Surgery is scheduled & Thomas the Train

Last week Wednesday, Josh's surgery was scheduled for July 21st. Last Thursday night we went up to my parents house to spend the night. The next morning we left bright and early to see Thomas the Train at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay. Talk about the highlight of two little boys. They got to ride on Thomas first thing in the morning. Ben could not even sit still until Thomas started to move. He actually did much better than I had expected. Then we went thru the museum, they had wooden and plastic train sets set up. Ben even sat still for the lady to put a temporary tatoo on his arm. They both got Thomas tatoos. We went thru old trains in the museum, listened to Thomas stories, took a picture with Sir Topham Hat and did a craft. I think Ben even tried to tell us he was having a good time. He kept shaking his head yes and babbling. The boys slept all the way home. Grandma Pat and Grandpa Tom babysat so that Josh and I could go on a date night.
Saturday morning we came back to Waukesha to go out to eat with Uncle T.J. for his birthday.
Sunday morning Uncle Brian and Aunt Becky came to church with us and then came over for lunch. It was a beautiful day and we were able to eat out on the pourch.
Monday we went to Old World Wisconsin. On Mondays in June they have free days. I have never been there, so it was a new experience for all of us. We saw some sheep, ducklings and a horse. We went to the general store, blacksmith, church and school. Jacob and Ben had a great time. Ben toddled around like a big boy.

Update on Josh

Today was the follow-up appointment for Josh's scan. Josh I think felt he was kind of out of the woods. However, after the appointment this morning we are kind of at the same place we were at in October. The doctor had hoped to follow the tumor by doing MRI's, lowering the concern for the amount of radiation Josh would be receiving with all of the scans. Unfortunately, he is allergic to the gallium that they gave him during the MRI. We had talked about and given concern about the amount of radiation also. One of our friends that sells GE equipment also recommended another type of CT that has less radiation. However, the possibility of having scans every 6 months to a year for the next 5 years raises concerns on our end and Josh's doctors end.
The other options are to have the cyst removed surgically (either traditionally or with robotic assisted surgery). By having the surgery, we would know for sure if the cyst is cancerous or not. There is a small chance that it is the early stage of kidney cancer. The doctor is quite comfortable that he could do the surgery robotically even in the difficult location that it is in. This surgery would have a shorter hospital stay and recovery time.