A Mellow Weekend in Baltimore

We spent the weekend running errands and trying to stay out of the hotel room as much as possible. Both days, we went to different places in the White Marsh area. Amanda wears a mask while we are out but she still really enjoys the change of scenery. Our next door neighbor last night was celebrating his bachelor party so we didn't have to worry about Amanda being too loud with her squealing. She has been amazingly happy the last several days. The video below should give you a taste of how silly she can be....


Dan and I have decided that nothing has really changed with her in the last month - we just know more information than we used to know. We are optimistic that everything that
was going to happen has already happened and that it is not unreasonable to expect that Amanda will continue to progress in her skills and that the problems found in her head will remain stable and never ever cause a problem. After all, she has had this stuff in her head since her surgery at 17 mos of age and she is now 4, and in the interim, she has passed kidney stones, been very active, laughed incessantly, and had lots of fun, all with no problems. It is quite a relief to not be facing major brain surgery right now and hopefully not ever. We have been told that the annual risk of rupture of all aneurysms is 1.3 percent and the shape of hers makes them less likely to rupture, so our odds are even better. Anyway, it has been nice to be able to stop and take a breath after a fairly intense 3 weeks.

We are very thankful for all that we have, including our two amazing girls. Katie is such a loving and understanding big sis. And Amanda is pure joy and innocence. The last few weeks have given us even more resolve to do everything in our power to make Amanda's life even more special. She is such a joy to be around and we have really enjoyed the 3 weeks of 24-7 time with the family.

Tomorrow we do another blood draw for Amanda and then Thursday we to the assessment at KKI. We should be headed for home on Thursday afternoon or Friday morning at the latest. Then we will spend the next few weeks catching up on work and getting ready for the new semester, which starts August 20. We will keep you posted on our happenings.

Have a blessed day!

Susan