There were a lot of other doctors’ appointments that took place on Thursday and Friday … or didn’t take place. The vein mapping for placement of a dialysis catheter was postponed. It had been double booked with the chest CT, which obviously took precedence especially due to the concern with the liver. The vein mapping, […]
Yesterday went mostly well. “Mostly” because there’s never been a time we’ve had scans when the response is simply, “Perfect, great, everything’s just ducky. Go on your way now, you healthy normal people.” No, not quite that. First, he had the follow-up with the radiation oncologist which was fine (a lot like what I said […]
https://krissydietrichgallagher.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Krissy-Gallagher-1.png00krissygallagherhttps://krissydietrichgallagher.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Krissy-Gallagher-1.pngkrissygallagher2010-08-13 14:14:192023-11-30 16:43:49Doing For Versus Doing To
Well, a few stitches can’t slow this boy down. Aside from missing his last week of swim lessons (which he did not complain about), he’s doing everything normally: running, playing, climbing. Here he is at Horseshoe Lake Park a few days ago climbing higher on the rope structure than he ever has before. The boys […]
https://krissydietrichgallagher.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Krissy-Gallagher-1.png00krissygallagherhttps://krissydietrichgallagher.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Krissy-Gallagher-1.pngkrissygallagher2010-08-11 13:02:342023-05-14 15:48:35Never Slow Down
Austin’s appointment this afternoon with the orthopedic surgeon went well. We soaked his hand in sterile water and peroxide until we could peel the bandages off and the doctor was quite pleased with how it looked. He could tell right away from the way Austin was holding his fingers that there was no nerve damage […]
https://krissydietrichgallagher.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Krissy-Gallagher-1.png00krissygallagherhttps://krissydietrichgallagher.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Krissy-Gallagher-1.pngkrissygallagher2010-08-06 22:31:312023-05-14 15:48:43Request for Exemption
You’re not really gonna believe this one. Back in the winter, during those long dark days spent cooped up in the hospital, Austin announced that when his PICC line was removed he wanted to go to Kalahari. No, not Africa; the “world’s largest indoor water park” located about an hour west of us. We’ve been […]
https://krissydietrichgallagher.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Krissy-Gallagher-1.png00krissygallagherhttps://krissydietrichgallagher.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Krissy-Gallagher-1.pngkrissygallagher2010-08-05 16:36:532023-05-14 15:49:02Same Old Dance
Three years ago today Austin was diagnosed with cancer. The whole thing started on July 30, 2007 when we were admitted to the hospital. We were staying on the pediatric oncology floor, so you would think I would have known my child had cancer, but I swear nobody actually said that word until Wednesday, August […]
https://krissydietrichgallagher.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Krissy-Gallagher-1.png00krissygallagherhttps://krissydietrichgallagher.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Krissy-Gallagher-1.pngkrissygallagher2010-08-01 17:39:462023-05-14 15:49:19Three Long Years
No, I’m not talking about LeBron James or witnessing greatness. I’m talking about our big decision. The Decision. And we’ve made it. Mark and I both feel comfortable leaving Austin’s kidney in until we have a real reason to take it out. We will continue to do abdominal ultrasounds once a month to watch for potential […]
https://krissydietrichgallagher.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Krissy-Gallagher-1.png00krissygallagherhttps://krissydietrichgallagher.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Krissy-Gallagher-1.pngkrissygallagher2010-07-29 15:20:272023-06-06 20:26:36The Real Decision
We could tell Austin’s life story through his hair. At birth, he, like his brother before him, had a head full of dark bushy hair. (And yes, for what it’s worth, I did have heartburn.) At about six months he, like his brother before him, exhibited classic signs of male pattern baldness: It slowly grew […]
Today was fine. Long and boring and exhausting the way that standing around an airport doing absolutely nothing all day can be exhausting. And that’s what we did: nothing really, except roll spirals of Play-Doh and paint with watercolors (I on paper, Austin on his legs). But he was a trooper. Not a single peep […]
Austin has a Witness t-shirt. Long-sleeved, black with the Nike swoosh and those stark white capital letters. He’ll keep wearing it. He’s a witness after all. As are we all. I’ve witnessed greatness and heroism and bravery many times over. Every time a teacher stays late to help that struggling child. Every time a nurse […]
Unencumbered
There were a lot of other doctors’ appointments that took place on Thursday and Friday … or didn’t take place. The vein mapping for placement of a dialysis catheter was postponed. It had been double booked with the chest CT, which obviously took precedence especially due to the concern with the liver. The vein mapping, […]
Doing For Versus Doing To
Yesterday went mostly well. “Mostly” because there’s never been a time we’ve had scans when the response is simply, “Perfect, great, everything’s just ducky. Go on your way now, you healthy normal people.” No, not quite that. First, he had the follow-up with the radiation oncologist which was fine (a lot like what I said […]
Never Slow Down
Well, a few stitches can’t slow this boy down. Aside from missing his last week of swim lessons (which he did not complain about), he’s doing everything normally: running, playing, climbing. Here he is at Horseshoe Lake Park a few days ago climbing higher on the rope structure than he ever has before. The boys […]
Request for Exemption
Austin’s appointment this afternoon with the orthopedic surgeon went well. We soaked his hand in sterile water and peroxide until we could peel the bandages off and the doctor was quite pleased with how it looked. He could tell right away from the way Austin was holding his fingers that there was no nerve damage […]
Same Old Dance
You’re not really gonna believe this one. Back in the winter, during those long dark days spent cooped up in the hospital, Austin announced that when his PICC line was removed he wanted to go to Kalahari. No, not Africa; the “world’s largest indoor water park” located about an hour west of us. We’ve been […]
Three Long Years
Three years ago today Austin was diagnosed with cancer. The whole thing started on July 30, 2007 when we were admitted to the hospital. We were staying on the pediatric oncology floor, so you would think I would have known my child had cancer, but I swear nobody actually said that word until Wednesday, August […]
The Real Decision
No, I’m not talking about LeBron James or witnessing greatness. I’m talking about our big decision. The Decision. And we’ve made it. Mark and I both feel comfortable leaving Austin’s kidney in until we have a real reason to take it out. We will continue to do abdominal ultrasounds once a month to watch for potential […]
A Timeline of Hair
We could tell Austin’s life story through his hair. At birth, he, like his brother before him, had a head full of dark bushy hair. (And yes, for what it’s worth, I did have heartburn.) At about six months he, like his brother before him, exhibited classic signs of male pattern baldness: It slowly grew […]
Whoosh
Today was fine. Long and boring and exhausting the way that standing around an airport doing absolutely nothing all day can be exhausting. And that’s what we did: nothing really, except roll spirals of Play-Doh and paint with watercolors (I on paper, Austin on his legs). But he was a trooper. Not a single peep […]
Witness
Austin has a Witness t-shirt. Long-sleeved, black with the Nike swoosh and those stark white capital letters. He’ll keep wearing it. He’s a witness after all. As are we all. I’ve witnessed greatness and heroism and bravery many times over. Every time a teacher stays late to help that struggling child. Every time a nurse […]