DakotaT
  • DakotaT
  • Select Member Topic Starter
11 years ago
Well I haven't given an update on Mia in quite a while, and since this forum is more dead than the collective libidos of Cheesey, Foster, Wayne, Nick, and Wade - I thought I'd bring up a topic.

Mia's doing really well with her recovery. She has a full head of hair again, she's back to dancing with her Just For Kix class, and she is so much stronger. I'd say she's about average in size, but smaller than her twin - so the chemo hasn't stunted her growth terribly. Obviously she has coordination damage due to the location of the tumor - and probably will never get back to 100%. Just something we'll have to accept.

We do have to take an extra trip to Minneapolis in the next month to have cataract surgery on both eyes. They'd do it in Bismarck if she were an adult, but only one eye at a time. In the cities they will anesthitize her and knock em both out at one time. She was put under so many times under radiation that we want to limit the times she needs it. They'll also correct her nearsightedness and astigmatism then as well. Julie and I aren't even phased by this latest occurrence. Don't know if it is a good thing to be callous to medical procedures, or if it is to be expected with what we went through as parents.

She will have a four month MRI next week as continued follow up and monitoring. There's always a little uneasiness about those, but as time goes by, it gets easier. My daughter Hannah has put together a team of girls who are all going to donate 8 inches of hair to a charity fundraiser called St. Baldrick's Day run by Basin Electric. It's a pretty selfless act for 11 year old kids, and makes me proud.

Now that the hardest parts of caring for a child with cancer is over, it's natural to reflect on the experience. Of course, Julie and I are really tired, and I don't think you ever catch back up. But this amazing thing happened to us - we became a closer couple who put away the bull shit and petty things that consume marriages and focused on being a team that had to suck it up for their child. That's a life experience few people get to have, it's as good as any college degree or a lifetime of gathered wisdom, maybe even better. It's the reason I don't look back on the experience with negativity, because I realize it strengthened us.

Whenever we're at church or a basketball game, I catch people looking at Mia with this satisfying smile on their faces. I feel good about that because I know they cared about what happened to her and what she had to endure to get her life back. I also feel good because I know these people cared about our family and were going to make sure we didn't walk alone. Kind of like that Footprints in the Sand poem - it felt like we were all alone at times, but we had our whole community carrying us.

Anyway, I made sure my little girl survived - but I don't think I'm going to be able to fix the libido problem of the aforementioned ex-hippies. I'm DakotaT, not a miracle worker.
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Cheesey
11 years ago
hey wise guy!!! I and my wife have sex almost
everyday!!!
(almost Monday,almost Tuesday, almost Wednesday....LOL!)

anyway, that's great news about Mia!
and with what you have been going through,
the fact that you arn't as worried with the
eye surgery is understandable. cancer
like that is so life and death, that this pales
compared to that. it doesn't mean you are not
concerned or don't care. you have just
had a chance to catch your collective
breathe. give Mia and Julie a hug for me!
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wpr
  • wpr
  • Preferred Member
11 years ago
great news!
Mia is my hero as much as my son is. Both of them were in combat. Both of them were under fire. Both came thru with a few scars but certainly stronger. I will never say what my wife and I faced was any where near similar to what you and Julie went thru.

I find it interesting that they will correct her astigmatism as well. I didn't think they could do that. My son had his nearsightedness corrected before he went overseas. 5 years later his eyes were getting fatigued so he had a check up and is back to wearing glasses due to his astigmatism.

Hannah is an amazing girl. I understand how important personal appearance is to young people, maybe more so to young women because of what they see on tv and the other media outlets. So that she is giving up her hair for another young girl is incredible.

You and Julie have done a terrific job raising your girls and working on your relationship. It is funny you mentioned how you and Julie put all the little petty things aside and focused on what is more important. Rhonda and I had one of those moments about 10 years ago. We were facing our own crisis. With some help and hard work we got thru it. All the little things just don't matter any more. Life is so much more enjoyable when we don't have to argue the smallest details.
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Pack93z
11 years ago

That's a life experience few people get to have, it's as good as any college degree or a lifetime of gathered wisdom, maybe even better. It's the reason I don't look back on the experience with negativity, because I realize it strengthened us.

Originally Posted by: DakotaT 



Albeit I endured it and didn't have the emotional drain of it happening to my child.. it is something I say often and people think I am loopy for doing it. Past the part of giving up my childhood dream early in life and know that I have more struggles coming my way as I age.. I look back on my accident and see the positives way more often than I entertain the negatives.

Mia, actually all your kids, will have the maturity and ingrained strength from going through this that they have wisdom that many will not experience until later in life. This will serve them well as they move forward in life, or at least it did me. Sure I was still a dumb kid doing dumb things, but I was grounded in a reality that most were not. I drew from the well often.. still do.

Anyway.. I have said it before, I admired your families strength through it all and following along from a distance through Caring Bridge and other means.. you could see the support around you. Gives one hope for the future of us humans..

"The oranges are dry; the apples are mealy; and the papayas... I don't know what's going on with the papayas!"
Formo
11 years ago
So we gonna catch lunch/dinner this time then?
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Thanks to TheViking88 for the sig!!
DakotaT
  • DakotaT
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11 years ago

So we gonna catch lunch/dinner this time then?

Originally Posted by: Formo 



I don't know, I called you a dumbass and a Suzie on facebook last night. You might want to hurt me. I'll PM you when I know our itinerary. We'll be staying in Maple Grove.
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Formo
11 years ago

I don't know, I called you a dumbass and a Suzie on facebook last night. You might want to hurt me. I'll PM you when I know our itinerary. We'll be staying in Maple Grove.

Originally Posted by: DakotaT 



I work in Maple Grove. There is no excuses. =D

And yes, you have an ass whuppin' coming.
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Thanks to TheViking88 for the sig!!
DakotaT
  • DakotaT
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11 years ago
Good News minions - Mia had another clear scan on her MRI today. That makes 2.5 years of being cancer free. In four months we go through the animosity again. After 5 years they will consider her cancer free, but an annual MRI will continue into her young adult life.
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porky88
11 years ago

Good News minions - Mia had another clear scan on her MRI today. That makes 2.5 years of being cancer free. In four months we go through the animosity again. After 5 years they will consider her cancer free, but an annual MRI will continue into her young adult life.

Originally Posted by: DakotaT 


Glad to hear the good news.
wpr
  • wpr
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11 years ago
=d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> [grin1]
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