Sorry. I can't come up with anything catchy and cute tonight with which to title this one...But I can promise it will be short! :)
Talked to Will's dr tonight. Short answer: She is calling Cleveland for us to see if she can get our appointment moved up. Will's autonomic dysfunction seems to be worsening, so we obviously need to do something more to get him back to something that resembles stability, esp before winter and cold and flu season hit.
She also is going to contact our new and very appreciated case manager at Anthem to request home health for six weeks for weekly infusions to see if that will help the stability issue and prevent the many ER visits that always seem to be looming.
She asked me to call Dr Grubb in Toledo and discuss the cardiac arrhythmia we saw Friday night and continued to see today. Sitting, his heart rate is in the mid 80's which is ok but not awesome. If he moved around today it hung between 130 and 164...I don't mean running around, I mean just moving around. That is way too high for so little motion.
We're gonna talk by phone again as soon as we have more information...and I'll keep you posted.
I appreciate your prayers. I am blessed beyond belief with the outpouring of love and support I've been shown in the last few weeks, and I deeply appreciate it all. I am overwhelmed with Will's issues, with the needs of my other kids, with impending school needs, and with my need for sleep and running. :) Thank you for your prayers and for loving my family.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
How do you spend YOUR Friday nights?
Our family is often seen swimming upstream. We have 8 kids. We home educate. We drive a very non politically correct vehicle. (15 passenger vans are NOT green! Ours is actually silver!) And we spend our Friday nights at the ER while most of America is sleeping.
Will thoroughly enjoyed playing with a friend on Friday. It was a rare opportunity that was enjoyed to its full capacity. Unfortunately, what had been simmering all week became a full blown mito crash that night. He went to bed on time even though he argued with me that he had not slept well all week. At midnight, he was wide awake, came downstairs where I was working (yes, I know. I should have been in bed as well, but that basement is almost finished!!!) and said, "Feel this." He was referring to his heart rate which was a whopping 132 beats per minute. Considering that 100 is tachycardic and is our "protocol number" for an ER visit for fluids, he was well beyond the point of wondering whether we should go. No waffling here. I sent him off to get dressed while I gave instructions to my oldest two boys who also should have been in bed but weren't, emailed Billy who then came home from work in order to go with us, and packed "The Bag." (My gym bag is always ready to go. All I have to do at any given time is throw in either gym clothes or regular clothes and I'm set for an indefinite period of time.)
After deciding to head to MCV instead of Mary Washington since they have a pediatric ER, his records are all there, and his specialists are all there, we headed south. The entire trip down I kept hearing him sigh in the back seat. Not a good sign.
The short story is Will's body does not make enough energy and he has no reserve capacity. While this seems like no big deal, it's a very big deal. His organs all require ATP (energy) in order to function properly. In its absence, damage occurs and it's irreversible. That is why this disease is progressive. With each crash, we potentially damage those organs even more. Not crashing is the goal but we haven't been able to prevent these crashes from occurring regularly. The sighing on the way down was an issue because it represents his body burning excess oxygen trying to create more energy that it just is not able to produce. It is the first time that has happened, which has me concerned... Is this a progression of the disease?
In previous ER visits, one bag of fluids is all he has needed to stabilize. Last night, one really didn't quite cut it. They were looking at admitting him because they really have no clue what to do with mitochondrial disease, when I asked them to hang a second bag and run a second bolus (a lot of fluid in a short period of time). Finally, his heart rate dropped below 100 but it still bounced all over the place which means that his heart rate was inconsistent...another sign that his autonomic nervous system is not coping well.
So, we finally were discharged and arrived home at 645 this morning, just in time to say good morning to my youngest three. Billy and I managed a couple of hours of sleep (thank you older kids for helping!) but we are exhausted.
On Tuesday, I will have to call Dr Teasley and determine if we need to make any further changes in his protocol and/or medications. Until then, we just watch him for further signs of distress which will provide us with another opportunity to visit the MCV ER and hang out with Kati, our nurse last night who promised to keep a look out for William and snag him as her patient when he returns. She actually read through Dr Shoffner's notes (Atlanta dr) which totally earned my respect because they are anything but an easy read. (She just wanted to understand Will's condition so she could help. Amazing!)
Will thoroughly enjoyed playing with a friend on Friday. It was a rare opportunity that was enjoyed to its full capacity. Unfortunately, what had been simmering all week became a full blown mito crash that night. He went to bed on time even though he argued with me that he had not slept well all week. At midnight, he was wide awake, came downstairs where I was working (yes, I know. I should have been in bed as well, but that basement is almost finished!!!) and said, "Feel this." He was referring to his heart rate which was a whopping 132 beats per minute. Considering that 100 is tachycardic and is our "protocol number" for an ER visit for fluids, he was well beyond the point of wondering whether we should go. No waffling here. I sent him off to get dressed while I gave instructions to my oldest two boys who also should have been in bed but weren't, emailed Billy who then came home from work in order to go with us, and packed "The Bag." (My gym bag is always ready to go. All I have to do at any given time is throw in either gym clothes or regular clothes and I'm set for an indefinite period of time.)
After deciding to head to MCV instead of Mary Washington since they have a pediatric ER, his records are all there, and his specialists are all there, we headed south. The entire trip down I kept hearing him sigh in the back seat. Not a good sign.
The short story is Will's body does not make enough energy and he has no reserve capacity. While this seems like no big deal, it's a very big deal. His organs all require ATP (energy) in order to function properly. In its absence, damage occurs and it's irreversible. That is why this disease is progressive. With each crash, we potentially damage those organs even more. Not crashing is the goal but we haven't been able to prevent these crashes from occurring regularly. The sighing on the way down was an issue because it represents his body burning excess oxygen trying to create more energy that it just is not able to produce. It is the first time that has happened, which has me concerned... Is this a progression of the disease?
In previous ER visits, one bag of fluids is all he has needed to stabilize. Last night, one really didn't quite cut it. They were looking at admitting him because they really have no clue what to do with mitochondrial disease, when I asked them to hang a second bag and run a second bolus (a lot of fluid in a short period of time). Finally, his heart rate dropped below 100 but it still bounced all over the place which means that his heart rate was inconsistent...another sign that his autonomic nervous system is not coping well.
So, we finally were discharged and arrived home at 645 this morning, just in time to say good morning to my youngest three. Billy and I managed a couple of hours of sleep (thank you older kids for helping!) but we are exhausted.
On Tuesday, I will have to call Dr Teasley and determine if we need to make any further changes in his protocol and/or medications. Until then, we just watch him for further signs of distress which will provide us with another opportunity to visit the MCV ER and hang out with Kati, our nurse last night who promised to keep a look out for William and snag him as her patient when he returns. She actually read through Dr Shoffner's notes (Atlanta dr) which totally earned my respect because they are anything but an easy read. (She just wanted to understand Will's condition so she could help. Amazing!)
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Mito. It really is a four letter word.
I finally found a mito forum, thanks to Traci. I read daily about other families and their struggles with this heinous disease. Everyone who has it presents differently, but no matter how they present, you realize that they are fighting the same battles you are.
This week, there was a family who rejoiced in the birth of a new daughter...and that night grieved over the loss of one of their other children who suffered with mito. How do you even process that? There are single moms out there who have a child in the hospital for six weeks and have to fight the school system to get their child enrolled in a home bound program.
So, we are fortunate. I home school, my son is not in the hospital, and I'm still married. Does that make today easier? Nope. When Will comes to me complaining of random pain, I have nothing to offer him. He can no longer take Tylenol, so do we take Advil? Do we just learn to deal with the random pain? For how long will we be able to do that? What about his body temp? He's suddenly burning up...but now he's cold. He's not sleeping so he is exhausted and has an insanely short fuse. There's always this sense of impending doom, like I am going to wake up tomorrow and it's gonna be an ER day instead of a day preparing for school. Oh, and we have to plan our school year to accomodate Will being non-functional and maybe my not being here to teach while still moving everyone forward.
One of the moms on the aforementioned forum wrote a blog for the National Organization of Rare Diseases. It can be read at http://www.theprojectcharity.org/blog/mito-what-mitochondrial-disease-and-its-impact-one-families-story/. It makes me very sad for her and her family because I understand what she is going through. It also makes me realize I'm not so alone in this world in grieving over my son's health issues and what it is doing to him and to my family.
Today we got a call from a case manager with our insurance company. Woohoo! We finally got a case manager. This is one of those, "I wish we didn't need it, but boy am I glad we have it" moments. Finally, one person who can help navigate the insurance nightmare. Someone who can help find ways around the appeal processes. (I have two appeals I am currently writing.) She asked me loads of questions about Will's medical history, does he take any meds (um, you mean the ten he takes every day???), and finally asked how this was affecting our family financially. Amazing.
SO, now that I am finished being depressing, I'm heading to bed. My basement is almost finished, but my office and school room look like a tropical storm took up residence. Tomorrow is another day! Maybe we'll even spend it cleaning and not in the ER!
This week, there was a family who rejoiced in the birth of a new daughter...and that night grieved over the loss of one of their other children who suffered with mito. How do you even process that? There are single moms out there who have a child in the hospital for six weeks and have to fight the school system to get their child enrolled in a home bound program.
So, we are fortunate. I home school, my son is not in the hospital, and I'm still married. Does that make today easier? Nope. When Will comes to me complaining of random pain, I have nothing to offer him. He can no longer take Tylenol, so do we take Advil? Do we just learn to deal with the random pain? For how long will we be able to do that? What about his body temp? He's suddenly burning up...but now he's cold. He's not sleeping so he is exhausted and has an insanely short fuse. There's always this sense of impending doom, like I am going to wake up tomorrow and it's gonna be an ER day instead of a day preparing for school. Oh, and we have to plan our school year to accomodate Will being non-functional and maybe my not being here to teach while still moving everyone forward.
One of the moms on the aforementioned forum wrote a blog for the National Organization of Rare Diseases. It can be read at http://www.theprojectcharity.org/blog/mito-what-mitochondrial-disease-and-its-impact-one-families-story/. It makes me very sad for her and her family because I understand what she is going through. It also makes me realize I'm not so alone in this world in grieving over my son's health issues and what it is doing to him and to my family.
Today we got a call from a case manager with our insurance company. Woohoo! We finally got a case manager. This is one of those, "I wish we didn't need it, but boy am I glad we have it" moments. Finally, one person who can help navigate the insurance nightmare. Someone who can help find ways around the appeal processes. (I have two appeals I am currently writing.) She asked me loads of questions about Will's medical history, does he take any meds (um, you mean the ten he takes every day???), and finally asked how this was affecting our family financially. Amazing.
SO, now that I am finished being depressing, I'm heading to bed. My basement is almost finished, but my office and school room look like a tropical storm took up residence. Tomorrow is another day! Maybe we'll even spend it cleaning and not in the ER!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Time flies when you're...
Hmmm...3 weeks since the last post? I am such a slacker!
I had not seen Erlene in two weeks, so today we caught up on all that transpired. She said that she felt like she hadn't talked to me in a year. Somehow I fear that a couple of weeks in our life is like a year in someone else's. :)
The short version...
Will ended up with pneumonia within three days of the cold starting (read previous post). It was a long week.
Will is now 13! Woohoo! Caty and Andrew were able to secure enough Kings Dominion tickets for all of us, so all 13 of us went there for Will's birthday. We had a wonderful day...the weather was really gorgeous. All the kids had managed to get the day off, only Billy received a letter calling him in for jury duty. He wrote a fabulous letter to the judge explaining the situation (chronic illness, birthday, entire family...) and the judge was gracious and excused him, so even Billy was able to go!
Chelsea and Chloe were here for a little over a week. Chelsea, Caty, and I have instituted a monthly night out. We were supposed to see Craig Morgan in concert in Fredericksburg, but the weather was really iffy, so we bailed on that and went out to dinner and to Carl's instead. We had a great night and stayed dry. :)
I have officially been discharged from two of my three cardiologists and am no longer on the horrid Plavix for which everyone in my life is very grateful. It was a very long three months!
You can actually walk through half of my basement which is nothing short of miraculous and represents a lot of hard work. :) The other half might actually get done this week, but that might take another miracle.
Will saw his gastroenterologist and doesn't have to go back for a year! Whoohoo! One of the meds for his autonomic dysfunction has had the added benefit of helping the gi issues (which we realize now is also part of the autonomic issues) and since that appears to be stable, we get to go to annual maintenance. Unbelieveable. A year ago we were talking about feeding tubes. Modern drugs are not so bad! :)
We were blessed with a day at the beach with some great friends...the kids actually got to see their friends, as did I. It's been a long, very lonely summer for all of us. My kids experienced jelly fish for the first time...that was exciting. Not.
I am running again! I conquered a 3.5 mile run last week so I finally feel like I am getting back to something that resembles normal...There was no running this week due to too many schedule conflicts, but I'm hoping to rectify that next week. I just might get to run that 10K in October. That would be so very cool.
For those of you who haven't seen Chris this week, well...you'll have to find out for yourselves.
Billy is still working insane hours. I'm still struggling. The kids are needing school to start, but I sorta need to find the tops of tables before we can go there. Hmmm...tables. Are there really tables under all that stuff or are those piles simply suspended in midair? I guess we'll find out...after we find the basement floor! OR maybe I'll just pretend it all away and go the the beach for the day. We'll just steer clear of those jellyfish. :)
I had not seen Erlene in two weeks, so today we caught up on all that transpired. She said that she felt like she hadn't talked to me in a year. Somehow I fear that a couple of weeks in our life is like a year in someone else's. :)
The short version...
Will ended up with pneumonia within three days of the cold starting (read previous post). It was a long week.
Will is now 13! Woohoo! Caty and Andrew were able to secure enough Kings Dominion tickets for all of us, so all 13 of us went there for Will's birthday. We had a wonderful day...the weather was really gorgeous. All the kids had managed to get the day off, only Billy received a letter calling him in for jury duty. He wrote a fabulous letter to the judge explaining the situation (chronic illness, birthday, entire family...) and the judge was gracious and excused him, so even Billy was able to go!
Chelsea and Chloe were here for a little over a week. Chelsea, Caty, and I have instituted a monthly night out. We were supposed to see Craig Morgan in concert in Fredericksburg, but the weather was really iffy, so we bailed on that and went out to dinner and to Carl's instead. We had a great night and stayed dry. :)
I have officially been discharged from two of my three cardiologists and am no longer on the horrid Plavix for which everyone in my life is very grateful. It was a very long three months!
You can actually walk through half of my basement which is nothing short of miraculous and represents a lot of hard work. :) The other half might actually get done this week, but that might take another miracle.
Will saw his gastroenterologist and doesn't have to go back for a year! Whoohoo! One of the meds for his autonomic dysfunction has had the added benefit of helping the gi issues (which we realize now is also part of the autonomic issues) and since that appears to be stable, we get to go to annual maintenance. Unbelieveable. A year ago we were talking about feeding tubes. Modern drugs are not so bad! :)
We were blessed with a day at the beach with some great friends...the kids actually got to see their friends, as did I. It's been a long, very lonely summer for all of us. My kids experienced jelly fish for the first time...that was exciting. Not.
I am running again! I conquered a 3.5 mile run last week so I finally feel like I am getting back to something that resembles normal...There was no running this week due to too many schedule conflicts, but I'm hoping to rectify that next week. I just might get to run that 10K in October. That would be so very cool.
For those of you who haven't seen Chris this week, well...you'll have to find out for yourselves.
Billy is still working insane hours. I'm still struggling. The kids are needing school to start, but I sorta need to find the tops of tables before we can go there. Hmmm...tables. Are there really tables under all that stuff or are those piles simply suspended in midair? I guess we'll find out...after we find the basement floor! OR maybe I'll just pretend it all away and go the the beach for the day. We'll just steer clear of those jellyfish. :)
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Groundhog Day
Is Groundhog Day in February or is it really in August and no one told me they changed it? I feel like I awaken with a plan and in ten minutes, that plan and about four others are shot to pieces and I simply end up hanging on to a very thin rope with a fraying knot at the end and praying that it holds til the end of the day.
Top it off with Will starting a cold, at least I think it's a cold. He's really stuffy and now he's tachycardic. We have an appt with Dr Teasley at MCV tomorrow afternoon...which either gives us time to get through the ER before seeing her, or he miraculously feels better in the morning and we can work on my first plan for the day...or not. :) He's becoming lethargic and dizzy and... Welcome to mitochondrial disease! The new normal is a weekly ER visit.
Which brings us to the new dilemna...with weekly infusions (IV fluids), the recommendation of a port is going to become a topic of discussion. Do we put in a port or do we not? Given a mito patient's issues with infections (their bodies don't handle them well), will a port help or be yet another problem? I remember when the decisions were along the lines of, "Do we sign them up for soccer or baseball?" Those were much easier decisions with lots fewer consequences.
We still have Chloe, who has decided that I really am not a potted plant, which, btw, is very cool. She gave me a huge hug this morning and actually took her bath this evening without screaming! Chelsea called and asked if we wanted her to pick her up tomorrow, and I am like, "Um, I just bought her soy yogurt and almond milk and I got a vegan cookbook from the library (ok...Billy picked it up!), so maybe by Sunday??? :) However, she may eat Fredericksburg out of blueberries, so she may have to head to Charlottesville at that point. The child devoured a pound of them at lunch! We have to hide the blueberries or she will eat all four pounds in one sitting!
So, it's been a long week. I have my granddaughter which is a silver lining. Will is unwell which is a huge cloud around that silver lining. But the kids are sleeping, Andrew is on his way home, and I am heading for bed! Before midnight!
Top it off with Will starting a cold, at least I think it's a cold. He's really stuffy and now he's tachycardic.
Which brings us to the new dilemna...with weekly infusions (IV fluids), the recommendation of a port is going to become a topic of discussion. Do we put in a port or do we not? Given a mito patient's issues with infections (their bodies don't handle them well), will a port help or be yet another problem?
We still have Chloe, who has decided that I really am not a potted plant, which, btw, is very cool. She gave me a huge hug this morning and actually took her bath this evening without screaming! Chelsea called and asked if we wanted her to pick her up tomorrow, and I am like, "Um, I just bought her soy yogurt and almond milk and I got a vegan cookbook from the library (ok...Billy picked it up!), so maybe by Sunday??? :) However, she may eat Fredericksburg out of blueberries, so she may have to head to Charlottesville at that point. The child devoured a pound of them at lunch! We have to hide the blueberries or she will eat all four pounds in one sitting!
So, it's been a long week. I have my granddaughter which is a silver lining. Will is unwell which is a huge cloud around that silver lining. But the kids are sleeping, Andrew is on his way home, and I am heading for bed! Before midnight!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Home
Yes, we did actually make it home! We arrived home a little after ten Thursday evening having stopped by Pancho Villa for dinner and a greatly enjoyed margarita. :)
For a quick update...Will started a new med to boost his blood pressure. It seems to be working, but he looks a bit...chipmunkish. :) The medication causes the body to retain sodium which in turn causes the body to retain fluid which boosts the blood pressure. Well, he has plenty of fluid in those cheeks! He looks like he gained ten pounds!
Saturday, Will started his new supplements. (Did I mention that Steve at Goolricks totally rocks???) The insurance company is willing to pay an insanely large sum of money to cover one of these supplements, and Steve is willing to compound it for Will. Unfortunately, this medication is apparently insanely horrid to taste. So, please pray for William to either adjust to the taste or to at least be willing to take it without a battle, because right now, he is very UNhappy with his current distasteful lot in life. These supplements are really important in the slowing of the progression of the disease, but fighting William three times a day is going to get old really fast. So maybe you should pray that I don't grow weary of fighting? Um, can we just pray that William takes them without massive complaining instead? :)
We have Chloe once again (I picked her up this evening) since Chelsea now appears to have the flu. We're thrilled, she's uncertain, and Chelsea is just miserable. :)
I'm off to bed. It's already tomorrow. Ugh!
For a quick update...Will started a new med to boost his blood pressure. It seems to be working, but he looks a bit...chipmunkish. :) The medication causes the body to retain sodium which in turn causes the body to retain fluid which boosts the blood pressure. Well, he has plenty of fluid in those cheeks! He looks like he gained ten pounds!
Saturday, Will started his new supplements. (Did I mention that Steve at Goolricks totally rocks???) The insurance company is willing to pay an insanely large sum of money to cover one of these supplements, and Steve is willing to compound it for Will. Unfortunately, this medication is apparently insanely horrid to taste. So, please pray for William to either adjust to the taste or to at least be willing to take it without a battle, because right now, he is very UNhappy with his current distasteful lot in life. These supplements are really important in the slowing of the progression of the disease, but fighting William three times a day is going to get old really fast. So maybe you should pray that I don't grow weary of fighting? Um, can we just pray that William takes them without massive complaining instead? :)
We have Chloe once again (I picked her up this evening) since Chelsea now appears to have the flu. We're thrilled, she's uncertain, and Chelsea is just miserable. :)
I'm off to bed. It's already tomorrow. Ugh!
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Homeward Bound
Will got to bed insanely late last night since I was dealing with the co-op order, so I let him sleep as late as he needed this morning. Well, by the time the child finally awoke, he felt infinitely better than yesterday, but I was famished! He showered quickly and we headed to Bob Evans, his new favorite restaurant. :)
We purchased a card game at the zoo yesterday called, "rats", which apparently resembles ERS (not that I would know) and we played it while waiting for our breakfast while I finally enjoyed a really good cup of coffee. Will won, to the amusement of the older couple beside us. The gentleman asked Will if he had cheated. :)
We did head back to the zoo and had a really good time. We meandered really slowly which was good since there were several rainy downpours. Fortunately, they all occurred while we were in buildings or under shelter. The sun finally came out but the temp had cooled.
We watched a family of monkeys interacting. They were so cool. There was a 7 month old monkey, his older sibling, and the parents...They were totally astounding to watch...their communication, the way the little one challenged his boundaries, they way he grabbed hold of his mom as she swung by him. They were fascinating.
We also saw hippos (They have big bodies and little legs!) and a training session for the two African elephants. The trainer actually tossed a ball to the 6 yo male elephant; he picked it up and accurately tossed it back...they blew water out of their trunks on demand, flapped their ears, swayed back and forth...it was truly amazing. The head trainer was chatting right behind me and stated that the mother, when younger, would stand on her back legs and slam a frisbee. Very cool. Very smart!
We went to a Toledo favorite for dinner...Tony Packo's. For MASH fans, it was the restaurant the Klinger mentioned 7 times during the run of the show. Several people told me about it, so I thought it would be cool to do something Toledo-like. We were seated in the bar area (the place was hopping!) and had a really gracious server. She chatted with Will and gave us samples of German potato salad because she wasn't sure if we would like it. We tried fried pickles (I did say tried!), had their famous hot dogs (yes, twice I get to shock you!), but the best part was the cabbage roll. It was so good...like my mom used to make and I wish I could replicate. We ordered an apple strudel to go (not as good as if it were warm with ice cream!), but it brought back some really good memories.
We headed back to the hotel for a run (yay! Finally!) and a swim, then up to pack and get Will to bed. I am sitting here in the dark so he can get his beauty rest while I update everyone.
We head home tomorrow morning. Marcia and kids will arrive here at 830 for our long trek home.
Thank you for your prayers and for the encouraging comments...
We purchased a card game at the zoo yesterday called, "rats", which apparently resembles ERS (not that I would know) and we played it while waiting for our breakfast while I finally enjoyed a really good cup of coffee. Will won, to the amusement of the older couple beside us. The gentleman asked Will if he had cheated. :)
We did head back to the zoo and had a really good time. We meandered really slowly which was good since there were several rainy downpours. Fortunately, they all occurred while we were in buildings or under shelter. The sun finally came out but the temp had cooled.
We watched a family of monkeys interacting. They were so cool. There was a 7 month old monkey, his older sibling, and the parents...They were totally astounding to watch...their communication, the way the little one challenged his boundaries, they way he grabbed hold of his mom as she swung by him. They were fascinating.
We also saw hippos (They have big bodies and little legs!) and a training session for the two African elephants. The trainer actually tossed a ball to the 6 yo male elephant; he picked it up and accurately tossed it back...they blew water out of their trunks on demand, flapped their ears, swayed back and forth...it was truly amazing. The head trainer was chatting right behind me and stated that the mother, when younger, would stand on her back legs and slam a frisbee. Very cool. Very smart!
We went to a Toledo favorite for dinner...Tony Packo's. For MASH fans, it was the restaurant the Klinger mentioned 7 times during the run of the show. Several people told me about it, so I thought it would be cool to do something Toledo-like. We were seated in the bar area (the place was hopping!) and had a really gracious server. She chatted with Will and gave us samples of German potato salad because she wasn't sure if we would like it. We tried fried pickles (I did say tried!), had their famous hot dogs (yes, twice I get to shock you!), but the best part was the cabbage roll. It was so good...like my mom used to make and I wish I could replicate. We ordered an apple strudel to go (not as good as if it were warm with ice cream!), but it brought back some really good memories.
We headed back to the hotel for a run (yay! Finally!) and a swim, then up to pack and get Will to bed. I am sitting here in the dark so he can get his beauty rest while I update everyone.
We head home tomorrow morning. Marcia and kids will arrive here at 830 for our long trek home.
Thank you for your prayers and for the encouraging comments...
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