First Appointment

So today we had to be at the proton center bright and early at 8am.  We have almost gotten used to the time change but it still seemed early.  We met with our nurse Amy, our social worker Heather and our team down here.  Our Doctor is Dr. Rotonda and he is a fellow Canadian from Montreal!  We also met Abby's child life specialist, Mimi, who took her on a tour while we talked to Dr Rotonda.  Once all the paperwork was signed they took Abby to make her mask that they use to keep her still during her treatment.  They need a few days to get everything ready for her first treatment which will happen on August 3.  She has a total of 30 treatments over 6 weeks.  Once we finished everything at the proton center  we picked up our rental car and headed to Walmart to pick up some food for Abby. 

The Ronald McDonald house here is amazing and has supper prepared by volunteers each night.  The food is delicious but there are lots of carbs and sugars which we are trying to avoid.  Logan loves it, as all the dishes have to be washed in the dishwasher to be sanitized which means no dish duty for him.  Also there are always delicious foods and snacks available any time day or night. 

Abby loves to hang out in the music room playing the piano and her ukelele.  They have a baby grand piano that sounds amazing.  There is also a roof garden which gets really hot during the day but has a nice view of the river and some shade. 

Abby was told some exciting news today!  The UF (University of Florida) Health Proton Therapy Institute is able to provide tickets to Disney, Universal Studios, Sea World, Ripley's Believe it or Not, Museum of Science and History the Jacksonville Zoo and many other attractions.  We just need to tell them ahead of time when and where she would like to go and they can get us passes for her and her immediate family.  This is all made possible through an organization called compassion partners.  One of the goals is to keep the kids active and happy during their long treatments.  She is very excited to be able to go to Universal Studios!

We have met a few other patients both here at the Ronald McDonald House and at the UF Therapy Center.  There are patients here from all over the world and some who are here for a second time.  All have said how amazing everyone is and that there isn't a better place to get treatment!

Tomorrow Abby gets her MRI done and we are off to the Jacksonville zoo!


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