No News is Good News

As I have always said, no news is good news. It's been quite a while since I've written - over a month. We have been enjoying every minute of every day. Bailey continues to feel really good . . . and the fluid still hasn't returned. She hasn't had any gallbladder pain in weeks - we're hoping the med to dissolve the stone is working! We continue to cook with lots of fresh foods to continue her low-sodium diet. Have you seen Frito-Lay's "Pinch-of-salt" chips in the chip aisle? They have potato chips, corn chips and tortilla chips. They are very good - actually, I think they taste the same. In fact, I overheard Bailey and Rissy talking this afternoon in the kitchen as they were getting a snack. They were getting into the Pinch-of-Salt corn chips and Rissy said, "These are low-sodium?!" as she was munching away.

I've had a very good mother's day. We spent the morning and part of the afternoon at the track for Riley Family Day. Yes, it was raining . . . a lot . . . and they ended up closing the track and the garages early, but it was still fun. John Andretti stopped in to say hello and sign autographs - the kids really enjoyed seeing him. He's such a nice guy. And Tom and the girls gave me a new digital camera for mother's day. My previous camera was in the bottom of a bag that I accidentally dropped on the floor and it popped and now rattles when it's turned on. Knowing it was on its last leg, I now have a new one that's even better than my old one and it's just in time for our trip.

I haven't written about our upcoming trip until now because I wasn't sure if we'd get to even go. The Make-a-Wish Foundation is granting Bailey a trip to Hawaii next month. We've had the plane and hotel reservations for nearly a year, but you know how sick Bailey was last year - we really put it completely out of our minds. But about 2 months ago, it dawned on us that we just might be able to make the trip! When we booked the trip, we were thinking we couldn't really walk the bamboo trails that we've read about because Bailey would likely be in a wheelchair, and we probably wouldn't be able to go to the top of the mountain to see the big crater on Maui because of the pressure change, etc. But now! We get to do all those things! And Bailey and Josie and I are even talking about a zip-line adventure. I don't think I'll be able to do it without crying my eyes out knowing that a year ago we wouldn't even have considered it. And we're so excited. We shopped for the girls' bathing suits and I'm so proud of Bailey - she picked out a 2-piece! She says people will just think she was in a shark attack when they see her Berlin scars. She can point off-shore and say, "Yep, right out there!" HaHa! She's got such a good attitude. And Dr. D fixed her belly button! Not surgically either. She had a herniated belly button from all the fluid and pressure on her belly last year, and, of course, surgery was an option to tuck it back in but no one wanted to do that. Dr. D told her to wear an ace bandage around it for a while and, believe it or not, it worked! She's been wearing an ace bandage every day without fail and even putting a cotton ball on her belly button to push it in even further. And now, it looks great! But she's continuing to wear the bandage until the day we leave for Hawaii just so it won't pop back out. Ha! We're really getting excited. We all get to go - me, Tom, Bailey, Josie, Riss, and Scott and Nancy. Tom's afraid of flying, Rissy's afraid of flying, Josie's afraid of sharks, and Bailey and I just simply can't wait. It will be such an exciting celebration for all of us. We all went through very difficult times these past 4 years especially. So, we're in the thick of getting ready for our trip. Did I say we were going to Hawaii?!

Hopefully I won't be writing much more until after our trip since no news is good news. We'll take lots of pictures with my new camera and keep a journal so I will be sure not to miss any details when I get back.

Love you all!
Angie