Trip Report It's all part of the experience...a Sweet 16 trip

My apologies for falling off of the face of the planet! LOL We have had a lot going on in our world since our trip in the beginning of November. I found out I needed a breast biopsy about a week before our trip. The doctor wanted to do it on the Wednesday before we flew out on Friday, but I decided it probably was best to wait until after the trip. I am so thankful that I did.

The biopsy itself was much more invasive than the one I had two years ago and it would have made enjoying the trip very difficult. Not to mention, we would have gotten that dreaded call with the results while we were in our "safety bubble". A perfect way to end a perfect vacation!! Waiting allowed us to focus on the trip, and Grace's big birthday.
I had the biopsy done 3 days after we came home (the Wednesday before Thanksgiving) which turned out to be invasive ductal carcinoma. It was early stage breast cancer, but scary none the less. I have a strong family history so it wasn't a total surprise, but the reality of it all was tough to handle.

I work for the Ohio State University Wexner Medical center so as an employee, I was able to navigate through the system rather quickly. We met with the surgeon (the head of the department) about a week after receiving the diagnosis and after discussing our options, surgery was scheduled for January 8th. Fortunately, it was caught quickly enough that I didn't need any treatment prior to surgery. We began to make preparations for the process and then I got a call that they had a cancellation and could do the surgery on December 20th instead. After a brief discussion and lots of prayer, we decided to go for it. I had a bilateral mastectomy with no reconstruction on the 20th and was home on the 21st. The healing has gone well and praise God, there was no lymph node involvement so at this point no further treatment is necessary. I am still home recovering but I am getting stronger every day! Dennis and I will be taking an adults only trip to WDW in February to celebrate being CANCER FREE!!! We can't wait!


Now on to the fun stuff!! We had a wonderful trip experiencing our first DVC stay and celebrating the 16th birthday of our Amazing Grace. The weather wasn't ideal, but we packed a lot of "firsts" into this trip. Our first Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party, our first dessert party and our first time in Pandora! I didn't do a very good job of journaling this trip, so I don't have a lot of details, but I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

Cast of characters:
Myself- Sweet Evangeline
DH- Mouse Freak
DD- Grace- sweet 16
Our dear friend, Jodee, who Grace refers to as Disney Jodee
Dates- Nov 10-18, 2018
Animal Kingdom Lodge and Boardwalk- we moved rooms 4 times this trip. Not ideal but we made it work.

 

[SweetEvangeline]

Today was another Animal Kingdom day! There are so many new things to take in at this park. We had fastpasses for Expedition Everest in the morning. Grace doesn't ride this one, so she and I hung out while Daddy and Jodee took a spin. We tried to use rider swap and pushed her all the way to the loading area only to be told that we had to go through the Fast pass entrance again to use the swap. Not ideal so we learned our lesson that time. Just switch bands and go that way without pushing the wheelchair through twice.

One of my coworkers was at AK today too, so we took a minute to get a picture of his adorable family with their newly adopted baby! So exciting and they got the CUTEST pictures of that tiny baby with Mickey Mouse. His entire extended family was there for the week so they had plenty of babysitters to keep him in the room so they could enjoy the parks and not disturb his routine too much. They are awesome Dads!

Next up was another one of Grace's favorites....she calls it Hakuna Matata!

Next was time for a sweet treat and lunch at Satuli Canteen. It was delicious!

 

[SweetEvangeline]

We decided to take a break this afternoon and let Grace swim for a while. We had to change rooms again...this time for the longest of our stays. We had a Savannah view room in Kidani. That building is HUGE and we soon realized that it isn't ideal as the rooms are all a million miles away from the lobby. Not great when you are already tired from a long day at the parks. The view was okay, but we weren't on the giraffe side of the savannah which was a little disappointing. We did have fun watching the hogs though. They were funny.

It wasn't an ideal day to swim as it was quite chilly and rainy but she enjoyed her time anyway. We met the sweetest cast member while we were there. She noticed Grace's special needs and had a sister named Grace so she came over to ask us if she would like to participate in the kids activity. We graciously declined and she asked us if we were going to be there a while. She came back later with a cute message in a bottle that entitled Grace to a free craft in the members lounge. Very sweet! I wish I would have gotten her name. She was awesome!

 

[SweetEvangeline]

We headed to Disney Springs that evening to check out the Christmas trees and grab dessert! Grace enjoyed her cookie and her free marshmallow treat for her birthday. I loved the toy soldiers on stilts! We ventured into the Art of Disney and artist David Avanzino was there signing and selling his pictures. I HAD to have the Pinocchio print. (He's my favorite!!)
He wrote on it for me and graciously offered a picture with him. He will be back at Epcot when we are there in February, so I have a feeling another one of his prints may be on my
wall soon!

 

[myhappyplace]

Many continued good wishes for you and @Kiwiduck on your recoveries!! Sweet Grace is a lovely young woman, and I love seeing her shirts And yours too- LOVE the UP shirt!!

 

[MississippiBelle]

So happy to hear that your surgery went well and I'll be praying for your continued recovery! Happy belated birthday to Grace! She looks like she had so much fun! @Kiwiduck I'm sending prayers for peace and strength and an extra sprinkling of pixie dust your way! You got this!

 

[12in12]

It's so nice to read about CMs who spread some extra pixie dust.
I also love your Up T-shirt.

 

[SweetEvangeline]

Day 4- Nov. 13, 2017

We started the day at Epcot. We had fast passes to meet Mickey and Friends and for Soarin'. It was the end of the Food and Wine festival so the crowds were crazy so we didn't get as much done as we would have liked. We did manage to have some fun, though.

 

[SweetEvangeline]

We had snacks in the Light Lab. I was really glad we took the time to explore a little. Grace and I enjoyed a Mickey pretzel while Daddy and Disney Jodee rode Mission Space.

 

[SweetEvangeline]

We finished the night at Magic Kingdom and tried the Minnie Van service for the first time. We loved it and it was totally worth the $25!