Sweet Home, Zeeland

The ladies are coming back home tonight!!  KJ's recovery from surgery has been great and as I type this discharge from CHOP and packing up from the Ronald McDonald House is in progress!!

The news of today's discharge brought smiles to the faces of both KJ and Shawna this morning.  It'll be a late night but that's okay.  Not that the boys back home have had struggles surviving, shoot, 5 days was a cake walk compared to the 2 week stretches last year, but we're looking forward to getting the girls home (not sure if the girls really want to come back after their girls weekend of siteseeing!!).

 Betsy Ross House

 Famous Philly Cheesesteak

 Diaper change in a park (and big wave from KJ)

 Betsy Ross House

Putting on sun tan lotion for bus tour

Independence Square with Independence Hall in the background (a Civics/AP Gov't teachers dream)

To update you all on the medical side of things, Shawna and KJ had to be at CHOP at 6am yesterday morning for pre-op stuff.  KJ was on her way back (no pun intended) to surgery around 9am.  Dr. Hauer, the doc who has performed on KJ before, was not back in surgery much more than 30 minutes.  He informed Shawna that he thought everything looked good and was able to get a good look at her nerves around her spine and for what he saw was very optimistic about we can hopefully shoot for in the future with her ambulatory abilities (don't worry Usain Bolt, she won't be breaking any of your world records!!).  That being said, we still will not know on a lot of those issues until she gets older, but c'mon, who cares about her abilities in terms of walking, she's alright got quite the ability to smile and we love that!!  

The girls were put in the PACU (Post-anesthesia care unit) which worked out great because KJ got her own room, allowing Shawna to stay overnight with her (plus, apparently a cart comes through that unit a few times throughout the day with WAWA coffee products, free of charge....WAWA coffee became quite a staple in my diet while we were in the Philly area last year).  I think Shawna was trying to make me jealous with the WAWA stuff and she sent me a pic of about every meal she had at the Ronald McDonald House as she knows the best part of my days out there were the meals that were served!!

KJ was a bit fussy post surgery (understandably) and struggle for a few hours but with meds calmed down and was able to get some good rest and get the healing process going.

As you can see from the scar, if you've had a chance to see her scar before surgery, this now looks much more cleaned up and small with the work the "really good looking" plastic surgeon, Dr. Taylor, was able to perform (those were the adjectives Shawna used!!).  So, now when she's in her teenage years KJ may feel much better about wearing a two piece bikini on the beach....her Dad can't wait!!

Once again, we've been blown away by the support through phone calls, texts, emails, face-to-face conversations, thoughts, and prayers we've received the past few days.  Thanks to all for that/those.  Another Philly experience always helps us to remember how blessed we are as a family and always brings back some great memories of the journey we've been through over the past 13 months.  Can't wait to pick up the girls tonight in GR!!

You know it....CHOOSING JOY

-Jeff

Home Away from Home

Kierstyn and I made it to Philly this morning around 9am.  We had an early departure out of Grand Rapids and had two very quiet flights.  KJ is a rockstar on the airplane see pic below.  Delta was amazing and rearranged seating so I had a row to myself on each flight!  I'm hoping to have a repeat performance when we head home.

I tried to travel light this time & didn't haul the carseat with me which means I had to figure out public transportation.  I didn't have great luck figuring out the public transportation in Europe and followed Jeff around like a lost puppy.  And there was one time my high school girlfriends Ashley & Alison and I tried to figure out the New York Subway system and ended up just taking a cab.  But low and behold Philadelphia's SEPTA is awesome!   It was a 10 minute ride that cost me $8.  The conductor even loaded my stroller and luggage on and off the train for me too!  I rolled down off the train stop with the stroller and suitcase and to see our favorite place.

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

We had some time to kill since KJ's appointment wasn't til 2pm and we didn't have a place to stay yet.  The Ronald McDonald House doesn't call until the day your requested stay begins to let you know if they have availability.  I was really hoping we weren't going to be homeless but at least its hot outside if we were going to be camping out on a park bench.  We grabbed coffee and found a shaded spot in a park on Penn's campus and finally got a call that the Ronald McDonald House had a room for us, hallelujah!  We hoofed it the mile to the house and got all checked in before the appointment.

Kierstyn is pumped we didn't have to sleep on a park bench

CHOP was having their version of American Idol this afternoon

Home Sweet Home

Our Dinner tonight was "summer picnic"

KJ had sweet potatoes

Homemade peach cobbler

Jeff always likes to know what meals he's missing so I always send him pics.  Each night we have a guest chef and on the weekends we also get brunch.  I love this place, its like coming home.  The workers ask about my boys, Jeff and my mom.  Its been nine months since we were here and they still remember my name and Kierstyns.  I got to meet another Fetal Surgery mom who is from Louisana and just passed the 34 week mark.  Its so great to meet other moms, compare notes and cheer each other on. God Bless the Ronald McDonald House!

We've had a busy day and walked back and forth to CHOP twice.  I blew the tire out on my stroller and found a bike shop that fixed it for me in 20 minutes. Kierstyn and I are going to do some site-seeing this weekend and then head over for surgery bright and early Monday morning.  The surgery takes about one hour but with pre/post surgery she will be back in the operating room for closer to 2-3 hours.  Its scary to hand your baby over to surgeons but I am so thankful for the wonderful people of Philadelphia who continue to show us love.

The boys are staying busy at home.  Peyton had his first week of Spanish Immersion kindergarten and is loving it.  Myles is big man on campis (home) these days and has had a great time calling the shots.  It was tough to leave them behind this time, Myles has told me three times now that he really wanted to come with us.  Next time, bud!  Peyton has his first soccer game tomorrow that I am bummed to miss but looking forward to hearing about it on Facetime.  

Choosing Joy from PRMH,

Shawna & Kierstyn

Just Can't Get Enough

Just Can't Get Enough!  To quote the Black Eyed Peas song.....

Boy I think about it every night and day
I'm addicted wanna jump inside your love
I wouldn't wanna have it any other way
I'm addicted and I just can't get enough

I just can't get enough
I just can't get enough
I just can't get enough
I just can't get enough

So that's how we feel about Philly and because we can't get enough of that wonderful city, we (or some of us) are headed back out.  As many of you know, when we met with our surgeon late June during our family trip to Philadelphia, he thought it would be in KJ's best interest that we consider doing a scar/wound revision surgery for a few different reasons:

1. Due to what he thought was probably some scar tissue having build up around her scar, if that was left alone, it could cause some discomfort and possible mobility issues for KJ in the future as she grows (and for any of you that have seen her recently, she's not getting any smaller!!!).  

2. He was also realistic in the fact that her wound isn't a "beauty" mark and the more natural it can look, the better it will be for her as she gets older in social aspects and self-confidence.  Sadly but realistically, we need to be ready for those issues with lots of the spina bifida "stuff" as she grows older that there are going to be social issues (chances are she will have little to no bladder control and who wants to be that kid in 6th grade that pees their pants...yikes....she's not going to have Billy Madison/Adam Sandler to be there for her...not that we'd want him to be her savior....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wxhqc6wdH4).  Although, as a father and seeing what skimpy bikinis high school girls are trying to rock out on the beach, maybe having a daughter who isn't keen on wearing a two piece wouldn't be all that bad!!!

Dr. Hauer made it sound like a very routine surgery that he and the plastic surgeon he does many surgery's with could do and if that was ALL they had to do, it would be a night or two at CHOP for KJ.  He needed to get an MRI done to make sure that there were no other issues (and on visual eye test he didn't seem to think there were any) like teathering of the spine that occur with many kiddos with spina bifida or cysts.  If that were the case, it would be a much more serious surgery and would require a longer stay at CHOP for KJ.  

We quickly had an MRI done at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in July and got the results out to CHOP so they could read the MRI and give us some dates that were open for surgery.  Our hope was to get this done ASAP as the school year was rapidly approaching and I'd be going back to work and our little Peyton (are you serious, our little man is going to be in school this fall!!!) will be off to school for the first time and we didn't want to be gone for the first few days.  Our hope was that CHOP, once they received the MRI, would get back to us within a few days.....not so fast my friends, right Shawna.  Our "choosing joy" motto/mantra/theme was tested as we (Shawna) ended up having to make numerous phone calls to get the MRI where it needed to be and to get the right people getting our schedule started.  But, hindsight being 20/20, we know they are dealing with some nasty issues with kiddos and families so our surgery was probably not priority #1.  

Finally, we got word a few days ago that there was an open surgery date Monday, September 12.  We jumped on that.  It's been a gentle, amusing, interesting reminder of all of the messy logistics we went through last fall about this time in planning for the few months we saw in our future.  I think our plans are that Shawna will fly out with KJ on the 8th or 9th for her pre-surgery appointment on the 9th, spend the weekend in Philly (hopefully at one of our homes away from home, the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House!!!), stay with her through surgery and hope to be discharged from CHOP on Wednesday and fly home then.  I'll be home with the boys teaching, coaching tennis, getting them (or having others) to Ms. Jen's (Myles) and school (Peyton)....and doing those things we did all last fall (boys only sleepovers in dad's bed...chips and cheese in the bathtub...skittle for breakfast...and the list goes on....I don't think Shawna will ever truly know what went on in her absence).  Like I said, a little reminder of what last fall was like.  

We've gone over the 1 year anniversary of getting the knews of KJ's spina bifida and all the emotions and discussions we had about what our future could look like.  Now that she's almost 9 months old, we've said a few times, "Wow, seems like so long ago."  Funny, because so many of the great people that were out in Philly, especially at CHOP, said that would be reaction a year later....that it all seemed so overwhelming going in, but we'd make it and afterwards look back and see it as just a blip on the radar.  

We're still reminded on a daily basis of what this spina bifida deal is going to be, but that blip is becoming smaller and smaller as we move further along with our lives.  Like I said, there are daily (or weekly with appointments) reminders...but that's not a complaint.  I was able to go with KJ for the first time to Mary Free Bed and her physical therapy session...yeah, a little goofy that a 9 month old needs physical therapy but we know that the earlier we get her going, the more mobility that she could have when she's older.  Her physical therapist, as I expected her to be from the reports Shawna has given me, is awesome and seemed very upbeat and optimistic already about the progress that KJ is making with her core strength and other simple toddler benchmarks like sitting up on their own, rolling over, etc. (although what does any of that stuff mean...Myles didn't walk until he was 18 months...LAZY!!! Buche or Carlson?).  She's already showing signs of being one tough cookie and reality is she's going to need to be....but it was very cool to be there and see the opportunities that are available for our population with physical disabilities...let's just say she won't be sitting on the sidelines (has anyone been watching the Olympics...well, I'm addicted and this is the first time in my life I've watch rugby for an extended period of time...and our American society worries about football players and concussions - those guys wear pads and helmets - the rugby players have nothing on for protection...well, my point was that our physical therapist said they now have wheelchair rugby and that it's like watching a demolition derby!!! - great, just the sport we'll be pushing KJ to play).  

So, that's the latest.  Look out Philly, the Carlson ladies will be taking to your streets in a few weeks, this time with no wheelchairs to slow them down.  BuTT, first we will be celebrating KJ's BUTT BIRTHDAY (that's the initial date of the surgery she had done in-utero as technically, her backside was exposed...we were told all of the spina bifida kiddos celebrate their butt birthdays) back here in Zeeland on August 31!!  

As always...CHOOSING JOY

-Jeff

Back Home (for more than 2 nights!!!)

Sorry that I wasn't able to blog right after KJ's appointments at CHOP last week Wednesday but we left directly from CHOP to go home.  So, let me give you all of the medical updates.....and as noted in past blogs, Shawna is our resident medical expert so I try to give you the Readers Digest version and if you want more complete, in-depth, accurate info., feel free to get a hold of her at 1-800-WELUVKJ.  We got the boys up quite early in the morning after our one night at the Ronald McDonald house (we stayed in room 44 for the night....our extended stay last fall was in room 43 so the boys new right where to go!!) to make sure we got to CHOP in plenty of time for appointment #1 at 9:30 with Dr. Heuer, the surgeon who closed KJ's opening on her back.  We really like him and his very laid back demeanor.  As expected, 9:30 turned into about 10:00 before we saw him but to see one of the top surgeons in the world and one of who (whom??? English people, which one) used his abilities to make the life of KJ the best that it could possibly be, we're not going to complain.  To give you a quick outlook of what I mean when I talk about his demeanor, after coming into the room and having a quick greet with us, he casually peeked at KJ's scar and after about 15 seconds, said, "So, do you guys want this to look a little better?"  His tone was so down to earth, not worried, just saying that the wound looks okay but he went on to further explain that it felt like it had been hardening up in spots that could give her some discomfort and keep her from her maximum mobility in the future so he suggested that he and a plastic surgeon do a routine procedure on KJ in the next few months that will take care of any of that and make the wound look a little better.  He needs us to have an MRI done here and sent to him so that he can rule out her having any cysts that could develop on or around her spine that would need to be taken care of surgically as well, as that would be a little more major surgery.  He didn't think she had one, but wanted to make sure.  Once we get that to him, we'll schedule a surgery date with him, hopefully later this summer or early fall.  He said it's just an overnight or others that we've talked to that had the same procedure were back at CHOP for just a few days.....so, nothing serious.  Dr. Heuer said he thought KJ looks great, and most importantly said that her head looked great and was 99% sure we're in the clear for having to have any shunts put in.  Going back to the biggest reason we chose to move forward with the MMC prenatal repair was to avoid shunts having to be placed in her head around her brain.  He also, in contradiction to what another doctor told us later in the day, that KJ looked like she was functioning more like a L4 infant would be at in terms of her movements at her knees and hips (she was an L3....those numbers tell you where the opening on a babies back was and the higher the number, the more lower body functioning they are probably going to have).
Dr. Heuer is originally from Minnesota so he considers himself a mid-westerner and said it was nice to see some mid-westerners come through.  He said he remembered us being from the midwest right when he saw us.  Well, I wasn't sure how to react to that.

This is what us three boys had on.  Now, all wearing the same Philadelphia Eagles jersey (Yes, I know it's of DeMarco Murray who doesn't play for them anymore....trade after one season to the Tennessee Titans....but, remember we shop "Dutch" and in an attempt to support the team of the city that supported us we've sort of become fans of the Eagles and Flyers as they both support the Ronald McDonald House, I bought these jerseys as they were on sale for $10 each) with athletic and/or camo shorts on, that's what sparked his memory that we were from the midwest?  I'll take that as a compliment about our "laid back" attitude about dress as others may interpret it as the fact we don't give a hoot about what we look like and tend to appear a bit....oh I can't think of a better or more PC way to say it, white trash?  Whatever, who cares....Go Eagles!!
Oh yeah, he did have one concern....not really, just commented on KJ's legs and their girth!!  She's a healthy baby, I think is how we look at it.  Chuckling, he said "You might want to feed her a few more salads!!!"  We got a kick out of that.  As we carried her around Philly and CHOP we heard so many background comments from people around us about her "cute legs."
After meeting with Dr. Heuer, we moved to another wing of the hospital we'd never been in (amazing that there was a place we hadn't been to after spending 3 months there) to meet with their physical therapy people and orthopedic doctor in their Spina Bifida Clinic .  The PT ladies said it looks like she's doing just fine but that we'll need to get more aggressive and up the frequency of her PT to activate the movement/flexibility of her leg muscles.
We had plenty of time (an understatement) to kill as we waited for the orthopedic doctor in the hospital room but fortunately the boys were on their best behavior and were able to run around a bit and invent a game where they hid just outside of the doors to the room we were waiting and come running in, roaring like dinosaurs and got KJ giggling quite hard.

 As the boys were reaching their patience limit, we went out to some of the play areas they have for kids (yes, remember it's a children's hospital so waiting there and keeping kids occupied is really not a problem) while Shawna and KJ waited for and met with the orthopedic doctor.  He is one of the best in the world and his goal is to get all kids with spina bifida walking and he's been very successful in he 30+ year career in doing so.  We felt very fortunate to have the chance to have him assess KJ but were not prepared for his matter-of-fact, no nonsense, blunt way of going about his business.  He, as opposed to Dr. Hoyer, felt like she was functioning at a low L3, she was too overweight which would impede on her gross motor skills, and was concerned about her left heel not having dropped to where he'd like it to be after her tenotomy and cautioned us that if we couldn't get that to drop, we could be looking at more aggressive surgery and castings in the future.  So, we appreciated his honesty and will be working on her heels with some stretching that will hopefully steer us clear of having to go the route he warned of us having to go.
We were finally out of CHOP at 1pm, just a bit late to go back to the Ronald McDonald House for a pizza lunch with the former NFL Super Bowl winning coach, Dick Vermeil.  Lawrence, one of the workers at the Ronald McDonald House who is in charge of fundraising for the house who we got to know in our stay there, invited us to the luncheon to meet Coach Vermeil if we could.  One of his coaching stops was obviously with Eagles and he's been a supporter along with the Eagles organization of the PRMH.  We may have been able to get back for the end of it, but with some hungry and tired boys (and parents), we thought it best to get on the road if we wanted to make it back the the land of Z at any sort of decent hour.  Shawna really wanted to go back to work that Thursday, as well, so she was really pushing to get on the road (sense my sarcasm....CareLinc folks, don't take offense to that....I'm just kidding).
We made record time on the way home, only stopping twice (dangit, the first stop was due to me, again, just as it was on the way out, but this one was much longer into the trip than the 45 minutes on the way out).  We pulled into our driveway at 1am.....12 hours!!!  It's amazing how much faster you can travel when pit stops AREN'T needed for the bathroom.  The boys have acquired the ability to pee into bottles and diapers while we're on the go so unless Shawna or I needs to go, we stay on the go (and I'll toot our own horns as we also have the ability to do our thing while the vehicle is in motion!!).  The kiddos were awesome travelers on the way home and I don't think we heard, even one time, "this is taking for a long time (Myles)" or "this is taking forever (Peyton)" but we did hear Kierstyn's verstion...."waaaaaaaa, waaaaaaaaaaa, waaaaaaaaaaa".  Oh well, we could handle that.
As mentioned, I wasn't able to blog the last few days about our appointments because by the time we got home, spent Thursday working (Shawna) or unpacking and repacking for the holiday weekend up a the cabin, there wasn't anytime before getting back into Mommies Gold Van and going north to Barryton and the Buche compound and our cabin.  We enjoyed some R & R with fam and friends and the extraordinary fireworks at Evart (and people watching....although I think of us at CHOP with our jerseys and camo on and we were the ones being watched for entertainment, is my guess) on the Chippewa River.  So, I blog after spending a great 5 days in Philly and 3 days at the cabin.  We feel very good about where KJ is at in her short 7 months with us continue to try to follow the best path for her.  Thanks for all of your prayers, comments, and support.  We couldn't be doing this without them.

  Oh, and lastly, I did just use the FREE VAC at the new Quality Car Wash on Waverly and Chicago Drive and apologize for, probably, clogging the 4th vacuum in from the left (if you're looking at the vacuums from the building....I never truly knew how many Skittles, Mike & Ikes, donut crumbs, etc. our boys DON'T get in their mouths).

CHOOSING JOY.....back in ZTown

One last link to watch...pretty cool piece CHOP did with stuff from the reunion (KJ's got a nice close-up in it):

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1214417995267598&id=136817849694290&refsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com%2FTheCenterforFetalDiagnosisandTreatmentatCHOP%2Fvideos%2F1214417995267598%2F&_rdr

-Jeff

I'm Lovin' It

So as you can tell by the look on KJ's face, she's lovin' it...Yes, that's McDonald's slogan, as you know.  We're all lovin' it right now as we got a phone call today from the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House that they had a room available for us tonight.  That means a whole bunch of things:
1. Some great meals...there are many great things about this place but this was one of our (well, my) highlights.
2. The boys got to come back to the place they grew to love and play at with the air hockey, toys, etc.
3. We got to spend some time seeing some more familiar faces from our (Shawna's continuous) 2 month stay here where we were treated so well and got to develop relationships with and witness families that were going through similar if not much more extreme medical

situations than we were.  In our few short hours here today and this evening we were able to catch up with the family from Allendale that we were here in the fall with as well as have some conversation with a fetal surgery mother from Idaho who is at 34 weeks tomorrow and doing really well!!  She also has a 5 and 3 year old with her so we could relate quite well with her.  Shawna also ran into a mother from North Carolina that was out here in the fall with her daughter who has a rare eye cancer that she got to know pretty well.  We are staying in the room right next to the room we stayed in last fall and the boys remember being here just like it was yesterday.  I can't wait to get up early tomorrow morning and make my early morning walk to Dunkin Donuts for coffee and a quick chat with the security guard who I hope is the same as it was last fall.  He became quite a good buddy to shoot the breeze with at 5:30am!!
We've spent much of the past two days touring around Philly and hitting some of our favorite places.  Yesterday we were able to get right to the heart of downtown and see the Liberty Bell and hop on the city double deck bus tour.  The weather was perfect...mid-80's and sunny (I THINK I could now give the bus tour and I KNOW Shawna could give it, seeing that we've taken it so many times now).  It reminded me what I want to do with my retirement....be a guide on the bus tour.  Talking about history and making bad jokes for hours on end....what a life (my students would likely tell you that's already what I do).  It is pretty bad when we recognize the tour guides and people collecting tickets and they also look at us with that look of "haven't you done this before?")  We also know that it's been a highlight etched in the memories of our boys when Peyton quickly pointed out to me the bushes at the beginning of the bus tour that he peed in last fall!!

We were able to stop at the Redding Terminal Market for some morning treats and let the boys get out and run around a bit.  We saw many of the city sites that we think are really cool and will one day actually get out and go through (once the kiddos are a bit older or we can actually tour the city without them).  Most people, when asked what the one thing they did when they visited Philly was, will say run up the Rocky Steps....we still have yet to do that....which may be due to the fact that 99% of Shawna's time spent here she was in a wheel chair or the fact that our daughter has Spina Bifida....maybe I'll wait until she can do it!!  Myles and I did do our best to celebrate with Rocky, though.

We spent the afternoon going to the aquarium on the New Jersey side of the Deleware River that was another highlight of our fall trips to Philly.  We risked afternoon meltdowns but having bought the city pass (which includes entrance to the bus tour, the aquarium or the zoo, and a few museums....yes we're Dutch = shoot, Shawna quickly reminded me to fill up the van with gas today just before we left New Jersey as gas prices were only $1.91 there - remember, no or little gas tax which equals worse roads than Michigan).  It was a good decision as the boys loved seeing tons of sea/water exhibits with tons of different animals ranging from massive sea turtles to hammer head sharks while getting the chance to pet sting rays.

We knew the weather report for today was not going to be great so we thought we'd save the museum/inside site seeing for this morning and afternoon.  After packing up our stuff from the Cherry Hill Holiday Inn Express (I feel like I've mentioned that enough times that I should get some sort of advertising fee from them).  For any of you who have spent any time with our boys at our house over the past year or so you probably have picked up on their infatuation of sorts with dinosaurs.  Well, their is a Museum of Natural Sciences that has a few exhibits all about dinosaurs with a life size t-rex and triceratops outside that move that caught the boys eye yesterday on the bus tour so we had no choice but to go there first thing in the morning.  After experiencing what big city driving is like (going up to the 6th floor of a parking garage to find that there were no spaces available, almost getting stuck behind a moving truck in a back alley (see pic below) as it almost got stuck, we finally found a parking spot and made our way to the museum.

After this dinosaur exhibits, I think Peyton now has another career choice to go along with being a food trucker chef man or a zamboni driver....an anthropologist!  That's more like it, young man....not that I wouldn't be thrilled to tell people in the future that my son was a zamboni driver or a food trucker chef man as we had Philly Cheese Steaks for lunch from a food trucker chef man and they were delicious.
We made our last stop at the Franklin Institute which is a museum focused on kids (probably more in the late elementary-high school range) a little older than ours, so we didn't stay long as we had just received confirmation that we'd be able to shack up in the Ronald McDonald House for the night and wanted to make our way over (we packed up from Cherry Hill crossing our fingers we wouldn't be going back, although we do love it there).  The boys really liked the sports exhibit where there are lots of interactive activities that break down sports-specific actions scientifically....especially the small two-lane track that they raced on about 30 times (one, because they loved doing it, and two, so that they'd get worn out and hopefully take great afternoon rests....which didn't happen!!).

As you can see in the pic above, both boys were worn out and couldn't walk the few short blocks back to the van and without the double stroller with us, they had to adapt (one of the great lessons they've had to learn over the course of 10 months...Choose Joy, right?....adapt the best you can to the situation you're put in, like being able to take advantage of Dad when Mom was in Philly by getting him to serve chips and cheese in the bathtub).
So we all are about to shut our eyes in our beds in the Ronald McDonald House, just a few short steps from the room we spent so many nights in this fall and another place that we will never forget for making our time in Philly so special and memorable.  It's great to now have Kierstyn be able to enjoy it with us as well.  Tomorrow we head to CHOP to do their Spina Bifida Clinic and meet with lots of the medical team that took such wonderful care of us.  We are excited, to say the least.  Here are a few links to news articles about the Fetal Surgery Reunion that we attended on Sunday as well as the Fetal Surgery Reunion video that was made with a quick pic from each of the fetal surgery kids that attended...it's pretty cool.  Enjoy!

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-childrens-hospital-of-philadelphias-20th-annual-fetal-surgery-family-reunion-gathers-families-from-across-the-us-300290325.html

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2016/06/26/chop-fetal-surgery-family-reunion/

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/CHOP-Hosts-20th-Annual-Family-Reunion_Philadelphia-384460381.html

Here's the video:
https://www.facebook.com/TheCenterforFetalDiagnosisandTreatmentatCHOP/videos/1211229942253070/

CHOOSING JOY, Ronald McDonald House Style

-Jeff