Sunday, March 22, 2009

Day 2: Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to the Magic Kingdom we go

Day 2 started mighty early- 5:45am to be exact. Although our room was nice, the setup was kind of hard for Evan. The kids slept in the living room on a pull out couch and Evan slept in our bedroom in the pack-n-play. The problem we had was that to get to the bathroom you had to come through our bedroom. This meant Evan was disturbed everytime someone had to get ready in the bathroom or use the bathroom. So needless to say, he awoke the next morning at 5:45am raring to go.

We decided it was pointless to try and sleep in so it was up and at it. We first had our breakfast at the resort's restaurant, Olivia's. This place was yummy, and I started the day out with fresh fruit, granola, honey and yogurt and an english muffin. Andy had an omelet and the kids had none other than Mickey Mouse waffles. Yummy!

Here are Andy and the kids clowing around before our food arrived. Looks like Andy is ready for some fun, fun fun!We then hoped on resort transportation to the Magic Kingdom. Once we got there the fun started. It was kind of crowded, but the weather made up for all of that. It was 70 something with a light breeze and no humidity- AAHH!

One of the first things we did was go to Space Mountain to grab our Fast Passes for a later ride. The Fast Pass allows you to skip waiting in long, long lines, and it is very advantageous to use it. Next, it was one to one of our first rides, The Tea Cups. As you can see, I sat this one out. I don't do circles- they make me sicker than a dog. The kids and Andy loved it. Andy makes them fly!!

I sat out with Evan while he did a little of this.









After the ride on the Tea Cups, Alice was waiting for pictures.

I think it is rather funny that in all of our pictures Ty looks like he is in misery. I promise he had fun, he is just in that stage of not really smiling for pictures. It drives me insane!
Next, on to one of my classic favorites- Dumbo! I rode this one with the kids. Then after our flight on Dumbo, we rode the carosel and proceeded to go see Ariel in her Grotto for some pictures. At this point in time, Tristan was really sleepy and cranky from not resting on the ride down yesterday. We decided to use our Fast Passes to ride Space Mountain. Once we got there we had to measure Ty to see if he was tall enough for the ride. Turns out you have to be 44" tall and Ty is 431/2" so they would not let him ride. He had a major melt down after that. Andy consoled him while Tris and I rode Space. It was lots of fun! She loved it this time. I can tell that she is getting bigger, and not as afraid of riding things.

We opted to go back to the room for a nap before heading back that night for dinner. Good decision. I don't think we could have lasted one minute longer. Check out the look on their faces in Ariel's line. Can we say NAP TIME??








So off we headed back to our resort for a much needed nap. All of us, that is.
We slept around two hours, and then got ready to head back for our dinner at The Liberty Tree Tavern. It was really yummy! All sorts of carved meats, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, green beans, and apple cobbler with ice cream for dessert. I recommend it!
After dinner we watched the SpectroMagic Parade and part of the night time fireworks- Wishes.
It was a good day, but getting late so we headed back to the resort to call it a night. Tomorrow was Hollywood Studios day!
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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That Ariel was the same one we had dinner w/ at Norway...I thought she looked in pain in our pictures:) Liberty Tree was the best meal we had!

March 23, 2009 at 4:07 PM
Ashleigh said...

The liberty tree tavern and the parade were my favorite part of disney. I got a little teay-eyed when I saw Mary Poppins. I am loving reading about your trip!!!

March 25, 2009 at 9:36 PM

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Ty's birthmark

Ty's birthmark
Ty before laser treatments

Tyler's Birthmark

A port wine stain (PWS) is a congenital birthmark that affects approximately 3 out of every 1,000 people. They are most commonly found on the face and neck, but they can be found elsewhere. The underlying dilated blood vessels cause the red/pink color of the PWS. When Ty gets upset or hot the blood flow to his face increases causing the birthmark to appear redder. When Ty is colder and the blood flows away from his face the PWS can appear invisible. If left untreated, the vessels may become enlarged and elevate the skin causing the surface to take on a cobble appearance. Sometimes the PWS can also develop into a deep purple color. Occassionally, the vessels can create overgrowth causing the area where the PWS is to become larger than normal.
PWS are present at birth and usually clearly visible. PWS grow with the person and never regress. The problems of PWS can now be treated by laser.
With different wavelengths a laser beam can be made to react upon materials of only certain colors and densities. The laser is tuned to only affect the darker more dense blood vessels deep in the skin that cause the birthmark, leaving the lighter less dense outer skin with minimal damage.Unfortunately, at this time, most people do not see complete removal of their birthmark by laser treatments. 10%-15% of those treated see 75%-100% fading, 70%-80% see 25%-75% fading, and 10%-15% see 0%-25% fading.
Treatments have a better chance of being effective when a person is still young. The skin is thinner and the mark is smaller. The skin has also not been exposed to the sun as much on a young infant or child. The sun thickens the skin and makes it darker, which in turn keeps the laser from penetrating the skin and hitting the vessels. Ty has had 15 treatments so far, beginning when he was 2 ½ months old. He will be 5 years old in Sept. 2008. He has had 80%-90% lightening in most areas, and almost complete clearing of the pws on his neck. The hardest areas to treat are the mask area around the eyes, and his lip area. Ty’s laser doctor is Dr. Roy Geronemus. He is the director of the Laser and Skin Surgery Center in New York, Ny. Ty goes to New York’s Eye and Ear Infirmiry for his laser treatments and eye surgeries/appointments for treatment under anesthesia. The healing time varies for Ty’s laser treatments. It is usually between 10-15 days, but we may see fading for up to a few months. There's no definitive number of treatments that Ty will need. So far we have always seen some improvement so we continue to get them. He will always need to maintain treatment in order to keep the PWS from getting darker again.
A PWS may also be a marker for associated syndromes such as Sturge Weber. Sturge-Weber Syndrome (encephelotrigeminal angiomatosis) is a congenital, non-familial disorder of unknown incidence and cause. It is characterized by a congenital facial birthmark and neurological abnormalities. Other symptoms associated with Sturge-Weber can include eye and internal organ irregularities. Each case of Sturge-Weber Syndrome is unique and exhibits the characterizing findings to varying degrees.
Ty has had three MRIs to check if the vessels were involved in his brain. Brain involvement is one of the symptoms of SWS, and it can cause seizures. All MRIs were clean for vessels in the brain. Ty does have a malformation behind his eye in the area called the chrodial area, which is another marker for SWS. Since his birthmark covers his eyes, the blood vessels are causing the intraocular pressure in his eyes to elevate. Therefore, he has been diagnosed with glaucoma in both eyes. This malformation, along with his glaucoma, attribute to Ty’s diagnosis of SWS. One reason why his eyes stay so squinty and red all of the time is due to his glaucoma. Glaucoma can cause light sensitivity and watering of the eyes. It can also cause loss of vision and enlarged corneas. Ty has had 9 surgeries to control his glaucoma. Unfortunately, it can not be cured only controlled. He takes three different types of drops two times every day. He will most likely have frequent surgeries on his eyes for the rest of his life, or until a cure for glaucoma is found. In May of 2007, Ty developed a severe bacterial infection in his left eye. He was in the hospital for a week getting his eye injected with antibiotics. The result of this infection coupled with his severe glaucoma has left him blind in his left eye. This is also the reason for the droopiness and the physical appearance of his eye. He has since been able to see an ocularist. She formed a new partial prosthetic eye for him. You can not even tell that it isn't real. It is so cool. We are still learning day by day about PWS/SWS/Glaucoma. The hardest part about Ty's condition is not knowing what the future holds for him. We just take it day by day and rely on our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to help us through.

Thank you for taking the time to learn a little about Ty and his condition. For more information, please visit the sources of the above information at http://www.sturge-weber.com/, http://www.birthmarks.com/, and http://www.laserskinsurgery.com/

What Ty's skin looks like after having a laser treatment

Tyler after 15 laser treatments

Sturge-Weber Syndrome Awareness