As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words:
Ben was thrilled to return to the Magic Kingdom this past weekend, although he only spent about 2 1/2 hours on property. He did not go on any rides (unless you count the Tram or the Monorail), but he did walk over and take a look at the progress on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Then he went to his current favorite spot over by the Teacups and sat and listened to music while watching the people walk by. He was in a great mood, but not feeling especially adventurous.
Speaking of the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Disney released the official logo a few days ago:
Still no official word yet on when it opens, but I gather more construction walls came down the day after Ben visited. The soft opening should happen very soon. Hopefully Ben will feel up to riding it.
Ben continues to recover from his surgery, and by all appearances is doing well. He is having some sleep issues, and he still runs out of energy fairly quickly, but we are seeing slow and steady improvement. He has been back to school several times now, although he has yet to complete a full day. There are only classes today and tomorrow, and then school is out for spring break next week. During that week Ben has another very brief endoscopic surgery to remove the stent that was placed back in February. The plan continues to be for Ben to be back at school full-time as of March 31st, when his mom also returns to work. I fully expect that I will be getting Ben from school a LOT during April as he works his way back to full speed.
It's been a long seven months of illness and recovery.