We are down to the final stretch before leaving our possessions and family behind. We are filled with excitement, last-minute jitters and, ever so slightly, a bit of doubt. OK, maybe doubt is not the right word to describe it as it has little to do with the actual trip itself. We are quite excited to get back on the road. The main cause for our concern is Luka. There are a couple of small but lingering health-related problems we were hoping to resolve.
Luka at his 3 month’s check up today with an off-the-charts weigh in.
One problem he has is the acid reflux that we blogged about in a previous post. Through a strict diet that Marlene has been on and some medication, the problem is starting to wane so we are keeping our fingers crossed that we have seen the worst of it. The second concern is less of a daily issue but one we think we need to address sooner rather than later . He has a birthmark on the left side of his upper lip. It appeared when he was a couple of weeks old and as he has grown, it has gotten more noticeable. The medical term for this is infantile hemangioma. It’s a cluster of blood vessels that have self-involuted. Typically, infantile hemangioma appears when the infant is just a couple of weeks old and goes away before they are 10.
Both Ava and Mila have these types of ‘birthmarks’ in other parts of their bodies. Ava’s has gone away completely and Mila’s has faded significantly. His case is quite minor as well but since it is on his lip, there is slightly more cause for concern. As it is an area of high blood flow, it is uncertain how it will evolve over time. There is also a chance that it might effect his speech as well as being a nuisance once he starts eating solid foods. Since we are within a week of leaving, we were able to squeeze in a quick appointment at a specialist tomorrow to have it checked out. It’s not something that will actually delay us because I don’t think it is something they will do anything about at this age. However, it surely will come up again in the next 6-months while we are on the road. With this proactive visit to the specialist, we are somewhat prepared if we need to get it treated while we are traveling.
Assuming nothing new is discovered tomorrow at the doctor’s appointment, chances are very good that we won’t, we will have clear almost all of our pre-trip hurdles. There will be only one more thing left to do on Friday, the day before we leave. Ava has her first official meeting with her kindergarten teacher Stephanie. Some months ago, while anticipating of our travels,we found and enrolled her in a publicly founded charter school with a homeschooling program. We are very excited about it and will blog about it in more detail in another post.
On Saturday night, we push off for Las Vegas. Upon arrival, we plan to boondock in the parking lot of the Orleans before checking into the Silverton Hotel and Casino on Sunday morning for 5 nights of cheap, air-conditioned, gambling-subsidized, mid-week resort living. I guess it is kind of a ‘soft launch’ into our full time lives. Our daily blog posts from the road will start on Friday, August 3rd. If you haven’t already, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for the latest updates. We have also created an interactive map that we will be updating daily as we travel. Hope to see you on the road.
over and out,
dan
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