Quindici Mesa? Si... La Bambino Molto Grande!

I decided to write this morning instead of later this evening since I have not been very regular in my writing as of late. It is just after nine in the morning here and mom is currently feeding Parker. We have an appointment at the hospital in a couple of hours for an ADAGEN injection as well as another test. We hope to get some more results from some of the tests that he had in the past week or so. I would like to share more specifics about the tests that Parker has been going through but I have been asked to not be specific in regards to the tests of Parker's treatment. I have always said that this was an experimental study and I wanted to respect the fact that conferences are meant for the sharing of results from these kinds of studies. For that reason, I am being extra cautious when it comes to how specific I am. I do apologise but I do promise to let you know when the more important things are occurring. For example, we will be going into the hospital for several days starting on the 17th to get a central line placed under the skin in addition to taking some more bone marrow. The amount of bone marrow that will be taken will be quite a bit more than last time (Parker does have a good number of BM CD34+ cells). As a result, there will be quite a few more tiny holes in his leg and hip.

Parker absolutely loves his new mode of transportation. I think what he really enjoys is that he has much more area that he can move around in. I mean, he can look behind himself, try and bend down to touch the wheels, and point in any direction without being obstructed by the stroller. We usually go out in the morning with his trike and then when we need to go the supermercato we use his stroller with the shield.

We decided to go to the city centre yesterday, again. We took the 925 bus to the Gobba station and then took the green line to Loretto (connecting red line) and went up to street level. Normally, we would go to the Duomo station that is on the red line but yesterday we wanted to walk along the streets and do a little bit of window shopping. There are so many nice stores to see. Many that you just don't see in Toronto. We picked up a baseball hat for Parker since his other ones are too small for his big head (big brain). At the same children store we picked up a new training bowl with spoon. We will try it out later today. Also on our walk we went by a sports store (football/soccer). They had the different Italian Premier league uniforms there. They had an official AC Milan jersey and shorts for Parker. At almost 15 months he would have been took big for the 12-18 month uniform and the next size was for two year olds. We decided that we would pass on the uniform for now. Maybe before we leave and he is a little bit bigger we will get him the two year old uniform. To be honest, I think it would have almost fit him now.

They have a patio with a large table and chairs for people to sit out on during the day just outside reception on our floor. Most people use it to go out to smoke but my wife and I have been alternating during Parker's nap time to use it as a reading area. My wife picked up an English language novel and I have begun studying for my EJB certification. I completed my servlet and JSP certification (93%) before we left for Italy and had decided that I would have quite a bit of time to read while in Italy so I brought a few books to keep me occupied.

My Italian is starting to get a little bit better. I learn a couple of new words each day. Yesterday it was letto. The maid wanted to know if she needed to do anything with the bed as my wife had already made it. We were trying to figure out what letto meant so I just looked it up. I also find myself explaining to people why Parker has a shield over him even though it is not raining and quite sunny. Alot of little children come to see Parker in his stroller and try and touch him through the plastic. That is usually how the conversation about the shield begins.

Well, it is another nice day here. And once again my wife has said that we should walk a lot today. I looked at her and said, "How much more can we walk?" Regardless, we will spend the afternoon walking.

My apologies if people are having difficulties logging in to write comments. It must be a problem with blogger because I know that I have not changed anyone's settings. We hope that everyone has a great week-end and can enjoy some nice time outside like we will be.

Ciao!