8.4.17 The Sad and The Beautiful

To get the sad news out of the way first, I am going to give it straight away. We had to return Aimee's service dog, Yoda, last week. We were finally able to get the results of her allergy test the week before and found that she was allergic to dogs among other things. It really had not occurred to me before that she might be, though her symptoms had become much more extreme this past year. We made the sad concession that his benefit did not outweigh the challenge and took him back. Still working on cleaning out Aimee's space and removing the dog presence from her room, but I feel that she has been improved this past week. 

Before I give you the beautiful, you must endure the mundane. Tuesday, Alyssa and I took Aimee in for her contrast x-ray procedure. Knowing that I could not stay in the room with her due to baby, it was a huge blessing to have Alyssa with us. It was not a comfortable process and the hospital provided a child life specialist to help ease/distract Aimee as well. I was so grateful that Alyssa was in there too though for Aimee's sake, since she could provide feedback on Aimee's distress level and her presence could comfort Aimee. I think the procedure was also easier for Aimee to endure since she is very used to having a variety of enima type processes done daily. All the anatomy looked as it should through her colon according to the technician. We are now ready to have the GI surgery done whenever they have a cancellation or September 18th, whichever comes first. 

Sidenote: Still no contact from the spine surgery scheduler, though it has been over 2 weeks since we were cleared by Anesthesia. I left a message earlier this week, but am feeling uncomfortably aware that our timeframe is getting smaller. It seems unlikely that this will work out as we had hoped with 13 weeks left until the arrival of baby boy. 

On to the beautiful! Aimee was able to be a little bridesmaid in her cousin Angelique's wedding this past weekend. Angelique has been able to build a sweet relationship with Aimee this past year through many hours of caregiving. Aimee really lit up in her bridesmaid role. She was engaged and smiling. Her favorite moments, I believe, were attempting to eat her bouquet, walking the bumpy path back down the aisle, and dancing. Personally, I will treasure being stuck behind seeing my lovely niece and my brother prepare to walk down the aisle. It was so appropriate as she was with me at my own wedding as a young bridesmaid in that same moment.