Caden and the rest of the Ozz family have been on the move. We spent this past weekend in Fort Worth, TX. Our primary reason for the trip was to attend a memorial celebration service for Sherry’s mom. Most of Sherry’s family was unable to attend the funeral service in Summerville, SC last month so Sherry’s Dad, Aunts, and Uncle arranged a service in the Dallas/Forth Worth area (Arlington to be exact) so that others could gather and celebrate the life of Darla Pack.
Sherry and I flew our entire crew commercial from Charleston, SC to Dallas, TX with a layover (each direction) in Atlanta and that was no small task. The TSA interaction was way less of hassle than I expected. Caden did not even set off the alarm on the metal detector and they even let him keep his shoes and braces on when he went through in Dallas on the way home. I thought taking a case of canned formula, suction, feeding pump, and medications (with cold pack) for Caden would cause some major delays but it was not that bad…even though I did get my first “Pat Down”. They said it was because of the amount of liquid I was declaring that casued the pat down search…hands ALL the way up the thigh and in the waste band of my pants. As for the plane rides we were the very first ones to board each flight and the very last ones to get off. We had a ton of medical gear for Caden and each of the three older boys pulled their own carry-on bag. We had to dodge the cleaning crew at the end of a couple of flights. The Delta gate agents actually called us by name on one flight so that we could board first. The one picture that I did not get that I regret was one of the boys following me like ducks all pulling their bags while I pulled one of those folding dollies with Caden’s gear. Sherry brought up the rear with a stroller carrying Levi in his carrier. It was a very cute sight and all the boys did a great job staying together and not causing too much disruption to the folks around us..except for the giggles and stares that is.
The boys absolutely loved the entire trip but especially the airplane rides, the airports, and the way cool (nicer than ours) mini-van that we rented. Caden actually cried on the flight home and said, “I don’t want go home. I want stay in HOtel.” While boarding the plane heard home to Charleston in Atlanta on Monday evening Caden poked his head into the cockpit, waved to the pilots and said, “HI!”. The pilot invited him and his brothers into the cockpit. The flight attendant told me to just proceed to my seat and she would bring them back to their seats later. A few minutes later I heard some very familiar voices over the airplane’s intercom saying, “Hey Mommy and Daddy.” All three boys got a turn at the mic giving Sherry and me a good belly laugh to begin our final leg of the trip.
The weekend was not as enjoyable for me personally as I had hoped. I got another case of the stomach bug thingy that I have had more than a dozen times in the past couple of years. After testing my digestive track from end to end the doctors have tied it all back to stress and have given me a cocktail of pills to take when the upset stomach is approaching. One pill prevents my stomach from having spasms and another (Phenergan) keeps me from vomiting. The combination renders me all but unconscious until the drugs wear off. I am certain that there a few of Sherry’s family members who were not aware of my condition who think I am the biggest jerk on the planet for sleeping (sitting upright) through the family gathering that took place at Sherry’s cousin’s house on Saturday afternoon/evening. I ended up on medication for about half of the trip and Sherry did way more driving in the Dallas/Fort Worth area than she expected or desired including a middle of the night 4 AM trip to the airport to drop off her dad so he could catch his flight home. (He flew a different airline at different times than us.) The GPS did not cooperate with her so she called and woke me up so that I could “try” to help here with my Droid GPS. We finally got it figured out and I think she got back tot he hotel by about 6:30AM Sunday morning.
On a positive note we did get to have some fun on Sunday afternoon. We went down to the Fort Worth Children’s Museum for a while and then detoured over to the Fort Worth Stock Yards. I felt like I was back in my element amongst the smell of farm animals, the sound of country music and the steady flow of Stetson hats, pressed jeans, and cowboy snap-pocket shirts. Riley was none too excited about being within eyesight of horses, but the rest of the gang loved it. We rode the Grapevine Vintage Railroad and bought some cowboy digs for Levi (Hat and boots) and Riley (Hat and a set of toy six shooters).  Here are a few more pictures from the trip.
Yes…that is Levi in Sherry’s lap. Is he getting big or what?
On the home front Caden has had some big appointments recently and some things have changed with his health. I’ll save that stuff for another post, but in short I’ll just say that there are no surgeries until the fall. The only event to speak of will be a sleep study this coming week and maybe that will be a good time for me to write a good medical update blog post.
We greatly thank you all for following us here on Caden’s Page. Your continued prayers for our family is greatly appreciated.