Childrens Wish-Part 4

Before I get to more photos I will give everyone an update from Cheyenne's scans.  We spent the majority of Wednesday at the hospital for various appointments.  The first was with the orthopedic surgeon.  Because chemo can affect their nerves, it often alters how they walk.  Originally Cheyenne was toe walking, and they were keeping an eye on this.  Lately she has been knock kneed(not sure of the actual term for this).  This seems to be more of a concern to the doctor so she is will be watching her closely.  We then headed up to clinic to have Cheyenne's port flushed, bloodwork done and results from her scans.  Everything was clear and the doctors are pleased with her progress.  They asked for some pictures of Cheyennes bump at various stages because they are using her for a case study at an upcoming conference on Rhabdomyosarcoma.  We then sat in the pre-op clinic for a long time.  The kind anaethetist told me that I can skip these appointments as long as her medical status doesnt change.  Thank-you!  Cheyenne's scans have now changed to every 4 months for the next year.  Thank you to everyone who kept us in your prayers.  I would have to say that this was the hardest set of scans and waiting for results thus far.  The emotional toll was hard.  I guess it is the knowing that she is now off chemo and there is a high chance of recurrance.  Its hard not to let those thoughts take over.


And on to our trip adventures:
Thursday brought us to our first port of call, Skagway, Alaska. 

mountains and glaciers

waterfalls down the mountains are plentiful

this is a snowplow that was used for clearing the traintracks, now on display at the museum, this was pulled out of retirement a few years back when they had an extreme snowfall

the white trail pass train heading up the mountain

here we are headed out of skagway, alaska towards Canada

Canadian-American border

lots of curves and steep cliffs, this trip isnt for the faint of heart

we are now in canada, the engine switches to the other end for the decent back down the mountain.  This tour showed alot of different historical places from the yukon gold rush.

family shot infront of the engine

Children's wish - part 3

We set sail from Vancouver at about 4pm Monday afternoon.  It was very busy on the ship between settling the kids in and trying to figure out where everything was.  The time change (we gained 3 hours when we flew to Vancouver) was hard on us all.  We settled into bed early that first night.

Tuesday came bright and early and with it came sea sickness.  The kids never seemed bothered but Dave and I spent the majority of the day trying to sleep or in the washroom.  I have no pictures of Tuesday, sorry.  Tuesday night we gained yet another hour (4hours total) of time. 

Wednesday was a better day, we travelled the inside passage where the waters seemed calmer and the speed a little slower.  The travel was made slower by the blanket of white fog.  By 1pm the fog had lifted and we were on track for our first destination.  We arrived at Tracey Arm, Alaska around 2pm.  These pictures do no justice to the beauty and pure, untouched creation.  The water is so clear.





A peice of the glacier that has broke off.

 



Mountains heading into Tracey Arm. 




The glacier from a distance.  Not that you can tell but there was seals in the water by the base of the glacier.  Without binoculars, you couldn't see them.



The ship got as close as possible to the glacier so that we could get a good look at it.

If you notice that the glacier is different shades of blue, it has to do with how long it has been exposed to the air.  In this picture a piece of it had just calved(that is what they call it) into the water.  The underpiece is a stunning blue colour.

From a distance



Dave and I in Tracey Arm.  We took a picture of the picture, hence the poor quality.

 We purchased a disk of the pictures that the professionals took while we were on the cruise.  But when we got home, realized that they had only included one of our rooms on the disk.  The majority of the pictures were under the other room #.  We contacted them but havent heard back.  Hence, no picture of the family. 
It has been a busy couple weeks of appointments.  Cheyenne has had all of her scans and we are going next wednesday for scan results. 

Childrens Wish-Part 2

I know you have all been waiting patiently and I am sorry for the delay.  Having issues uploading pictures so this may be more brief than anticipated.

Update on Cheyenne, she had her CT scan today and was a brave girl.  No tears, just a big girl who climbed up on the table and told me I could leave the room.  The change in the last 3 months is amazing.  She has grown in so many ways.

Heading up to the ship...

Recognize anyone yet?



The rear of the boat - Disney really goes the extra mile with details






The Disney Wonder- not a great shot but this boat is huge

 

The view from where we departed - any guesses?

Sail away party

Let the sail-a-bration begin!

A fruit basket to welcome us in our room

And different treats everyday, cheeses, desserts, etc

Leaving dock - heading out to sea, if you look very closely you can see people on the bridge waving to the boat



A very special meeting.  We had the opportunity to go up to the bridge(the cockpit of the ship) and meet the Captain and his crew.  Then we got a surprise meeting with Mickey

 


Brielle was slow to warm up to the characters, Cassidy just screamed NO if they got anywhere close to her

 Stay tuned to find out where we are headed.