I had my first round of pies while Josh and Theo wrestled!

[Apple crumb, strawberry rhubarb, peanut butter, French silk, and Key lime]

We had plenty to eat and since we ordered by the portion, we didn't have very many left overs! I'm definitely looking forward to ordering from the Hive again next year!

I hope you all had a very happy Thanksgiving! I'm thankful for you!

Josh and I have been going to the Ottawa Chris Kringle Market for a few years now and we love it! The market is only open for four weeks and we are going to be on vacation for three of those weeks, so we had to go this weekend!

On November 26th, we bundled up and headed into the 30 degree weather for some Christmas spirit!

[Can't go to the market and not get Raclette!]

Even though it was very cold Theo did really well in his wheelchair. He kept his hat and gloves on the whole time and he was very sad when we got back in the car to go home (even though his little nose was red, cold, and runny).

Probably some of the best hot chocolate around. I hope it's just as good in Belgium. I'll let you know next year!

After we got home I busted out the Christmas decorations and put the Fall/Thanksgiving decorations back in the basement.

[Such a perfect little tree]

I have to document all of Theo's beautiful artwork before it goes in the basement. I love that they are constantly doing crafts at school!

My arm was still sore from my booster shot, so when I went to get my allergy shots on Saturday morning, I had her give me all three shots in my left arm. I'm also experiencing swollen lymph nodes in my armpit. They are very tender, but apparently it's a common side effect. Other then that I had a minor headache and I was tired, but it wasn't as bad as my second shot.

After I got home from my visit to the allergy clinic, we Zoomed with the family so we could watch Dane's baptism. 

[Cole, Dane, and Brady sang a song]

[Tyson baptized Dane]

Congrats Dane!

[Elmo helping out with food play]

My front porch is really struggling, so Theo's Feeding Therapist suggested I make my empty pots into Christmas pots. I did a quick google search and thought that was something I could do.

[Before]

[During]

[After]

That's a little better! I think I need to add a wreath or a sign or something, but things are already looking better!

[He's always looking for "dadada"]

On Sunday, November 28th, Josh headed down to Peoria. He is finally taking Part A and Part C of his CWI test. He has been studying so hard and I know he is ready! Look how well he's been doing on his practice test:

Good luck Josh! Hopefully he will know the results in the next few weeks!

Back-to-Back Clear Angiograms

*Spoiler Alert* Everything is fine.

After a two hour drive, Josh, Theo, and I arrived at our favorite Marriott in Peoria. Right when we walked in the front door Theo started to look suspicious. He knows this place too well. Poor guy.

[Watching football and playing with puppy]

The next morning, November 22nd, we got up very early and headed to the OSF St Francis Children's Hospital of Illinois. 

[It was chilly and Theo wouldn't wear a beanie, but he was fine in the Lakers Snuggie! Thanks Em for your generous gift all those years ago!]

These two are always playing!

After we got checked in we were taken back to the Interventional Radiology pre-op center. 

Various nurses helped get Theo prepped before we saw IR Dr Fraser, IR APN Mark, and the anesthesiologist.

After they took Theo back to the OR, Josh and I walked to the cafeteria to get some breakfast and then we hung out in the waiting room.

After an hour I got a call that Dr. Fraser wanted to see us. We met him in the conference room where he informed us that Theo's angiogram was "clear" and he likely won't be needing another one in a long time (or ever). He said that he is going to send the results to Vascular Neurosurgery and see what they say. But he thinks they will agree with his conclusion. He also said that the access point on Theo's right leg is blocked. It's been used a lot, but the left side is still accessible. Part of me is very happy that everything is "clear" and that Theo is still considered "cured," but I am also sad because the IR team is my FAVORITE team. They listen to us and they care so much about Theo. I actually looked forward to Theo's appointments with them because we learned so much and really felt like they wanted what was best for us.

After we parted ways from Dr. Fraser I headed downstairs to see Theo in recovery. He was tired, but was calm and watching Blues Clues when I arrived. After about an hour we headed up to IR recovery to continue his six hour recovery.

[He did not like that on his finger!]

We had a few hours to kill, so I went on a couple walks around the hospital and got us some lunch. While I was heading back to Theo's room I spotted this "library" in the waiting room. Two Star Wars books. Nice.

Theo did really well during his long recovery. Since the incisions are in his upper leg/groin area he has to lay flat and keep his legs straight (no kicking) during the entire six hours. It's usually pretty hard, but this time Theo cooperated and we got through recovery without any issues.

In the last hour of recovery, APN Mark came by to check in on us. He was very excited about Theo's progress and said that we can stop by and see them any time. I got a little teary-eyed as Mark was saying goodbye. But I'm sure we will see him (and the rest of the team) again! 

Dr. Frasier mentioned having Theo do another brain scan in the future because he want's him to participate in a study for medical research. We will definitely be participating in any studies that the IR team or Vascular Neurosurgery want us to participate in. If it helps kids and families in the future then I'm all about it. 

A few days later I got a call from the IR APN Jessica. She told me that they presented Theo's results to Vascular Neurosurgery and they are very happy with how Theo is doing and they agree with Dr. Fraser's conclusions. We will continue to follow up with Neurosurgery yearly since Theo still has the VP shunt. Jessica said that next time we have an appointment with Neurosurgery we can stop by and see them in IR too. She was sad she wasn't able to see us during Theo's angiogram, but like I said before, we will see them again.