Last Five Months of Troop 23 Camp Outs!

Last Five Months of Troop 23 Camp Outs!


It seems like every blog entry and email that we send lately starts with something like, “I haven’t had time to…” or “This is the condensed version because…” Maybe it’s just me, but it really feels like we’ve managed to pack something into every minute we have, for the foreseeable future. Jacob and Brie are both attending camps this week (The Art of Collage for Brie and the DBS Summer Camp for Jacob), Tammy and Gavin have scheduled play-dates with the SS&P group among other things (while still juggling appointments and drop-offs/pickups), and I’m crunching fiscal data like a machine (Or a champ? Nah, maybe like an over-achieving, under-paid state worker…). So, until the “foreseeable future” passes and we have an unscheduled minute to take a breather and gather some thoughts, I just wanted to fill everyone in on the last 5 months of Boy Scouts.

To quickly catch you up on Jacob’s standing within the troop, Jacob has earned both Tenderfoot and Second Class ranks and is currently one requirement away from his First Class rank. Jacob is the Assistant Patrol Leader for his patrol, and even willingly volunteered to be the Chaplin’s Aid tonight in the absence of the elected scout (which amazed me). After First Class, there are several ranks that are progressively demanding before Eagle, but the saying is that if a Scout can reach First Class, he’s on the track! Eagle Scout was never really the “goal” that Tammy and I had when Jacob signed up for Scouts, so it was unexpected when Jacob told us the other day that he wanted to get the Eagle rank. I think he realizes that this is a realistic goal that he can achieve. One that will make him feel good about himself, not to mention the prestige carried by the designation. So keep encouraging him! He’s a great Eagle candidate in my book!

Back to the fun stuff… Camp Outs!

March 2010- Providence Canyon, GA

15 or so Scouts, 7+ miles uphill, both ways, in the rain, 90lb packs, bears, coyotes and crumbling Georgia mountainside! Got the picture? NEXT!!!

In all seriousness, if you’ve never been to Providence Canyon and you get the chance, go. Make sure you get gas and such in Bainbridge because there’s not a damn thing on 27 all the way to Lumpkin! Providence Canyon is called the “Little Grand Canyon.” It was formed by poor farming practices, and is basically an eroded mountainside. The hiking trail starts at the visitor’s station and winds around the rim of the mountain (I call it a mountain, I’m from St. Pete. It might be a hill to some, but it’s a mountain to me!) down to the bottom of the canyon and back out. We hiked about 4.5 miles the first day, which included a hefty ascent that put everyone out of breath. A steep descent followed, into what we now know is clay swamp. 15 boys with packs in clay up to their knees wasn’t the best idea, but hey, what do I know? I guess there wasn’t a better way, so through the swamp we went. Fortunately only 2 or 3 decided to fall over. We made it through, hiked a little further and, luckily, I was in the group that took the first site. We set up camp, cooked chicken quesadillas and went to sleep.

Coyotes woke me up, and Jacob too at one point. I didn’t mind until something actually brushed the tent. Thought it was a coon, and still might have been, but there were definitely Coyotes in the camp that night. So, a HUGE Coyote tried to break in and eat Jacob… J

When we woke up it was raining. It rained off and on all morning. We had 3 miles left to hike. Doesn’t sound like much, but the first mile was a descent into the bottom of the canyon. The trail needed a “Slippery When Wet” sign. We got to the canyon bottom, took off our packs and got to explore the 5 fingers of the canyon. This was worth the trip! It was awesome to see the different layers of earth going up the canyon walls. It looked like one of those sand art jars that you made as a kid with all of the different colored sand (minus the weird colors, of course). And yes, there was a large pile of bear crap down there that had some of the scouts VERY nervous. The fingers weren’t but 15 yards wide at the widest parts, so running into a cornered bear had me and Mr. West a little cautious to say the least. Good news, though. No bear. After an hour or so of meandering, we packed up and started the extremely vertical climb out. Try it some time. You’ll understand.

All in all, a great trip. Jacob has probably outgrown his internal frame backpack. I think he’ll use mine next trip. I really love the Spring hiking trips… but not nearly as much as the Summer fishing trips!

We missed the April canoeing trip down the Blackwater River because it was Gavin’s first birthday. Wouldn’t have missed it for the world! We decided we would do a canoeing trip sometime this summer, maybe in August when we go to St. Pete. We’ll see.

May 2010- St. Andrews State Park Fishing Trip

I think there were 29 people total (scouts and adults), which is a big group for a camp out. I must say up front that the logistical efforts by a few adult leaders were outstanding. Even when we got to St. Andrews at 9pm, well past dark, and were given 3 sites that normally hold 1-2 tents that we were attempting to stuff 5 tents on (yeah, that’s 15 tents for math majors), we made it through with minimal injury. I tented with Jacob, who complained about the heat and the non-existent mosquitoes in our tent until he finally passed out. We were set to get up at 6am, but some St. Andrews wildlife member obviously had other plans. If I had a gun, or even a blowgun or something, I would’ve shot and eaten whatever bird decided he was ready to get up at 4am and party like a rock star. He eventually stopped… after everyone in camp was up. Waking up 8 boys (and some fathers) a few hours before a fishing trip was game over. No more sleep for Thomas. I got up and started taking pictures. Got a cool one of Jacob holding up the sun. Thought it would be one of the better pictures of the trip. Man, was I wrong!

We embarked on the Jubilee, a 100ft, 75-person capacity charter boat out of Treasure Island Marina in Panama City. After a fairly comical introduction by the crew, we claimed our spots (which I made sure were at the back of the boat) and were off. The captain told us we had 45 minutes of running to do before we dropped lines, so most of the kids went upstairs to explore. Jacob wanted to sit in his spot to make sure that no one muscled him for it! It paid off (for him and for me) because the next 5 minutes made my trip! We weren’t but a half mile or so past the jetties when one of the trolling lines took off. Jacob was the only person at the back of the boat, so the deck hand immediately put the rod in Jacob’s hands! He was fighting the first fish of the day, and it was a pretty decent fight! The deck hand worked with Jacob to get him comfortable with fighting and reeling (we hadn’t really talked about using the conventional at that point) and after a few minutes of the entire boat cheering Jacob on, he got the fish to the boat and the deck hand gaffed it to make sure he landed it. Jacob caught his first Kingfish, and the only king that would be caught that day! A definite keeper, it went somewhere around 38-40in. The look in his eye was the best part of the entire weekend. I could’ve not even wet a line and been perfectly happy with the charter… Oh, but we wet some line!

All in all, Troop 23 caught 207 fish, ranging from Jacob’s King to Vermillion, White and Lane Snapper, Amberjack, Triggers and even a few chicken Mahi. We caught several nice Reds, but the season didn’t open until June 1, so we were a week and half too early. We caught some short grouper too. I caught a dolphin (like, Flipper) that decided he wanted my fish. Well, I didn’t really catch him. He ate my fish and I kinda stared at him like, “Yeah, you ate it.” He came back up to the surface to see us. Nice guy. We caught several Remoras (one of which was so big, people thought it was a Cobia) and I caught a Goggle Eye, which, if you’ve never had the pleasure, actually freezes out of water like a possum (an opossum?). Crazy. Thought the lady was joking when she asked me if I wanted it posed for a picture… Here’s the picture! It’s standing on its fins like something you’d buy from a souvenir shop!

After 8 hours of fishing, it came to our attention that there was a ton of fish on our stringers. I started thinking about my filet knife. I started thinking about a way to get out of cleaning all these damn fish! It ended up like one of those MasterCard commercials:

29 people on a fishing charter: $1,450.00

207 fish@ .50/lb cleaning fee: $ 120.00 including tip

Not having to clean fish until sunrise: Priceless

Note to self: Bring fish cleaning money on any future charter boat. Well, well worth it!

We had a huge fish fry with hush puppies later that evening and everyone went to bed full. We saved the King for the next morning so Jacob could clean it, along with a stringer of fish for everyone else to clean (one of the requirements for the fishing merit badge). That was a mess, but it all worked out. Wish I could’ve gotten that bird. He was out again the second night. I had a place for him on the cleaning board.

This was one of my favorite trips with the scouts. It was Jacob’s first deep sea charter, and he did great! He caught all sorts of fish, battled the King, the conventional reel and the blisters from reeling in so much! He smiled a lot, which was awesome. I think we both did. I’d do it again in a heartbeat!

June 2010- Camp Daniel Boone

The details are fuzzy as I had to rely on a lot of, “Nothing really,” and, “I don’t remember,” but I think the verdict came back from Boone: Jacob had a blast! The scouts left at 5:30am on Saturday the 26th to drive to the Ocoee for Whitewater Rafting! After talking with Jacob, he didn’t fall out of the raft at all, but he got lit up by some kid’s T-grip a few times before he told him that if he did it again, he’d be out of the raft! Jacob said it was fun, I’d imagine it was freakin’ awesome! They camped at Mr. Snead’s cabin in Murphy, NC on Saturday night.

They arrived at Camp Daniel Boone on Sunday to set up camp and be ready for Monday. Jacob took Fly Fishing, Communications, Archaeology, Fish & Wildlife Conservation and Leatherworking. The only merit badge he didn’t come home with this time was the Fly Fishing merit badge, and that’s because he had to catch 2 fish on the fly rod and he only caught one. So, I’ll be off to Walmart this weekend to buy some flies so he can catch his second fish and get the merit badge. I know he worked hard on it, so we’re going to finish it! According to Bob, Jacob and Maks spent an afternoon teaching some disabled scouts how to clean fish. He said it was one of the highlights of the trip for him. Jacob said, “Oh yeah, I guess I helped them a little…” It’s amazing the difference in perception! We’re really proud of Jacob for giving some of his free time to help others.

Jacob said the food was wonderful and the weather was beautiful. I think it was in the low 50’s at night. Perfect. We were really glad to have him home on Saturday the 3rd though. Brie had only seen Jacob for like 2 days in 2 weeks, and that is really abnormal for them. She slept in Jacob’s bed while he was in NIH the week before, and a few nights when he was at camp too. She might have been the happiest to have him back! I was told there were pictures coming, but I haven’t even seen the pictures from last year’s trip, so I’m not holding my breath.

Going Forward

There are some beast camping trips planned for the next few months, as Jacob would say. We’re going to miss the August trip to the Ichetucknee Springs State Park on the 13th because we’ll be in St. Pete. I’m sure Jacob won’t mind missing tubing for fishing, though. I think there’s another backpacking trip, maybe to Torreya? And the JLT (Junior Leadership Training) camp out will be held at St. George Island again. That’s where they plan the trips for the next year.

Jacob’s in the process of finishing Citizenship in the World, Citizenship in the Community, Environmental Science and Cooking merit badges. We’ve started on the Disabilities Awareness merit badge at home. Hopefully his new laptop from the Division of Blind Services will motivate him to look up the few things he needs and to finish these 4 badges and get a good start on the 5th!

We’re all really proud of the accomplishments Jacob has achieved in the past few months of scouting. He’s shown a ton of effort and it’s always nice to take a child somewhere he wants to go rather than somewhere you’re making him go! Until next time, ka-kaw, ka-kaw (That’s my Eagle call. Yeah, I know that that’s not really how Eagle’s sound, but hey, you get the point!)!

Written by Thomas

Boy Scout Trip 11-13-2009 Hall Farm, Midway, Alabama

Boy Scout Camp Out

Hall Farm, Midway, Alabama

November 13-15 2009

I had the pleasure of going on the Troop 23 November Camp Out with Jacob to Mr. Matt Hall’s Farm in Midway, Alabama, about 40 miles northwest of Eufaula, Alabama, this past weekend. I was looking forward to spending some relaxing, quality time with Jacob, and I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend.

PRE-CAMP OUT

Jacob is working very hard on his rank advancements, and one of the requirements for Second Class (and one for First Class) is to plan the meals for an overnight camp out, volunteer to buy the food for a patrol, supervise the setup of the cooking area and cook breakfast, lunch and/or dinner for the patrol. Jacob graciously volunteered during the Monday meeting, and we stuck around afterward to get the grocery list for the trip. On the Thursday night before we left, we went to Sam’s Club and Walmart to purchase the breakfast (eggs, cheese and sausage on English muffins and cereal), lunch (ham and turkey sandwiches, chips, condiments and snacks) and dinner (green beans for 30 people) foods. Jacob learned a lot about budgeting and looking for deals! We packed the cold stuff in a cooler and brought the rest in a large box for the patrol. It was a nice way to get involved and Jacob did a great job staying within the budget.

FRIDAY THE 13th

Our trip started on Friday the 13th. We were asked to be at Killearn United Methodist Church at 4:30pm so that we could pack and leave by 5:00pm. As most things do when dealing with 18 scouts of varying ages, it took a little longer than expected to get gear, fishing poles, food and scouts loaded and ready to go. The Pack 23 Webelos were invited on this overnighter as their first experience with the Troop 23 Boy Scouts. Needless to say, there were a lot of scouts on the bus, and with the Cub adults riding, there wasn’t enough room for all of the adults. I rode with Mr. Hatchett on Friday, and it turned out to be a nice ride. We left KUMC at 6:15pm looking forward to the impending 4 hour trip to the farm. We arrived at the Hall Farm around 9:20pm central time, staring into a pitch black field where we would set up camp for the weekend. It was exciting, not knowing what the landscape looked like, or where the lake was… All I could hope for was that no one fell in! CD and Matt Hall warned us about cow patties and fire ants, not exactly a great combination while trying to set up tents in the dark! We set up camp in the light of the propane lanterns, unpacked our bags and called it a night. Jacob camped with Marcus Hatchett, and I had a tent to myself. I was told that it was going to be cold. Cold was understatement!

SATURDAY

After a night of shivering, I was up at 5:00am on Saturday. Surprisingly, I wasn’t the first one up. The sun was coming up already and you could see the lake and the landscape, and it was beautiful! Tim Hall had already caught two bass by the time I got dressed and rigged our poles. I woke Jacob up and we walked the 30 yards to the lakeside, a lot closer than I had realized the night before! Jacob had his new black and red Boo-Yah spinnerbait, and I opted for the black and orange mini rapala. It was later discovered that neither of these worked worth a damn! Tim caught a total of 8 bass Saturday morning, all on a small rooster tail. Of course, when the other rooster tails went on poles, nothing was biting. Tim obviously had the scoop on the timing and tactics.

CD decided to blow the whistle for the wake-up call around 7:00am. Most everyone was up already, but those that weren’t were quickly dressed and standing under the cooking tents. The boys broke into 3 patrols and began setting up the propane stoves on the “patrol boxes,” the work stations for each patrol. Coolers were unloaded and the boys started cooking. Jacob and Danny, the senior patrol leader for the camp out, went to work cooking sausage and eggs, cutting the muffins apart, getting the cheese ready and making the breakfast sandwiches for the 6 scouts in their patrol. Jacob was involved in all the steps, and it was really nice to see him working hard to earn his rank. I was really proud that Jacob didn’t complain or get frustrated, and he set a great example for the younger Cub Scouts in the patrol. Aside from my new, broken cooler (which no one could recall how it got broken), everything went as smooth as it could’ve. CD cooked for the adults, and in the cold weather, bacon, eggs and toast did the trick! We all ate around the fire and resumed fishing. Because Jacob did the cooking, he did not have to clean up afterwards, as is the rule of Scout camping. I think he finally realized why I love coming home and cooking! While the others cleaned up, we took a walk around the lake and tried our luck at different spots. Some of the scouts caught bass and blue gill, but up until about 11:00am, Jacob and I still had our skirts. I decided to switch to my skinny green worm with a weighted jighead. The bite had stopped for about 30 minutes, but I still fished, and around 11:10am I caught my first bass of the trip. He was a little guy, but he looks huge in my story! Jacob was a little disappointed that he hadn’t caught anything yet, and he moved across the lake to try another spot. I walked over to him and he was reeling in his purple worm, looking distraught. Right as the worm came up to the top of the bank, Jacob got his first bite and caught his first bass! He was stoked, so I left him to keep fishing. Most importantly, no skirts!

CD, Lyle and Mike had been setting up the “Amazing Race” challenges for the boys to compete in after lunch. I was double checking that the necessary equipment was at each station, so I missed Jacob’s “Biggest Bass of the Weekend.” The Cub Scouts were impressed and it was nice to see Jacob so happy. It was a 2.5 pounder, a nice size for the little lake we were at. CD called the boys in to make sandwiches and eat lunch, and explained the competition while we were all gathered. The boys were separated into 2 teams for the competition. There were 13 tasks that had to be completed, each with their own set of rules. Some of the tasks included buddy-walking, building a ladder from wood and rope, and making a stretcher to carry a “wounded” scout back to camp. The boys practiced knot-tying, orienteering, fire starting, flag pole building and most of all, teamwork. Tim and Danny did great jobs keeping their teams together and making sure everyone was involved. It was a great challenge, made even better by the fact that all the scouts had a great time. Good leadership made the activities possible, and CD did a great job planning and executing. It was a blast!

The competition ended as the sun went down. It was time for our dinner! CD fried turkeys and each patrol brought a side dish. We had Turkey, stuffing, corn and green beans for dinner. CD made a dutch oven dump cake for dessert. It was delicious, especially since the temperature was rapidly falling into the 40’s. We sat around a campfire for a long time. There was a meteor shower on Saturday, and a few of us did get to see some shooting stars. All of the stars were out, and it was a nice ending to a great day… even though it was only 7:30 pm! With all of the activity and early rising, bedtime came early for everyone, as soon as the Georgia-Auburn game ended!

“I will not be cold,” I told myself. Jacob decided he was sleeping in pants, socks and jacket. I chose to go with the wool socks, basketball shorts, 2 long sleeved shirts, a skully, and ear covers, with my jacket pulled over my head. We beat the cold Saturday night.

SUNDAY

Much like Saturday, we woke early and went fishing. It was colder than the morning before and since we had to pack up, I watched Jacob fish more than I fished. I began packing us up and taking off rain-flies to dry. It was very wet for being so cold. The scouts had cereal and the adults had another delicious hot breakfast cooked by CD. The coffee might have been the best part. Matt Hall is preacher at Canopy Roads Baptist Church, so we were able to have an amazing church service around the campfire. Mr. Hall’s message was simple: Be remembered. He tried to instill in the scouts the desire to complete tasks, to never quit, and to try to do the best you can, always. Great men are remembered, and scouting lays the foundation for great men.

After our service, fishing resumed. Some scouts caught blue gill, but not much activity otherwise. There was a lot to do to get ready to go, and all the scouts pitched in to get everything dried, taken down and repacked. A few hours and we were ready to hit the road. A few more pictures and it was time to go. We left around 11:15am Alabama time. I rode the bus this time, which was cool. I got to spend a little more time with Jacob and his buddies on the bus. We ate lunch in Eufaula and then poked home. We finally made it to Tallahassee around 5:30pm. It was a long day in the bus.

I was grateful to return to my wonderful wife and son, who were waiting for us out in the yard (with dinner cooked!). Jacob and I missed our family very much. We do a lot together, and it’s not very often that we’re away from each other (at least Tammy and me). It was well worth it though. I am thankful that I got to spend time with Jacob away from all the crap he puts up with everyday. We got to hang out, and it seems like these times are happening less and less as we all grow up. I was reminded how lucky I am to have such a great family. I am proud of Jacob for sticking with scouts and for wanting to advance. He showed leadership and determination this weekend. He was my best friend again, hanging out and joking around. I wish life could be a camp out every day. But as a wise and wonderful woman often tells me, if life was easy every day, we wouldn’t appreciate the good times as much as we do.

(Written by Thomas aka TD)

A week of Firsts....

Jacob and Brie started back to school. We all went and had breakfast together and talked (I cried) about how exciting it is to start a new year of school.



Both of them are now at Elizabeth Cobb Middle School. Brie is a 6th grader and Jacob moved up to 7th. On the 1st day Brie was really nervous, starting a new school and the Math and Science Magnet program. Jacob was glad not to be at the bottom of the food chain any longer.

The 1st day could of gone by without a hitch, but why would it? Jacob and I both ended up mad by 10:30 am. Jac got pulled from 1st period over a vaccination. This year it was required that all 7th graders have their Tdap vaccination (whooping cough, tetanus, and diphtheria). Jacob only had the tetanus part of the required shot because the whooping cough part of the vaccine is known to cause seizures. Since Jacob has a history of seizures and NF2 can be considered a seizure disorder our primary didn't want to give it to him. I discussed this with the nurse at Cobb this past May and was told everything was taken care of...so needless to say I was very upset that Jacob was pulled out of class, sent to the library like he had the plague, and I was called to "pick up my son." I spoke to the teachers in the media center, a person in the office and the nurse. By the time I got Gavin back out of bed and walked through the doors of Cobb, Jacob had been given his schedule and sent to class. I was assured everything was fine. It took me a while to cool down from that - like Jacob doesn't go through enough! Little things add up!


Anyway, after school on Monday I was so glad to hear they both like all of their teachers and seem happy with their classes.


It has been really nice to have them both at the same school only a mile down the road!! Gavin and I even walked to meet them when school was over Monday and Tuesday. A 2 mile walk in the afternoon feels great. Can't wait for the fall breeze.


Wish all I had to worry about was a vaccination and the weather. School has been really hard for Jacob adjusting to school with his vision loss.


I spoke with the vision teacher at Cobb on Tuesday and they are working on Jacob getting set up in the vision program. They were waiting on paper work from Shands. Being in the vision program will offer Jac large print books, talking books, and teach Braille. I will learn next week what other things they can offer to help Jacob. Like with his notes and worksheets and such. This week was hard for him regarding doing, reading, and writing his school work. The print in the books are too small, his worksheets print and numbers are too small and he has a hard time seeing the things he has written himself. TD reprinted a lot of Jacob's home work in font 28 to help him see it, so he could do some of it on his own. Brie, TD and I took turns reading him questions and helping him fill out papers. I guess we are going to have to go to key locks instead of combinations - those numbers are too small for him to see too. It's been rough for him.

I am waiting still on Division of Blind Services to finish his application and get him help through them.

Then there was Thursday...

It was another lovely day at Shands.

First let me say that I received an email from Dr. Amy Smith (a response from an email I sent her last Friday) really late last night. She stated in her email that her and Dr. Pincus are not convinced that what is showing up on or around the optic nerve is a tumor, based on the MRI from August 17th. Dr. Harbour is the one who stated it was a meningioma or a glioma. I sent the email to Dr. Smith asking why he didn't know for sure. Dr. Smith's email said she would like for Jacob to do a CT scan to get a better look at his optic nerve and the surrounding areas. It could be a tumor or another possibility is spinal fluid collection from something else. She wants to discuss Jacob having a spinal tap to check his spinal pressure. (I recently read about this on the NF2 Crew - elevated pressure in the spinal fluid can cause the optic nerve to swell causing problems with vision). I don't know how safe the spinal tap is with NF2- I haven't spoken to Dr. Smith yet.

So we got up and went on to Gainesville to met the radiation/radiotherapy doctor.

At 9:45 we met with Dr. Amdur at the Cancer Center and his 2 residents/fellows.

He said if it is a tumor then they can do radiation, but he isn't sure he would recommend it at this time. There are a lot of risks. (Better to wait)

He went over radiation options in the event that the CT does reveal a tumor.

The type of radiation they would do is photon RT. Shands Jacksonville (1 in 5 places in US) offers proton RT, which is the same radiation delivered by a different machine. Jacob could do either.


He discussed the risks.

• 50/50 that patients pituitary/hypothalamus get "screwed up" and will need some form of meds to help hormone imbalance.


• 1/4 that sight is improved at all


• 1/4 usually report no additional loss of sight


• 1/100 that patient will suffer memory issues (short term memory, thinking skills, etc)


• 1/1000 that radiation will cause complete blindness (Dr. Couldn't recall any)


• 1/100 that tumor will grow back years later or a new tumor will grow (cause new tumor growth)


• typical radiation treatments for this type is 2x a day for 5 weeks

Dr. Amdur called Dr. Smith before we left to see if she wanted to see us. She sent us to have a CT. After 2 hours of the CT staff trying to figure out the orders from Pincus and Smith, Jac got his IV in and had his 45 second CT scan.

Now we wait again for those findings.

On the bright side.....

I am very excited to say Jacob has been accepted into the NF2 study at NIH.
I received an email from the Neurosurgeon Dr. Asthagiri's Nurse Practitioner. She stated that they had received a letter from Dr. Amy Smith and Jacob's films and they were reviewed on August 20th. She said since that time, their offices had been moving and she has not had a chance to respond to me. However, she said Dr. Asthagiri is interested in seeing Jacob in the NF2 study. They are booking in Oct and Nov. They plan on Jacob getting an MRI scan, seeing the eye doctor and ENT doctor as well as doing audiology and vestibular testing, blood work and seeing the pediatric oncologist. She said the MRI scans are the hardest to book and depending on the availability it could take several weeks. She still needs to register Jacob so I hope to hear from her soon.

I am holding onto hope that this group of doctors at the NIH who take care of many NF2 patients will have more answers and be able to help Jacob.

So Jacob and Brie weren't the only ones who were busy this week. Gavin started eating cereal this past Sunday and he loves it!! By Wednesday night he was opening his mouth when he sees the spoon coming and he is learning to keep his hands out of the way. It is really cute and less messy than I remember, but I bet there is plenty of mess to come. Gavin also cut his 1st tooth. Ouch. This little bottom tooth is so sharp and is making him drool and chew on everything...like a little boxer. :) There are only a mouthful more to come. Bring em on - we're ready.

Glad it's Friday. We are ready for the weekend. Jacob and Brie are excited they are going to their favorite cousin's house and I am thrilled to have TD home with me a few days that don't include doctors appointments.

Our week of Brie's 1st day of middle school, Jacob's 1st day of 7th grade, Jacob's 1st trip to the radiation therapy doctor, G's first taste of cereal and G's 1st tooth is winding down.


What's next???