Mystery Solved and Keeping it in Perspective

We finally have some answers to the mystery that has ailed our family. Since my Mom has been in the hospital for a week now, the diagnosis has been long overdue. It turns out that my Mom has a severe case of Giardia. This led the rest of us being tested and, so far, Colin and Sophia have tested positive. Keenan tested negative but we are having him re-tested because sometimes the test can be a false negative.

For the uninitiated, Giardia is a nasty intestinal parasite that is not uncommon among adopted children. Personally, I think Sophia may have swallowed some bath water while we were in Vietnam, so I'm not convinced that Keenan was the primary carrier. Mostly, we are relieved that we have some answers and, more importantly, treatment.

In the meantime, my 40th Birthday is two days away and, normally, this event would have been enough to put me in a bit of tail spin. However, this year, there are many things to help keep the march of time in perspective. Two beautiful children are certainly one thing that gives me an enormous sense of gratitude.

Then this morning, we received the very sad news that my parent's close friend passed away unexpectedly last night. For me, it was a swift reminder of how fast life can change. Fred's passing will leave a huge whole in my parent's life, not to mention the lives of his wife and son. Our thoughts are with them during this tremendously difficult time.

Since I haven't been posting much lately, I just wanted to give everyone an update and we think that new photos of Sophia and Keenan will be forthcoming. We have greatly appreciated the well wishes we have received and with a diagnosis, are hopeful that our family will soon be on the mend. And really, when we put in perspective, thus far, our challenges have been merely been bumps in the road.