Happy Halloween!!!
Well, it’s been another busy week for us…but it’s been good. We traveled to Iowa City on Monday for follow up appointments. Matt had an MRI in the morning, and we met with the Neuro doctor afterwards. Nothing new to report on the MRI…it looks pretty much the same and we all agreed that we’ll just continue to follow it for now. It was good news indeed! We had a few hours to kill before seeing the eye doctor, so we went and had a yummy lunch at Old Chicago…then stopped in for some Hawkeye gear shopping at a local Hawk shop. We browsed and browsed for quite a while…and were quite surprised at all the things you could buy with Hawkeye stuff on them…flip flops, toilet seats, purses, clocks, lamps…you name it! I was on a mission for a new IA sweatshirt to wear to the upcoming IA/MN game we’re heading to on the 10th of November…and of course, I was successful! And Matt got a new hat and t-shirt as well.
Matt’s follow up with the eye doctor went well also. We discussed the possibility of one more surgery to try and fix the tilting which is still an issue for Matt. There is no way of knowing for sure if fixing the tilting will result in Matt’s brain being able to fuse the two images together…but we have to hope that it would, and all agreed to go for it. There’s not much to lose at this point, and the possibility of seeing without a patch is just too good to pass up. The doctor is filled up through the end of the year, so we have the surgery set for January 15th.
It’s funny…sometimes when Matt and I have all day trips like that, we have the best conversations. I can’t tell you the many times we’ve had such good talks while waiting for doctors in exam rooms. Sometimes we’ll be goofy and tease each other and other times we’ll talk openly about the future and our hopes for it. Monday was no exception.
We talked a lot about Matt going to China and how much he hopes it can bring some real healing for him. He talked about hoping that his speech and tremor could be improved…but what struck me most was what he said as we sat waiting for the eye doctor. He was sitting in the exam chair, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped. He talked so frankly, and looked so natural…and then he said overall, he’s a pretty happy guy…and I just sat there looking at him, looking at Matt, and I felt so much admiration and love for him. I know that sometimes people must feel sorry for him, or think that he doesn’t have much of a life…but they’d be wrong. I know that not everyone gets to see Matt as I do…but believe me when I say that he is doing pretty well. He is looking forward to the future and we are praying for more good things to come. We have been blessed in so many ways…and we are so thankful.
Last night we enjoyed the trick-or-treaters as we watched ‘It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown’.
Here’s another Matt fact…he loves the old Peanuts movies!!! (I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to know that I put that out there for everyone to read!!) We carved up our pumpkins on Monday night when we got home from Iowa City…as we watched Dancing with the Stars (yes, he DOES enjoy it!) so we were all ready for the Halloween festivities last night. It was a great night for it, and we had a good turn out. I couldn’t help but think of how this will be the last Halloween in this house, and wonder how many kids we’ll have come out next year. I can’t wait!!!
Well, it’s been another busy week for us…but it’s been good. We traveled to Iowa City on Monday for follow up appointments. Matt had an MRI in the morning, and we met with the Neuro doctor afterwards. Nothing new to report on the MRI…it looks pretty much the same and we all agreed that we’ll just continue to follow it for now. It was good news indeed! We had a few hours to kill before seeing the eye doctor, so we went and had a yummy lunch at Old Chicago…then stopped in for some Hawkeye gear shopping at a local Hawk shop. We browsed and browsed for quite a while…and were quite surprised at all the things you could buy with Hawkeye stuff on them…flip flops, toilet seats, purses, clocks, lamps…you name it! I was on a mission for a new IA sweatshirt to wear to the upcoming IA/MN game we’re heading to on the 10th of November…and of course, I was successful! And Matt got a new hat and t-shirt as well.
Matt’s follow up with the eye doctor went well also. We discussed the possibility of one more surgery to try and fix the tilting which is still an issue for Matt. There is no way of knowing for sure if fixing the tilting will result in Matt’s brain being able to fuse the two images together…but we have to hope that it would, and all agreed to go for it. There’s not much to lose at this point, and the possibility of seeing without a patch is just too good to pass up. The doctor is filled up through the end of the year, so we have the surgery set for January 15th.
It’s funny…sometimes when Matt and I have all day trips like that, we have the best conversations. I can’t tell you the many times we’ve had such good talks while waiting for doctors in exam rooms. Sometimes we’ll be goofy and tease each other and other times we’ll talk openly about the future and our hopes for it. Monday was no exception.
We talked a lot about Matt going to China and how much he hopes it can bring some real healing for him. He talked about hoping that his speech and tremor could be improved…but what struck me most was what he said as we sat waiting for the eye doctor. He was sitting in the exam chair, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped. He talked so frankly, and looked so natural…and then he said overall, he’s a pretty happy guy…and I just sat there looking at him, looking at Matt, and I felt so much admiration and love for him. I know that sometimes people must feel sorry for him, or think that he doesn’t have much of a life…but they’d be wrong. I know that not everyone gets to see Matt as I do…but believe me when I say that he is doing pretty well. He is looking forward to the future and we are praying for more good things to come. We have been blessed in so many ways…and we are so thankful. Last night we enjoyed the trick-or-treaters as we watched ‘It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown’.
Here’s another Matt fact…he loves the old Peanuts movies!!! (I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to know that I put that out there for everyone to read!!) We carved up our pumpkins on Monday night when we got home from Iowa City…as we watched Dancing with the Stars (yes, he DOES enjoy it!) so we were all ready for the Halloween festivities last night. It was a great night for it, and we had a good turn out. I couldn’t help but think of how this will be the last Halloween in this house, and wonder how many kids we’ll have come out next year. I can’t wait!!! 
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