We are back.
Sorry for the lack of updates over the last week and a half, but everyone was a little bit consumed with the vacation mom had dreamed about for years.
The Disney trip was truly an amazing trip for all ten of us.
Jess and I flew down last Friday morning and met Scott, Michelle, Emma, Patrick, Becca, and Sam who drove from North Carolina as well as mom and dad who drove from Daphne. While we didn’t hit the parks Friday evening, we went out to dinner, which was just an amazing chance for the 10 of us to be together and share a meal; sadly something we hadn’t done since Jess and I were married in September.
Saturday we spent the day at Magic Kingdom. Scott and I walked away absolutely blown away by our own technical skills and ability to deftly navigate the park avoiding crowds and lines with our iPhone apps (all kidding aside, how the hell did anyone live pre-iPhone???). Mom made it out for most of the morning before heading back to the hotel to rest up for a while in the afternoon. True to her spirit, she bounced right back and was ready for dinner that evening.
Sunday we hit up Hollywood Studios, where we learned that Becca is the single most fearless 8 year old of all time. Tower of Terror? Boring. Space Mountain? Ho-hum. Aerosmith Rock and Roller Coaster? Yawn. NOTHING FAZED THAT GIRL. She absolutely had fun on everything, but she never flinched at insane roller coasters, or spooky elevator plummets. Mom and Dad spent a little while in the morning perusing the park with the rest of the kids.
We had an absolutely incredible dinner Sunday night with the 10 of us. Jess and I were leaving the next morning, which led to some emotional goodbyes that night. In traditional mom-fashion, she spent the goodbyes telling ME that everything was going to be ok, and not to worry about her.
The rest of the family stayed until Thursday allowing the quads to get an incredible week with Grammie and Grampa.
I was blown away by mom. There were moments when you knew she was dealing with some pain, but she would never let on to any of us that anything was bothering her. Every single permutation of the “How you feelin’, mom?” question was met with the same “Oh, I’m fine, and I’m having the greatest time with my whole family here,” response. She would NEVER let on to anyone that there was any level of pain, fatigue, or general discomfort, even at times when I’m sure masking it took everything in her power to do.
Her resiliency continues to blow people away, especially us. This trip was an incredible opportunity to put that on display, all while allowing mom to experience her dream of the 10 of us sharing an incredible week in Disney.
Mom went back this morning for chemo, and her labs looked good enough to do a round this morning. She spent a good chunk of the day texting her family telling them how much she loved Disney, and how much she loves us. Ironically, she seems to be more consumed in my sore elbow than the intense treatment she’s dealing with.
Dad and her both remarked that she’s doing as well tonight as she has after any all day chemo session; though we certainly know the havoc the infusion pump has created in the past. We’re hoping that this round goes better, but even if it doesn’t we probably won’t find out from mom that it’s not going well.
More NSH stickers are available, so if you need any, please email in to TeamNanHinds@gmail.com and I’ll be sure to get them out. Also, if you put any stickers up and have a photo to share, that’s the email address as well.
Thank you all for your continued support, and there will be more posts in the days to come.
-Todd
