Make a Wish Trip

Well, we are home after a fun filled weekend in SoCal (Southern California!)  We left Salt Lake early Friday morning.  The kids were so excited to watch the airplanes at the airport.  This is the first time K&K have flown.  Tim flew when he was 2 years old and Mak was just an infant.  So the flight was full of firsts for all the kids!  We got to LAX around 11, ate some lunch-outside-and hit the beach!  After the beach, we found our hotel, which was in the vicinity of the LA Temple, and chilled out!  Tim spent most of the evening cleaning the sand out of his leg :)

Mak, Kelli, Tim & Katie at Venice Beach

Tim loved the surf, prosthesis and all!

 Saturday morning was another early day as we had to drive north to the San Fernando Valley for Tim's jet flight.  My stomach was in knots all morning!  And it stayed in knots until Tim was safely back on the ground!  He had a great time and did not throw up.  Although towards the end of his 45 minute ride, he said he felt a little light-headed :0  Tim actually got to fly the jet for about half of the flight!  Very cool:)  The rest of the day was spent at the Santa Monica Pier.  We ate lunch there, the kids rode most of the rides on the pier, and we played in the water until the sun set.  An amazing day!!

Tim all ready to go-call sign "Hollywood!"

Tim after the flight.  Still all smiles from that boy!!

Kids at the Santa Monica Pier

Perfect Sunset for Tim's perfect day!!

 Sunday, the California Make A Wish chapter arranged for us to visit "Universal Studios Hollywood."  What a fun park!  And, we had VIP passes which made it nice to go to the front of the lines and go behind the scenes at some of the shows.  We did the studio tour twice because the kids really liked the King Kong 3D show.  And the Jurassic Park and Mummy rides were a hit as well!  It's the perfect place to go for a day outing!  We stayed at the park all day-9 hours of fun:)

Kids at the entrance to the park!

Wrights in Hollywood-yea baby!

 We spent Monday morning at Venice Beach again.  I had hoped to go to the Griffith Observatory or the La Brea Tar Pits sometime during our trip.  But, the kids loved the beach and wanted to try swimming in the ocean.  So, we checked out of our luxury hotel room, grabbed some doughnuts for breakfast and headed for the beach.  At the beach, the kids slowly inched their way into the water until all were waist deep and laughing with excitement!  Cory and I sat on the beach and watched the kids.  It was the perfect way to end the trip.  After the kids dried off and got some clothes on, we walked the Venice Boardwalk to pick up some last minute souvenirs.  Then it was off to the airport and homeward bound!

Mak, Tim, Kelli & Katie playing in the sand after getting wet!

Kids at Venice Beach-again!

Thank you Debbie and Kelly-our wish grantors-for an amazing trip!  Tim's jet flight was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I am sure he will never forget!  Make a Wish is an amazing organization.  Check them out here!

Davis High School

 Last Friday night, Cory, Tim, Mik and I traveled north to Kaysville to attend a Davis High School Boy's Basketball game.  Why Davis High you ask when Herriman High is practically around the corner from us?  Well, Davis High fund raised for Tim's Make a Wish trip!  How awesome is that?!  The school's business club chose Tim's wish, out of many, to raise funds for.  All school year long, they have been doing numerous fund raisers.  The school asked us to attend a basketball game where Tim would be a honorary team captain.  Tim was given a school shirt and a jersey.   He tossed the jump ball to start the game.  He sat on the bench with the team and went into the locker room before the game, during half-time and after the game!  And more fund raising was done at the game!  Very cool and everyone was super nice!  It was a great night and the Davis Darts won the game:)  Thanks so much!

 Tim getting a whistle and some pointers from a ref before the game!

 Tossing up the jump ball!  It went a little too high for the players ;)

Tim in his brown jersey, aka the dress, during a time-out :)

Tim with the Basketball Team and Business Club!

Screw's Out!

Tim is "officially" missing a screw now! :)  This morning we were at PCMC before the thought of dawn waiting for an OR.  The whole procedure took right around an hour.  Then I spent another 2 hours sitting next to Tim while he woke up from the medicine.  He had a hard time feeling like he wouldn't throw up:(  Eventually, he dressed and we headed home.  Check out his screw!

3 Month Check-Up

Yesterday, Tim and I spent the day downtown.  We first met with Tim's surgeon.  After an x-ray, Dr. J said that all looked good, but that the loose screw in Tim's rotation needed to come out.  So, sometime here in the near future, Tim will have yet another surgery to remove that screw.  Nothing to worry about, just a quick in and out of the OR kind of thing!  Tim did some lab work and had a chest CT before we met with his oncologist.  Everything looks great!  And, Tim's blood counts are on their way up.  I would post numbers, but it means absolutely nothing, just know that he is still in REMISSION!!

(Tim and cancer buddy Eric whom he ran into at clinic.  He was also in for his 3 month check-up and doing great!)

 (Tim and Eric showing off their prosthetics!)

After a full morning at PCMC, we headed over to Shriner's to meet with a new prosthetist.  He watched Tim walk and said that Tim is growing out of his leg.  So, Tim got fitted for a new leg.  Hopefully one that will make it so Tim can walk a little easier and run.  We go back next week for another fitting!

With this check-up, Tim no longer has to take Septra, a medicine that prevents Tim from getting phenomia.  He is now completely pill free, and I no longer have to keep a log of what he's taking and when.  I was able to add to Tim's stack of ever-growing cancer papers.  The stack measures 6 inches tall.  It includes a binder from the hospital full of information and resources, discharge info, Rx papers, insurance claims and receipts from bills paid.  His pile is bigger than all our papers from the year 2011!

What a Day!

Tim is having a GREAT time at ski camp. He has picked up skiing with three skies quickly. It took him 2 hours to ski down one of the green runs though. But, he did start at the very top of the mountain and went all the way down. What a kid!! Outside of skiing, he is having a blast. They've been bowling and he liked how much $5 got him at Wendy's!! Here are some pics that his counselor sent!

(Tim on the slopes!)

(Tim with Hunter, his room-mate. I think the thumbs up are for the mountain dew they are drinking!)

A year ago today, Tim had his MRI on the left leg. What a day! I still remember getting worried after an hour had passed and still no word. Then there was sitting in the room and being told that it looked like Tim had bone cancer and that the office had made a call to Primary's to set more tests up. I remember walking down the hall after getting the news, tears forming in my eyes and Tim looking up at me and saying, "Mom, it's only bone cancer." The rest of the day was spent in a daze. I met my Mom at Wendy's and she went in and got us some lunch because I couldn't talk. Then there was the phone call to Cory-he was in Denver at the time. He got a flight home that night. Primary's called numerous appointments were already set up with doctors on Friday. (Boy were they quick and very nice!) Cory and Tim went to a Jazz game while my Mom and I took the girls to Olive Garden for dinner. Wow!!

Tim Skiing

Tim was highly encouraged to ski using one foot ski and two hand skies. He said that he fell down a lot Monday, but that today, Tuesday, he did much better and went "faster!"



A year ago today, I took Tim to the urgent care to have his leg looked at. I thought it was a hair-line fracture. The doctor thought it was Osgood Schlatter Disease. So, an MRI was ordered for the next day :(

"Un-limb-ited" Ski Camp

Today we dropped Tim off at Shriner's so he could attend a 4 day/5 night ski camp in Park City. He gets to ski here and get help from this! We are so excited for him to ski once again and to learn how to ski with a prosthesis. All the details will come later in the week once he is home and rested :) We were informed that the camp will be on the news this week, so I will post a link, if there is one! Until then, say your prayers and/or think good thoughts for Tim this week!

As part of the application process, Tim had to write a short essay on why he wanted to go to camp. This is what he wrote:

"My name is Timothy Wright, i got diagonosed with Ewings sarcome in my left leg in January. In May I had a surgery called rotation plasty and became an amputee. I would like to go to the ski camp because I have been skiing before and had a blast. I love going sking in the winter. I think I would have a better time at the camp because I would be around other amputees and learn how to ski with my prosthetic leg so I can go sking with my dad like what I was doing before."

(All spelling, punctuation, and grammar is original to Tim's essay!)


(Maybe Tim will ski like this!)



(But he will most likely ski like this!)

"Mom, I lost a screw!"

"What?"

"Actually, I lost two screws today at school, but a classmate fought the big one. We couldn't find the little one."

"What?"

"I was running at school in my theatre class, and two screws on my leg fell off!"

This is the conversation Tim and I had when I picked him up from school today. Not your average after-school conversation for most families, but for us-heck anything goes anymore! As soon as we pulled into the garage, Tim went to Cory's shop and got the biggest screw driver he could find and proceeded to tighten up the big screw that wasn't lost.

(Tightening up the inside.)

(And now the outside!)

We are not too worried about this event. Next week, Tim is going to ski camp with Shriner's. Then the following week, he is going back to Primary's for another set of scans and test. After our morning at Primary's, we are going to Shriner's so Tim can get fitted for a new leg! His therapist and the prosthetist both agree that Tim's current prosthesis is limiting him from getting really active again. So, it's time for a new leg now, not in the spring like we were told a couple of months ago!

Happy New Year and Birthday!

Welcome 2012! We are so excited for a New Year:) 2011 went out quietly for us. We just hung out at the house. The kids played video games and watched tv while Cory and I watched some movies. We also decorated some more cake pops and the kids made Dip-n-dots. The kitchen was a mess, but the kids had a great time! At midnight, the neighborhood came alive with fireworks and horns. K&K barely stayed awake to see the festivities!

(Tim, Kelli, Katie, Mik and Mak New Year's Eve)

(Dipping the cake pops into chocolate and sprinkles!)

Every January 1st we not only get to welcome in a New Year, but we get to celebrate Cory's birthday. Cory is not a huge fan of his birthday, so we kept it small. It was just the six of us for dinner and the opening of a few gifts. For cake and ice-cream a couple of neighbors came over. I didn't have quite enough candles for the cake, so I put on all that I had. I lost count somewhere around 25:)

(Kelli, Tim, Cory, Katie and Mak)

Another big milestone happened on New Year's Day as well. I trimmed Tim's hair. His neck line was nasty, so I quickly cleaned it up before he showered. Oh boy was he upset with me. He has never liked having his hair cut. And now that it is growing again, he was not happy with me at all. I got a picture of his "attitude," but the camera malfunctioned and I lost it:( I am sure there will be more pictures though!

Lights!

My Dad came to visit the day after Christmas for a couple of days. While he was here, Tim had a physical therapy session at Shriner's, so I loaded all the kids up and my Dad and took them downtown. After PT, we met Cory for dinner at Chuck-a-Rama! Then we rode Trax to Temple Square where we walked around for awhile taking in all the sights. We didn't spend a lot of time there because Tim's rotation was bugging him. PT and Temple Square is still a lot for him, but we are working on building up his endurance:) Here are a few pictures from the night!

(Tim, my Dad, Kelli, Katie, Mak and Cory at the Trax station. The kids were so excited to ride the train!)

(The temple and my favorite tree!)

(Mak, Kelli, Katie and Tim next to the door of the temple. They were so excited to get up close to the building and look at all the details! You would have thought it was Christmas morning all over again!)

(Chilly night, but worth the red noses and pink cheeks! Amanda, Mak, Katie, Cory, Tim, Kelli)

(Back on Trax. This time the kids tried to stay standing as the train made turns and stops!)

Christmas 2011

Christmas Day came and went so fast! The kids were up a little after 7. (All four of them slept in K&K's room upstairs.) While Cory and I got up and checked out Santa's doings downstairs, the kids rummaged through their stockings. Then they came downstairs! It's always so much fun to see their expressions when they come downstairs and see what is waiting for them! By 8:30, all the presents were opened and the kids were busy putting things together and trying clothes on!

(Tim and Katie checking out some of their presents!)

(Mak making some "Dip-n-Dots")

At 9am, we went to a neighbors house for breakfast. They were serving traditional Swedish crepes and sausage. We took over some cinnamon rolls and orange juice. We stayed for about an hour, then went home and quickly got ready for 11am church. Good thing we only had sacrament because the kids were ready to get home put more things together!

(Katie and Mak putting a slither scooter together.)

(Cory putting Kelli's scooter together)

(Tim putting his space shuttle lego together)

(Katie and Kelli watching movie with their new hats on before going to bed)

(The next day, Cory and Tim put together Cory's new grill. It's both a grill and a smoker!)