Family Weekend

This weekend was Family Weekend at Northern Arizona University.  What used to be called "Parent's Weekend", is now for the entire family.  Mark, Eric and I went up to Flagstaff for the weekend to see Mary. Hilary didn't want to come  - she quite enjoyed having the house to herself for a few days, and Jack spent the weekend at Ryan House.  I'm still not 100% comfortable leaving Jack at Ryan House - this is only the second time he has been there for the weekend without us staying with him.  Jack's nurses checked in on him for us and when we arrived to pick him up this afternoon, he was doing great.  He's very tired tonight though and I can't get a read from him as to whether he's okay with staying at Ryan House, or whether he is mad at us for leaving him there. It's certainly not an easy thing to do, but I will admit, it's really nice to get away for the weekend and have a break from all of Jack's care.

It was good to see Mary and it seems that college life is treating her well.  Mary has decided that she wants to be a doctor.  I think she's read my "Dear Future Physician" letter, so she knows what's expected of her! :)  She has signed up to be a volunteer in the emergency room at the hospital in Flagstaff - which is a Level I trauma center.  It will give her the opportunity to see some "good" stuff and find out if she has the stomach to be a doctor.  I too spent my weekends volunteering in the emergency room of a Level I trauma center during college.  Things didn't quite go according to plan for me, as I ended up on the wrong side of the white coat.  I'm optimistic that things will work out much better for Mary!

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Ready to cheer on the football team

NAU isn't a powerhouse football team, but it was still a fun game to watch

Mary and her cousin, Kelsey at the game 

Eric isn't a big football fan  - he'd rather read his Lego Ideas book

The girls found the game about as interesting as Eric and left early 

Today we walked around downtown Flagstaff - which has a lot of really neat little shops.  It reminds me a lot of Estes Park, Colorado - but, not quite as upscale.

Old Route 66 runs through downtown

There is also a lot of wall art on the buildings 

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As a follow-up to my last post, the other part of the email from the media relations person at SLCH said this:

It would be a privilege to highlight Jack on our Facebook page, as well as on the main hospital website. Will you be in St. Louis soon for a follow-up appointment?  If so, we'd love to meet you in person and interview you and Jack for a profile. 


So, yes SLCH wants to share our story. The problem is, when I wrote the email, I truly wasn't "fishing" for our story to be told.  I was using Jack as an example of the many children like him who SLCH cares for.  There are many local children who have the same "profile" as Jack that they can feature on their Facebook page and website.  While I encouraged her to profile a local child, I also let her know that I would very much like for her to meet Jack in person and I let her know when we'd be in town.  I haven't heard back from her, so I'm wondering if the fact that I didn't jump at the opportunity to be the featured story, made her lose interest. I guess I should have just said "yes" and left it at that. Oh well ... regardless, I made my point and it was heard.  What SLCH does from here, I don't know.  Que Sera, Sera.

Speaking of St. Louis, we leave weekend after next and I'm not even close to being psychologically ready for the trip. It is such a long and brutal trip.  Mostly for Jack.  But, we do what we have to do because I'm stubborn as hell and I won't let anyone else but the St. Louis docs manage Jack's care.  There will no doubt come the day when we will no longer make the trip - for any number of reasons.  But, until then .... onward!

Have a great week my friends.