A slow return to normal

 As with many others, after of year of being pretty isolated and extremely careful with interactions we are all starting to feel the toll that is taking on us. So this past few weeks we are looking for areas in which we can carefully and "safely" branch out a bit and try and fill our needs for interaction outside of the 6 of us. Bruce and I are vaccinated, as are my parents. We are working on finding somewhere to vaccinate Alex, but based on past severe reactions to vaccines (some landing him in the PICU) we can not go to a vaccination hub. He has to be closely monitored. Luckily, both of my kids have had to wear masks at times for most of their lives so they are happy to wear masks if it means we can go on a few adventures! 

Alex takes s'more making seriously!

Out of the house!

Learning a new class

And so Maddy has continued with her horseback riding, we have gone for ice cream a few times, we ate at a restaurant that had outdoor seating, we went for a ride to explore, Bruce is back to playing soccer, and for the first time in a year I went to church. It was so good to sit in the sanctuary and see familiar faces and worship together. (I am SO proud of our church for handling the Pandemic amazingly well and being extremely cautious and safe). 

We have also had quite a few medical appointments over the past two weeks. The kids had several and mom had an unexpected dental procedure and cataract surgery so we have stayed pretty busy. 

Let me give a quick round up on everyone...

I am doing pretty well. I stay extremely busy between school for the kids, doctors appointments, Maddy's therapy/riding, keeping the house running and helping Mimi and PopPop when needed. I am excited to start back with my workout group in a few weeks.

Bruce is doing well. He has finished his last round of Chemo, but has several appointments coming up as we continue to monitor spots that are concerning. He has an ERCP to look at his pancreas in May, scans again in June and a colonoscopy in July. He is happy to be back playing soccer. He LOVES his job.

Alex is having a hard time right now. For the first time he is really lonely. While he has had less social interaction over the past few years as friends have gotten busier with activities at school, he has always had church. He knew that each Sunday he would see friends and spend time laughing and chatting. It filled his soul for the week. For a year he has missed those friendships and it is starting to catch up to him. We have also not been able to have his violin lessons or do any of our typical fundraising. So he has been really limited and truly has only seen us and doctors. I have signed him up for an interactive class via zoom studied something that interests him in hopes that "seeing" and talking to people will help. Medically, he has some stuff going on...He had a concerning MRI of his spine. His neurologist is reviewing it to determine if he will need surgery. He is also pretty anemic. He is having an iron infusion this week in hopes that his counts will rebound because giving blood is a little more complicated after his severe reaction in June. 

Maddy is good. She continues to work hard for me at school. She is a really good little reader and is getting better all the time. Like in most areas of her life she is capable of much more than she realizes. Lately though, I catch her reading things without even thinking about it. She is doing well in ballet and art. She loves her teacher the time they spend together each week. But as she would tell you, horses are her life. She lives, eats, breathes, plays horses. It is all she thinks about and if it were up to her she would be at the barn 24/7. She continues to improve in her riding skill, but more importantly in her confidence and her infectious smile and giggles are back when she is riding. They say it takes a village and with Maddy she has an incredible village behind her encouraging her and reminding her she can do anything! Healthwise with her...she continues to struggle to gain weight. She also experiences fatigue and nausea after every time she exercises (which makes the fact she loves riding even more remarkable).  Before we even get to the car she tells me she feels sick and repeats it all the way home. We have tried a few things, but after checking some labs we are going to do some further testing to rule out a diagnosis that Alex has. Her knees and other joints continue to be an issue, but she continues to push through as we try to hold off on surgery as long as possible. We have been working with our trainer each Saturday and Hart is doing amazing. We had our first outing in public this weekend and Maddy and Hart handled it like pros. We will continue to work with him as he is still really young!

Please continue to pray for us as we navigate health challenges and how to safely venture out in the world again.

Ali