Back to "Normal"

Well, we are pretty much back to "normal" now.  Peyton is back at school, and all her friends are very happy to see her again.  Our preschool family has been great and continue to support us in many ways.  Peyton is concentrating hard on catching up her art project for the art fair.  She is making something out of clay and Ms. Lila has taken some extra time to help Peyton catch up.  Peyton was very adimit about completing this project!

Peyton has broken her glasses two more times. but we were able to get them fixed both times.  This is probably the last major repair they can take, so today we ordered her a new pair.  We decided that we had better have a back-up pair!  She looks even more adorable in her new pair.  We will post pictures when available.

We are waiting on Peyton's eye specialist to receive the reports from Philly.  Once he receives these reports, then we can talk about which Ophthalmologist will be helping us start the Patch Procedure.  As I said in the previous post, this will be interesting.   Again, we will hopefully see no more doctors until the specialist in Wichita does his exam in two months.  Thank God, we need a break!

We are trying to plan a golf tournament fundraiser for sometime in the next month or two.  We have been so busy catching up around the house, that we haven't had much time for planning yet.  Keep your eyes open for the next fundraiser event!

We would like to send a huge thank you to all of you who support us!  You have all been so AWESOME.  We have had more help than we ever dreamed of and we are extremely gracious and proud of every one of you. 

This week, we  send a special thanks to Aunt Wease and Uncle Gene of Indiana, and to Aunt Pat and Uncle Bob of NEBRASKA!  (Peyton sends big hugs and kisses to you!)

With love,

The Adams Family

Peyton Got An A+

Well, it has been a long day.  The surgery center at Wills Eye Institute was running behind so we waited, waited, and waited some more.  However, it was well worth the wait as we were able to meet and talk with Logan and his family and we received wonderful news..  For those of you that don't know, Logan is a little boy from the same area in KS who also has Retinoblastoma.  It was nice to speak with a family that is going through the EXACT same thing.  They have been going through this a little longer, so they were able to offer some much needed advice.

Peyton's exam went pretty well. The doctor is still very happy with her progress and thinks there still may be a slight chance of partial sight at a later date.  Peyton's retina made a little progress as it moved maybe 1mm closer.  This is not great, but still progress.  The main thing is the tumor is still dead and there are NO new growths.  The doctor also stated that Peyton still has some fluid build up, but not near as much as the previous visits.  This may never completely go away, as the eye may not be able to pump all of it out (since there was so much.)  We are also now being referred to a pediatric ophthalmologist back home.  The head doctor in Philly wants to start an eye patch procedure that will help strengthen and align Peyton's left eye.  This is going to be VERY interesting to say the least.

Anyways, Dr. Shields gave Peyton an A+ on her effort today and has really seemed to form an emotional bond to Peyton.  The nurses also love Peyton and gave her all kinds of stuff today, including a scrub cap and a stuffed hungry little caterpillar.  The people of Philadelphia are simply AWESOME!

P.S.  We will see the eye specialist in Wichita in two months, and return to Philadelphia for another exam the first week of July.  It will be so nice to visit Philly in the summer-JERSEY SHORE HERE WE COME!

We love you all!

The Adams Family

Hellllooo Philadelphia

We arrived safely in Philadelphia.  Peyton had a blast on both flights and got to sit in the cockpit again after the second flight.  One of the pilots gave her a flying sticker and really enjoyed talking with her.  We are staying at a beautiful hotel out here due to no availability at the Ronald McDonald House.  We are on the 17th floor, and Peyton loves to look out the window at the traffic below.  She wants to open the window and throw things out, but MOMMY won't let her.  Peyton's appt starts around 10am and Peyton can't have anything to eat or drink after midnight.  This could be a rough one!  We are trying to keep her up really late to help with this.  She is used to the normal 5am apts!

We will find out a bunch of things tomorrow and will fill you in as we have time.  We will also find out some other important info from the University of Penn no later than mid-April.  We thank you all for your continued prayers!

P.S.  Enjoy the time you spend sitting by quiet people on airplanes!  It does NOT always work out that way! 

P.S.S.  Peyton has talked about both of her grandma's alot this trip.  She sure loves all of her grandparents!

The Adams Family

Happy Valentine's Day

I got to spend time this afternoon with my twelve favorite 4 year olds at the school Valentine's Day Party.  We loaded and I mean loaded them with sugar (2 cupcakes, a sugar cookie, and conversation hearts).  Peyton had a blast today at the Party.  One of the activities was dancing to the Hokey Poky and the Chicken Dance.  The kids were having so much fun that Peyton's glasses got knocked off and then stepped on.  It wouldn't the day before the trip to Philly without some kind of crisis. 

Luckily,  the eye doctor was open late.  Peyton walked in and told all the staff that there was a big problem.  Here is her verision of the story...

"Today at Preschool we were dancing around and then my glasses just hokey pokied right off my face."  The Ladies of course loved her verision of events, and the glasses were able to be fixed.  So crisis averted. 

Peyton and I spent the evening getting packed and ready to head out in the morning.  The trips are getting easier to prepare for, but the nerves are still running high. 

I would like to take some time to thank my husband, Rich.  Without him I would be truly lost.  I love him for the awesome Dad is to Peyton and his ability to deal with my crazy control freak nature on a daily basis. 

To those of you who have become family throughout this journey, I thank you all and treasure every prayer you have sent up for Peyton, Rich and I.  I will never be able to say thank you enough.  I will never be able to hug the people who are supporting us across the globe.  So here is the next best thing

With love,

Angela Adams

Heading East Again Soon!

Peyton had her physical here in Wichita today.  She has to have these check-ups each time before we go to Philadelphia.  The pediatrician thinks Peyton is doing pretty well.  She finally gained a little weight and is up to 41.6 lbs.  Of course she grew again in height and is up to 44 in tall!  She grows out of shirts and shoes on a monthly basis.  I asked the doctor to see if he thought her left eye had any reaction at all to light, so he performed a few little tests.  In his opinion, Peyton sees absolutely nothing with her left eye.  She gets around pretty darn good for only having sight in one eye! 

We are preparing for our trip to Philadelphia on the 16th.  Although this trip is for a check-up, it seems to be of utmost importance.  The team of specialists from Wills Eye Institute will put Peyton under anesthesia and take critical measurements of the tumor.  Hopefully, all of it remains dead and no growth is found.  Also, we should find out if the retina has any chance of re-attaching.  We are on pins and needles and very anxious to get this trip over with.

Please continue to pray for Peyton as I know many of you are!  We have been showered with donations and prayers the last few weeks and would like to let all of you know how much we appreciate them.  It's truly amazing what all of you have done for us, and we are so very thankful for every single one of you!

We love you all,

The Adams Family 

A Big Thank You

We would like to send a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone involved with the auction.  It was definitely a success and will help us in many ways.  Some people missed the auction, and simply made donations through paypal.  That is AWESOME, and thank you so much!

Peyton is still getting along fine, and desperately ready to start kindergarten.  We have chosen her school now, and she is really excited about it.  We toured it last week and took Peyton to see everything.  She is very excited to announce that she will be attending the Emerson Magnet School. 

As far as Peyton's sight goes, she still doesn't really have any in her left eye.  Hopefully, we will find out more in two weeks when we go to Philly!  We are not looking forward to this trip in the middle of winter!  Please pray for safe travel and for good news with regards to our little girl!

You have all been great, and we appreciate each and every one of you.  Thanks so much!