Yesterday my mom had an appointment for some genetic testing. There are several genetic mutations that people are born with that can cause cancer. Because my mom does not fit the profile for pancreatic cancer, and because there is a ton of cancer on her side, there is a small chance that it could be genetic. This could be both good and bad. The good part is that the genetic type of cancer responds better to treatment, but that would obviously suck for all of her blood relatives. Two of the genes they are testing for are BRCA1 & BRCA2, which are the genes that can cause hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. These two genes can also increase your risk of pancreatic cancer to about 6%. She will have a blood test tomorrow and we will know the results in four weeks. The other genetic mutation they are looking for is Lynch Syndrome, which affects four different genes. Those with Lynch Syndrome have an 80% chance of developing colon cancer and a 60% chance of developing uterine cancer in their lifetime. Wouldn't that be awful? Let's hope it's not.
While Chad and Henry were here we visited the Houston Children's Museum. They have a Kidtropolis there, complete with banks to get money, a police force where they could get in the police car, a news station where they could sit and read the news off teleprompters, and a veterinarian's office where they could pretend to weigh the animals and give them shots. In the picture below Henry is checking out at the grocery store.
The next day we visited the Houston Aquarium. There was a train through a shark tunnel and a real white tiger there. (Not sure what a white tiger has to do with anything, but oh well...) There were also some rides outside--a ferris wheel and a carousel to name a few. Here Henry is looking quite sweaty in the Texas heat riding a seahorse. It has been a steady 98 degrees every single day here.
On Saturday we all went to Galveston to Stewart Beach. I've always been really against taking Henry to the beach because he can't swim yet. But he loved it. My mom's apartment has a pool, and Henry was in it almost every day he was here. He got pretty comfortable in the water. With his floaties on, he jumped off the side of the pool and went all the way under, and "swims" fairly well. So by the time we got to the beach, Henry was very experienced in the water. Glad we went and finally got Henry's first trip to the beach over with. It wasn't as scary as I had imagined. Certainly not for Henry anyway. Just mama's nerves to get over.
After Henry and Chad left, my mom and I visited the Medical Science and Health Museum. Don't know why, but they had a Star Wars exhibit there. They had so many cool props and costumes from all six movies--Darth Vader, stormtroopers, Luke's mechanical hand, all the models of all the ships, a Jawa, etc... They also had TV's set up next to the props that showed the scenes they were used in and explained how they did it. Here is my best pic: the landspeeder.
Disclaimer: THESE ARE NOT MY PANTIES!
Finally, we have a bit of a mystery here in Houston. While Chad was here, we did a few loads of laundry. (My mom has her own washer and dryer in her apartment.) Chad dutifully folded all the laundry and placed it on our bed. I noticed a pair of panties that were not mine, so I took them to my mom's room and put them on her bed. They were not hers! We are all puzzled.
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