A couple of months back we had a referral for genetic testing and I have been slacking off on that a bit. I am going to go get my blood work done soon for it though. I do not expect them to find much as the population I will be compared to is North America and I do not think that they will have a large enough sample for me. While we were talking with them about this whole procedure they indicated that if they find the genetic marker and the kids had it as well, the recommendation would be to have stomach removal before the age of 40. This would mean quite the drastic change in their lifestyle. I know that if I was given that choice, with what I went through I would 100% say that I would gamble on not getting it and dealing with the consequences afterwards. The change in life style is dramatic enough when I have a part of my stomach. The complete absence of it would be difficult. In my situation I understand why we had to do this, and I also understand the preventative measure for it. I would gamble and see what happens instead of complete removal. Treatments are advancing all of the time and maybe things will get better. Next week I have my bloodwork and my CT scans scheduled. They will be so much fun!!!
The hockey season has finally ended and tryouts are starting out again. I think that hockey has been a positive experience for Xavier and he enjoys it a lot. We are in a financial situation where we can afford to allow him to play and watching him develop and get better is fantastic to see. I started a YouTube channel highlighting clips from his training and his games and it surprises me how many views it gets sometimes. Within the next 16 years I should be able to have enough subscribers to monetize my channel. The kids on his team love watching the clips and ask when the next clips will be made. I made them for his school hockey team as well and the school posted it on their channel for everyone to see. It is quite different the way that media is incorporated into our lives. I do not have any videos of when I was a child and once in a while I will see a clip of the kids when they were younger doing something silly or amusing and it triggers memories.
The kids grow up so fast and to see the progression over the years is astounding as is the development of their personality. It is always easy to point out the flaws in ourselves when I look at the kids. They will do things and I will just laugh and think what the hell did my parents have to go through. Both of the kids are troublemakers and will push certain boundaries or react dramatically in some situations. Mel was dramatic when she was younger so this is just payback. Xavier is trouble in a different way and this year he is coming out of his shell a bit more and is a bit more vocal on the ice telling his team to move for him or to clear people out.