Things have continued to slow down a bit as we move further away from treatment.  We’ve had a few weekend days where we could relax and just get some stuff done around the house, all while having some quality family time. 

We did have a trip to Iowa City a couple of weeks ago for Blake’s cognitive testing.  It is definitely one of those things that camps out in the back of your brain, and then rears its ugly head during these times.  Since Blake underwent radiation at such a young age, one of the major risks involved is the development of his brain.  During this age, kids tend to have some extremely important brain development, which is needed to process information.  In kids who have experienced radiation at a young age, the layering of tracks needed for increased processing speed is slowed or even stopped.  It is probably one of the worst parts of the entire process, as there is seemingly nothing you can do to change it. 

A year ago, after Blake’s brain surgery, he showed no signs of any issues related to learning.  He scored off the charts in every aspect of the test, and we couldn’t have been happier.  Fast forward one whole year, and we didn’t know what to expect.  The test lasts a few hours, and as Amber and I settled into the waiting room, the terrible thoughts begin to creep back into your mind.  Why does something like this have to happen to him?  Why this, why that, and as all of those questions kept popping up, I just got angrier and angrier! 

Sure enough he finally finished and it was results time.  His Child Psychologist started by explaining how well Blake performed on his test, and how much she enjoyed watching his brain work.  Once again he scored off the charts and she was amazed by his brain being “mostly” unphased by everything.  Our racing hearts relaxed for a moment, getting that amazing news.  She went on to explain that she was having a great time giving him more and more problems and seeing him accept the challenge of some high school and college level math problems.  She was very happy to see his ability to communicate and said he is definitely one of a kind.  However, as she wrote down the 4 scores, there was one score left. Her attitude shifted as she said…. But…….

The heart race sped back up as she explained that his processing speed has dropped significantly since his last test. She explained that as of now his problem isn’t not knowing the answers, but his problem is getting them down on paper in a certain amount of time.  As always, I asked the question of how, when, and if it will continue to drop!  She gave me the typical answer of, “every kid is different!”  She explained that he is so smart, and that will never change, but his ability to get the information down might continue to get more difficult.  The problem isn’t knowing information, it is getting frustrated in that learning will slow down and get more difficult.  It’s sad to hear at first, but we know how many ways Blake has already amazed his team of physicians, so we know he’ll continue to show us how amazing he can be! 

We will continue to monitor learning, and we’re hopeful that his drops will slow down and he will continue to develop as normal as possible! 

Now for the good part!  

Last night we had the opportunity to once again be the Wish Family at the Clinton County Make-A-Wish fundraiser at the Vista Grande! Amber took the opportunity to speak this time, so I could freely not have a stomachache the entire time waiting to speak!   She did an amazing job, and then the best was yet to come! The committee did a great job in revealing Blake’s wish of going to California to go to Super Mario World, amongst a variety of other fun things! They did an amazing job of creating a super fun environment with all of the committee being involved, and Blake was extremely happy! 

It was all in all a great night, and we had a lot of fun talking with so many people who have helped us along the way.  The amount of people that were there and gave so much to help families like ours was truly amazing!  In total they raised over $113,000 making it back to back 6 figure years!  What an incredible event with a great group of leaders and volunteers that work so hard to help kids like Blake.  We can’t thank Barb and Casey, along with every single volunteer who made last night possible. 

We are off from Iowa City for quite awhile now, having to go back for an MRI in mid June!  Until then we are just hoping that Blake continues to improve physically and can get back to his old self by summer.  He did play a soccer game this past weekend, and did pretty well considering the situation! We’re hopeful for more of those times and look forward to getting back to even more normalcy!