If at first you don't succeed.....

Last September, shortly before I went back to work, we took a mini-vacation -- just a long weekend away so Bill could play golf a bunch before settling into the full time dad thing. Unfortunately, Mason's lungs were more fragile than we realized and couldn't tolerate the elevation change (450 ft. to 3300 ft.). We ended up having to come home in a hurry 2 days before we intended to.

This July, we have a family reunion that we really want to go to, but it will be in Montana at an elevation of about 4000 ft. Assuming Mason's lungs are still fragile, we thought there would be no way he could tolerate the change. But, I've never in 32 years missed this family reunion and I really want to go. 10 hours away from home without Mason is not a possibility. 10 hours away from home with Mason and the unknown response to the elevation is not a possibility.

So, we thought of a compromise. We looked for a place near home, near where we were last fall that would be at about 4000 ft. and decided to do a "trial run." We figured we'd made the emergent trip home last time, we knew what to look for much better this time, and Mason's been doing great for the last 2-3 weeks. Plus, we need another mini-vacation! We haven't been away from home since the trip last fall. It's time!

Bill, Mason, my folks, my brother, and I took off this weekend for our trial run, and it was a success! When we got there, Mason's oxygen need and heart rate did go up (up to needing 2.5L from 1.5L). We immediately thought there was no way we could go to Montana. Then, over the course of the evening, he started to relax some and his O2 need and heart rate came down a little. That night, he slept well and was able to get back down to 1.5L (on 1.0-1.25L at night at home). Saturday, he was clearly working harder to breathe, but was able to keep up his oxygen level at 2.5L and his heart rate was a little higher than normal, but not too bad. Then today, he did great. He was on 2L most of the day and back to his normal heart rate.

While on our mini-vacation, we took Mason "swimming" for the first time! He likes the water, but certainly doesn't like getting out or being cold afterward. He was happy until we had to take him out and get him dried off. It took a bit of cuddling and coaxing, but eventually, he stopped fussing and was back to being his happy self. Later, Bill and I got to get away for a bit to play a round of golf. It was almost like old times. Now that we know we can, we might have to do this more often!!

We are so excited with the results of our test. We've got a few logistical things to work out, but if that goes well and Mason doesn't have any set backs between now and the reunion, it looks like its a go!!