We made some memories this week! We could have been in Timbuktu, singing songs around a campfire, and I couldn't have been happier! We had all 3 of our children together enjoying a somewhat typical family vacation.
Someone posted on facebook today, "The things you take for granted, someone else is praying for. Be thankful." There are moments when that exact thought hits me like a ton of bricks. For instance, during one of the parades in the magic kingdom they're shouting out things like, "Is it your birthday, anniversary - are you making FAMILY MEMORIES???" I've seen that same parade a few times in my life, but at that moment I thought I was going to have to run away to hide all the emotion that hit me unexpectedly. Tears flooded my eyes and I realized just how BIG this outing was......
It took a lot of people, a lot of preparation, and a whole lot of prayers to get us to that moment.
Odessa and our friends at Hands of Hope made contact with a Hospice group in Orlando and shared all of Zeta's information so they could be prepared in the event of an emergency. Traci, Zeta's respiratory therapist, stocked us up with back-ups of Zeta's supplies and got in touch with the medical supply and hospital in Florida. My brother-in-law equipped my SUV with enough electricity to supply a small house (which we needed to maintain all of Zeta's equipment on such a long trip). My parents provided a ride for Steven (We ran out of room in my vehicle - and we looked like the Beverly Hillbillies) They also gave the boys a couple of extra special outings!
Zeta loved the loud music all around Disney. There were lots of times she seemed to be trying to get out of her stroller and dance (oh how I would love to see her really dance)!
I have no explanation for how well she did throughout the trip - other than the strength of tons of prayers. We spent a pretty substantial amount of time at the Magic Kingdom Thursday and Zeta had no problems. She spent the rest of the time at the resort recovering with her nurse, Lavonya.
On the way there, I was a little nervous. This was the biggest trip we had made with Zeta (besides to Arizona for her brain surgery and that was via medical flight). I was worried about her getting sick,increased seizures, equipment malfunction, etc - you name it. I tried to remind myself that there was a lot of planning that went into this and that we had covered every possible scenario...the rest was up to fate - or should I say faith :)
We were about 30 minutes from home and in my mind I was thinking, "I can't believe we're actually doing this!" All the what-ifs started creeping up then I looked and two little words caught my eye:
If you can't read it, the top one is an air freshener that says, 'relax'. The bottom one is a silver charm that says, 'faith'. Now, you tell me - was that a message meant just for me in that moment or what? The necklace and charm were a gift from a friend shortly after Zeta was born. It has been on my rear view mirror every day since then. The air freshener has been in my car for a couple of weeks. Kind of strange but I never really noticed or read their messages together - but on Wednesday the message was perfectly clear - Relax, and have faith! Stevie thought I was a little crazy taking a picture of my air freshener, but I just wanted more proof to show you the story of the miracle of our lives!
Zeta met some of the princesses. (Her brothers did too - no matter how RELUCTANTLY! I wish I could share THOSE pictures, but I'm afraid they would die of embarassment!)
Yes, we had quite an adventure filled time. Oh, did I mention that this was actually a work trip for Stevie? We just tagged along.......and so glad that we did! Zeta is glad to be home.....I forgot to tell you - she got her very own magic wand too.......
Much love!
