With Dylan at camp this week (enjoying gymnastics, karate, dance and swimming – lucky girl!), I have the perfect opportunity to write an update. We just returned home from a wonderful trip to Vancouver and Victoria, B.C. We saw incredibly special friends, whose hospitality and love was felt from the second we arrived to the moment we were dropped off at the airport to return home. We enjoyed great food and sightseeing and not to my surprise, Scott, who had never been there before, fell in love with Vancouver.
The first week back was filled with a barrage of things not quite going our way, but reflecting on the week now, it is all quite comical. One thing of significant importance, however, was Dylan had an endoscopy and colonoscopy on Friday. She’d had a flare up of her symptoms for weeks now, and we just received her results.
Dylan has developed (or may have had, but was not active during previous biopsies) Eosinophilic Colitis. She was already diagnosed with Allergic Colitis as a newborn, which is similar, but means the number of eosinophils in her colon were not as abnormally high as they are now. Medication will hopefully take care of this inflammation and her G.I. specialist has asked us to get her allergy tested again to see where to go next in terms of trying any new foods. On the up side, her Eosinophilic Esophagitis is not currently inflamed. Having said all of this, Dylan has been a trooper over the past many weeks and has managed to stay happy and active through it all!
On a happier note, the most exciting news for us as a family right now and I cannot say it with greater pride, is Scott passed his first actuarial exam!!!!! I’m not sure if they even send a final grade, but due to the multiple choice nature of the exam, an instant “pass/fail” result appears once it has been completed.
I just want to say how extraordinary Scott has been; although this is only one of many exams that lie ahead, it will most likely be the toughest. He has persevered through great challenges, namely with Dylan’s health and the loss of my Dad, yet has studied endlessly for years, to first refresh himself in calculus and then to apply himself to the materials at hand. Throughout this time, he has received great accolades at his work and has been there for me and Dylan at every turn, and throughout the last week, with so many difficulties, he still managed to stay focused and to excel. Scott, you are AMAZING!
As for me, this has been a life-altering year. When Scott and I recently reflected on how we are feeling about the last 12 months, on the whole, we feel quite positive. During Dylan’s school year, I threw myself into the parent organization as a source of sanity and to escape the never-ending mourning of my Dad’s passing, in addition to the grave challenges that came with this loss, and it was such a good decision. I took on a HUGE amount of work, but being around Dylan, the children at her school, developing relationships with some wonderful families and giving back without the pressure of an employer and a time clock, was ultimately, incredibly rewarding.
However, not a day passes we don’t think about my Dad and yearn for him back in our lives. The pain I experienced in the first six months after his passing compare to no other in my life, and I cannot think of him for more than a second without instant, deep heartache. Ultimately, our worlds will never be the same, but our lives have been forever changed by his love, and we just keep trying to stay true to the beautiful, positive energy my Dad exuded in virtually every aspect of his life.
As most of you know, we created a family blog about a year ago (http://johnsonbayer.blogspot.com/), but with life being so full, it has not been something we’ve taken to, and we have had several requests to send our usual e-mail updates, so with that in mind, we decided to send this e-mail letting you know we have updated our blog with this news and lots of great pictures.
We wish you all great health and happiness and hope this finds you and yours well!
With love,
Scott, Heidi, & Dylan
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