There may be more than 1 update each month - please scroll down to check.
August has been a busy and exciting month for us. Here are the highlights. On August 12th Courtney turned 17. We had a small family party for her. This year she looked so much better than last year’s birthday, her meds are so much better this year. Two days after her birthday we got a call from Make-A-Wish that we would be leaving on Sunday, August 16th. For the next few days we were busy packing and had to make arrangements to ship Courtney’s dialysis fluid to California. On August 15th for Courtney’s birthday present, we took her to Living Treasures Animal Park down towards Pittsburgh. Courtney loved it and she got to feed and pet a lot of animals.
From Courtney’s View:
Day 1 (Sunday): Drove to Pittsburgh and stayed at a hotel right on the airport grounds.
Day 2 (Monday): Went to the airport and flew to Chicago. Waited awhile and then flew to LA. Got there and a lady had a sign and flowers for me! She took us to the car rental and then to our hotel. Then we walked to the mall just a block or two away and ate at the food court. It was only 3 there but we felt like it was 6 and we were hungry! Then we walked back and got in the car. You have to call down and they bring your car out. Then, when you get back, you give them the keys and they take care of it! We went to Hollywood. Looked at some of the stars on the Walk of Fame, went to the Hollywood Wax Museum, and saw the handprints and footprints some actors did at that theater. Walked around the mall some more and went back to the hotel. 9 and we were tired! Went to bed.
Day 3 (Tuesday): Woke up and got our car. Drove to Artist's salon and met him! Bumpy Johnson came running out and I was petting him for a while. I asked my mom if I could pick him up and hold him and she said sure. So I did, and Artist came out right when I did. I was scared he was going to yell at me for just picking up his dog, but he didn't. He put his arm around me and said to take a picture. So my mom took some of the three of us. He hugged us both when we got there and when we left. Then we continued on to Universal Studios. Had a blast there!! We went on a tour and saw the sets and special effects. Got wet!! Watched a couple of shows; Animal Actors and Special Effects. Those were awesome!! Went on a couple rides; The Simpsons Ride (a virtual rollercoaster) and The Jurassic Park Ride (a water ride, the only rollercoaster part was at the end, and it was a steep drop). We went on both rides twice. My mom didn't go on the water ride, she held our stuff. Took pictures with different characters. Ate and bought some stuff. Went back to the hotel and went to bed.
Day 4 (Wednesday): Woke up went down to the lobby and met with Lauren, our Make-A-Wish lady from LA. She got us in the limo with Lamar, our driver for the day. We went to Burbank to the studios. When we got there we first saw Jen. She's been working with Cesar for 4 years. She took us around a little bit and showed us the front. I got to hold Leo the whole time! Then she showed us where they edit the shows. The guy was working on one at the time that was almost done. It's set to be the first episode of season 6 on October 9th. We got to watch the whole thing. Then Jen took us to Aaron, who showed us around the rest of the place. We met with the other workers and learned what they do. Then we went to the front and everyone was bringing their dogs out to see me and take pictures! It's mandatory to take your dog to work there!! So I got to meet everyone's dogs!! They all just loved me and licked me! Then, got back in the limo and drove to a restaurant in Venice. Right across the street from the beach! While we waited for them to come (we were early) we went to the beach. Then walked back and there he was. I think we were both a little like "Uhh... what do I do?" at first. But when we sat down and started eating he seemed to relax and get more comfortable and we were talking and having a great time! The whole crew ate with us, too! Then one of them told Cesar my birthday was the week before, so he ordered a piece of cake with a candle for me! They all sang happy birthday and clapped when I blew out the candle. He said, "Make a wish! Another one!" We all laughed. It was cheesecake and it was really good. It had strawberries around it and chocolate around the edge of the plate that said "Happy Birthday"! Then we got back in the limo and went to a house. They were filming an episode at a lady's house. We were outside, and they were just finishing up with interviews and stuff. When we were at the studio he was at the house learning about the dog and the situation. He said the dog was dangerous and ready to snap at any moment. He was taking it back to the center, so there wasn't much to do after that when we were there. So we sat on the sidewalk and just chatted some more. Then he went in for an interview, and they brought over Daddy and Junior! Took pictures with them. Someone told Cesar my mom was afraid of dogs!! He said she was going to get over that. He gave her the leashes to Daddy and Junior. You could see she was tense, her arms weren't relaxed at her sides. He went to her and put her arms down and told her to relax. Then she had to get down on her knee with them. haha It was funny!! Then he took the leashes back. But they needed him for more filming, so he gave ME the leashes. I was in charge of his dogs!! =D Then we had to walk to the other side of the fence so we wouldn't be in the shot. I got to walk his dogs! YAY! Then he came back and gave me a hug and I gave him the leashes back. Then he said, "Is this ok? I don't have anything else I can give you." I was like, "...Y-Yeah. That's fine." And he took his jacket off and put it on me! So, when you see the episode Unadoptable Maury the jacket he's wearing in it, is now mine. =) Then we got back in the limo and back to the hotel. Got our car and went to Madame Tussauds wax museum. Then back to the hotel and went to bed.
Day 5 (Thursday): Woke up and got our car. Went to the LA Zoo. It was really hot though. Walked around and saw maybe half the zoo. There was a lot of walking and it was really really hot. The zoo is in the valley, and the weather there was in the 90's-100's!! A lot different from where our hotel was with temperatures in the 70's. After that we went back to the hotel and packed everything up. Went to bed.
Day 6 (Friday): Woke up and left the hotel by 5:30. Got to the airport around 6, after we checked out of the hotel and returned the rental car. Went through security and waited for our flight...at 8:50. Got on and went back to Chicago. Practically ran to the next gate while grabbing some McDonald's on the way and ate a lot of the food on the plane. That's how little time we had to get from one to the other. Got to Pittsburgh and drove home. Got home around 9 and ate dinner. By then our stomachs had adjusted to LA time and we were ready for dinner. haha Went home and pretty much straight to bed.
THE END
We arrived home on Friday night. The next week we were still very busy. On Monday morning at 9:00 AM Brandon had incoming Freshman Orientation at the High School. Then he went on to all day long football camp. Brandon continued to have all day long football camp for the whole week which kept him very busy. We had to work on Brandon’s schedule several times this week before it had what he wanted. On Thursday night he went over to the school for meet the teacher night.
On Tuesday the local newspaper came to interview Courtney about her disease, her Make-A-Wish trip and her benefit.
On Wednesday, Courtney had her monthly Clinic visit at Children’s Hospital and her blood levels are at a good spot. After Children’s Hospital we had to go to Magee’s Women’s Hospital in the afternoon to have a sonogram of her ovaries. It showed that she still had cysts on both ovaries.
On Thursday morning, August 27, I had to go to the Hospital for surgery. The freckle that was removed in July came back as Melanoma so my Doctor sent me to a Plastic Surgeon who specializes in skin cancer. I met with him in early August and he said that it would not be a simple little surgery. On this Thursday morning, I had to have a nuclear x-ray of my lymph nodes which required 4 uncomfortable shots around the area where my Doctor had removed the freckle. After this I met with the Doctor where I thought that I was going to have a local to have a large area of my arm removed as well as my lymph nodes and a freckle area on my leg. My Doctor said that it was major surgery and had me put out. Next thing I knew I woke up with a good sized bandage on my leg covering the stitches, a large bandage under my arm covering more stitches and my arm in a cast from my elbow down to the middle of my fingers covering an eight inch incision and about 50 stitches. We have to wait for the Pathology report to see if the cancer had spread to my lymph nodes. He felt that by doing the large incision on my arm and on my leg that he had removed all of the cancer cells from those two areas but he needed to know if it had spread to the lymph nodes. So right now I may or may not be able to give Courtney a kidney. The day after my surgery, Bob had to leave for a foreign language meeting in State Collage. My Mom brought me home from the hospital and stayed with me and Courtney and Brandon for a few days. She took very good care of me and still is taking care of me every day. I have to keep my arm elevated and cannot use it. Being that I am right-handed and that it is my right arm makes it even more difficult. I can’t even dress myself or even hook up Courtney for dialysis. I am very blessed that Courtney and my Mom can do this together with my instructions. I am not allowed to drive, so my Mom always picks up Brandon after football practice at 5:30.
Brandon’s first day of High School was August 31.
