Very sad news....

Well, we went and met with Dr. Merriman today, and our fears were confirmed. Mom has been taken off the transplant list, and has been given 6-12 months to live. It will most likely be 6 months - unless they can do some radiation and chemo pills, that may make it go to the 12 months, without the usual Chemo side effects. We will be going to San Francisco to be doing a test to see if they can do the radiation they want to try, which may give her that extra six months.
The tumor which was a size 2 has grown to a size 7, and it has spread into the main vein going to her liver, which has made it go from stage 2 to a stage 4.
We appreciate all of your prayers and love you have given to us all. For those who donated cash, we will be sending it back to you, since it was sent for the transplant, and she can no longer have it; and for those who supported our fundraising efforts - we will use that cash to try to get her through the rest of her appointments and procedures over the next 6-12 months, and then if we have any left, put that towards her funeral costs which we will need to cover.
Thank you again sooo much for your love and support. We are all hanging in there. Our faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as well as our knowledge of the plan of salvation strengthens us during this difficult time. We know we will be together again, and our tears shed are just for knowing how much we will miss her until our time to return to our Heavenly home comes.

Your prayers needed....

Hello everyone! So sorry I didn't get to do a wonderful "Counting my Blessings" Thanksgiving post for my blog. We are so very blessed, and were fortunate enough to get permission for Mom to go to Oregon for Thanksgiving as well as Grandpa Stokes' 90th Birthday celebration. It was so wonderful to spend time with family and friends - and as always, was too short! Someday, my blog will be filled with cute and funny stories, thoughtful insights and whatever else crosses my mind that I will have time to post. But until my life slows down a little, it will continue to serve as an update on the health and status of Mom and my kidlings.
On a more somber note - Mom received a call a few minutes ago from her hepatologist, Dr. Merriman. I don't remember if I mentioned before, but Dr. Merriman is moving to his homeland, Ireland. He has a great job there waiting, as well as all of his family - and with small children, he and his wife feel it would be good to have them grow up around their family. We love him so, and were very sad at our last appointment with him. We were already transferred to one of his colleagues, and weren't going to get to see him again before he left in a few weeks. However, after the Liver Transplant Team (including Dr. Merriman) reviewed the last scan that Mom had done on her liver on the 18th, he called himself and said that he had very serious news, and that he wanted to be the one to tell us, and he wanted to tell us in person. So he will be in Sacramento on Monday, and we will most likely have an afternoon appointment with him to find out what is going on. It is very scary to think of what it might be that he wants to see us himself, and in person.
We do know that all things are in God's hands, and He has a purpose and a plan for each one of us. Please pray for us, that we may feel peace, and not fear and worry as we wait to find out what serious news he has for us. I know that we can get through anything with faith in our Lord, Jesus Christ - no matter what the news. I will update you all as soon as I return home from the appointment on Monday evening. Thank you so much for your continued love, support and prayers.

We are home again!

Hello all! So we got home from San Francisco late last night. The doctors think that the cause of the bleeding was a swollen vein in her colon that burst, (similar to the ones in her esophagus that had to be banded). They won't be banding these, as the bleeding only lasted for less than a day. If it bled longer, they would have to do something. We were able to talk to the head of the transplant team, and he gave us some valuable information as to what to watch for at this point with Mom. As usual, the entire team at CPMC were wonderful, compassionate and amazing!!
We also had that kind of care from Mercy Folsom. We were amazed at how fast they processed Mom through the ER. Also, they were able to do another paracentesis, and drain 4 liters out of her abdomen, helping relieve some of the pain from the weight and pressure of the ascites. They have added two new meds, to help with that - so we will see how that works. Their new wing, which Mom was in, has private rooms, with a fold out couch and sleeping chair, so your family can sleep with you if they want. Very family friendly.
As of Mom's last doctor appointment (the day before the ER and hospital stays), the doctor recommended that it was time that Mom move in with someone, so we can watch her more closely for her times of confusion (encephalopathy) or in case of liver failure. So Mom will be doing the round-robin with Tanya, Cheri and I, in two week time slots. I will try to be good about posting Mom's location, for anyone who wants to get ahold of her (as before). We agreed to let Mom have until Tuesday, to get some things done around her house. She has to call in with Tanya or me every 4 hours or less, so we are sure she is OK. :-)
Until next time.....have a great weekend!!

Back in the hospital with Mom

Yesterday at 3:30 Mom was at my house, and started bleeding rectally with clots. (Sorry for the gruesome details, up didn't know how else to say it, than to just say it!). I took her to the ER and she was admitted and given a room. They wanted to transfer her to San Francisco last night, but they didn't have any available beds. Today they are doing a peresentesis to release some of the fluid in her abdomen, and they are still trying to transfer us to SF. They think the bleeding has stopped, but arent sure. I will keep you updated. No news is good news.

Also, on the Lucy front, her tumor on her brainstem is growing. We have to keep a watch to make sure she doesn't start having symptoms. If she doesn't, then we get to wait another 6 months to do another MRI. I still have to meet with. The neurologist on Monday to get his opinion and reading of the MRI we just had done.

Good news is, Emmie was chosen out of several kids for the talent show at her school. She will be singing "Rockin' Robin" and she is very excited.

Family Picture Added below

OK - so I added a more recent (Feb. 2011) family picture below. I hope you enjoy! :-)

Back from San Francisco

So we are finally home from San Francisco. We arrived home last night after 10pm. Everything went very well with Mom's procedure. She was bright and alert right after when Tanya and I got to see her. The doctor's said that it seems that her liver responded well - but again, we won't know how successful it was until after the cat scan in 4 weeks. While we were there, they also did a perecentesis (draining of excess abdomen fluid), which was fabulous, since Mom was so uncomfortable with the ascites. She looked like she was pregnant with twins, and could barely eat or drink a few bites before she didn't have any more room. They took out 4 liters (imagine two of the large soda bottles of fluid just floating around your organs in your stomach). So she was able to eat a meal comfortably for the first time in a while. Since the ascites began after the Microwave Ablation, we jokingly call Mom's belly, her ascites baby. This is only a temporary fix, as it will come back, since her liver disease has worsened from the Microwave Ablation. However, the Ablation did kill a lot of the tumor, which hopefully will keep it from spreading or growing past a 5 (which would kick her off the transplant list). We are grateful to all the wonderful doctors, nurses and staff at CPMC for their wonderful loving care they always give. We are there so much, it is our second home.
On the downside, we were hoping to meet up with Mom's cousin, Mary K. and her husband Joe for a short visit before heading home last night. However, by the time they finally released Mom from the hospital, and we drove to Mary K's hotel - we couldn't find it, or reach her on her cell. Boohoo! We are hoping to get to see her soon.
Also, while I was gone, Esther had a bit of excitement. She decided to climb up the dresser in her room (a tall dresser), to get to Nathan's light (it's a Lightening McQueen light from the Disney movie "Cars"). She got halfway up, and the entire dresser tipped over right on top of her. It was very scary - but Ryan checked her out completely, and watched her all night - and she came out of it with only a swollen eye, which is gone this morning. Boy, with 5 kids I have never had a dresser fall on one of them before.
Well, time to go and finish getting the kids ready for church. Today is the big Children's Sacrament Meeting Program. Abigail and Lucy have both their parts memorized, and Nathan is excited to sing (and will need a little help with his parts still). Mom will be coming down for it, and then we will be heading over to Cheri's house - for a belated birthday party of Perelyhn. :-) Have a wonderful day. 'Til next time...

Another Trip to San Francisco coming

So we saw Mom's hepatologist, Dr. Merriman, and he reviewed everything, and said that it was a good thing that we got that call, because it shows just how real and close this whole thing is. He gave us some bad news though - he is moving back to Ireland! We are so very sad to lose him. We understand his decision to be close to family while raising his little ones - but we will sorely miss him. He calls Tanya and I "The Sisters". He is so patient and kind with us, professional, yet jokes around and teases us. For example, the last appointment, he opened the door to come into the room, looked at us, opened his eyes wide and walked right back out. Then returned immediately, laughing. So sad for us to lose him. We are already planning on someday taking a trip to Ireland and ending up on his doorstep laughing!

Then we received a call at the end of last week, that the liver transplant team met again to review Mom's case, and decided she needed to do another Chemo Embolization. This is the one where they enter through her major artery in her thigh, and feed a tube up through the veins right to the tumor - then insert these Chemo Beads that act as little "Pac Man" guys, eating the tumor. There are very little side effects compared to other Chemo. Last time, Mom lost some of her hair, but not all of it. It has been growing back quickly, so it will most likely thin out again. So we will be heading to San Francisco again on the 21st of October. This will only be an overnight trip. Unless of course, we get the call that they have a liver again before then! :-)

Per a few requests, I have set up a donation account, and added a donation button on my blog (upper right side), so anyone can donate via Paypal with a credit card, bank account or Paypal account just with a quick click of the button. Please send a quick email, tweet or Facebook page notice for anyone who would want to donate any amount for Mom.

Again, we want to send out a HUGE thank you to everyone who has helped through donations or supporting our fundraisers this far. Everything helps and will add up. Thank you, thank you!!!

Update again - with 2 fundraisers next week!

This is a recent email I sent out. So sorry I haven't had a chance to blog more. Someday.....

Hello Friends and Family!
As you all know, Cheri Newberry is on the liver transplant list due to liver disease and cancer. In order to get her active on the list, their financial counselors said that she had to have a minimum of $5,000 to $10,000 that her insurance won’t cover (this is if all goes well). This is required at the time of transplant (no billing and paying later). Mom has no savings, and barely scrapes by on a fixed income, so Tanya and I said we would cover this. However, since that time, we have each spent thousands on Mom’s required trips and procedures. We found ourselves broke and turning to credit cards. We decided we had to fundraise to raise the money she needs before she gets the call.
We had quite an awakening when, Sunday before last, we received a call that they had a liver for Mom. We rushed to San Francisco, got Mom checked in and all her tests done to prepare for the transplant. We were down in the O.R. with our scrubs on, getting ready to put her in the operating room, and received a call that they found carcinoma on one of the donor’s kidneys – so, they were not going to risk using that liver. It was disappointing, but also a relief, as we have not yet raised the money needed. We could get another call any day – and so, time is of the essence with our fundraising.
Thank you sooo much to all who helped donate and shop at our garage sales – they were a huge success, and we made a quarter of our goal.
We have attached an invitation for two fundraisers next week. We ask you to please forward this to everyone you know (friends, family, work and church associates, etc.) – so that we can have as large a turn out as possible! We have two other fundraisers coming up (a Spaghetti Feed and Bowling Night), but those aren’t for another month or two – and we are concerned we may get the call before then.
First, on October 13th (next Thursday) is an Open House to come and get your Christmas shopping done early – or shop for yourself. We have the following consultants that will be here from 10am-2pm and 4pm-8pm:
Pampered Chef – Sarah Milton (Lots of new great things – I was surprised, as I thought I had all I needed)
Partylite – Tanya Haddock (Partylite fundraiser gives an unheard of 50% of the proceeds to Mom)
Park Lane Jewelry – Regina Anderson (Amazing quality, guaranteed – even if your kids break it, you’ll fall in love)
Flower Clips – Emeryl Logan (Buy pre-made, custom made, or make your own – your kids can make them too!)
Where: Debbie’s house: 3490 Santos Circle, Cameron Park.
There will be a door prize drawing for all who come, as well as an amazing basket for raffle (earn 1 ticket per order placed, and/or buy the tickets .50 each or 3 for $1). If you can’t make it, see the flyer for contact information for a phone order.
Second, on October 15th (next Saturday) from 10am-5pm we are doing a car wash at Luke’s Wild West Grill (on Sunrise Blvd. in Citrus Heights). At Lukes Wild West Grill, 7040 Sunrise Blvd., Citrus Heights (corner of Sunrise Blvd and Sungarden Dr. 10:00am-4:00pm
HOW YOU CAN HELP!
1. Send this out to everyone you know, encouraging them to come to one or both fundraisers.
2. Offer to take the Partylite fundraiser kit to your friends, family and work (we have a great reward program to all who do this).
3. Come and work at the car wash, bringing hoses, bucket, sponges, towels, soap (just email and let us know so we can plan accordingly!!)
4. Come to the Party and Car Wash – get shopping done early, and a clean car!!
5. If this doesn’t work for you – we accept cash donations!!  You can create your own fundraiser, by “passing the hat” at work, school, friends, Facebook, etc.
With the false alarm, we have gotten desperate (if you can’t tell)! Thanks for all your love, help and support! It takes a village to get a liver transplant!! 
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
Love,
Cheryl, Tanya and Debbie

40 is Fabulous!

Well, most people dread the BIG 40 - but I was excited! The way I see it - I earned it! I lived those 40 years, and I'm still kickin'. People tend to think that I am in my late 20's or early 30's (or worse, when I was pregnant they thought I was a teen-mom).

After getting the kids off to school, Esther and I met Tanya and Cheri at Starbucks, for a little breakfast, and then went to the Bali Outlet in Folsom for some bra shopping! What a great experience there! They come and measure you, find out what you are wanting and not wanting in a bra, and bring them to you. They even have a little doorbell inside the dressing room, so you can just ring it when you need more bras, or a different size. Jan was our salesperson, and she was fabulous! I felt so badly for the workers there, looking at the HUGE pile of bras that were a "no". We lost track of time, and so I raced off to my massage with Heidi! She is so amazing, knowledgeable and talented! That was heavenly (except when she was working on some deeper spots - ouch, but good!!).

I had planned on going to the temple after that, but Heidi worked on me for almost two hours (yes - awesome!), so I didn't have enough time to go and get back to the Hulbert's house by 6pm. I had last minute agreed to doing a get together of family and friends (who could make it on such short notice). We had it at the Hulbert's house, and Gary even made the cake! It was amazing - death by chocolate! He uses tons of cocoa, and makes the frosting from scratch! It was wonderful! We also had some delicious L&L Hawaiian BBQ, and all the wonderful munchies that Cheri brought. Some played Pickleball, while the rest of us just visited and enjoyed each other's company.

So, I think most people have a hard time turning 40, because they aren't where they thought they should be in life. But I had that "crisis" at 25! I know, 25 is so young to have that crisis. But I hadn't finished college, served a mission, or had kids yet (all I thought I would have done by then). I was newly married, and feeling like I was way behind on my carefully planned life schedule!

Over the years, I have learned that we are not on our own schedule - but on God's schedule! Proven by the fact that we couldn't get pregnant on fertility treatments, it took 3 years between each child - and then when we thought we were done, I got pregnant on Birth Control!
I have learned that when we let go of our own will, and trust in God's will - we are blessed beyond measure. Proven by the fact that as our finances fell with the economy, and we lost jobs and our home - and I was crying, asking God why! Why us, when we worked so hard, tried to do our best, paid our tithes, and served Him as best we could - why were we losing our home and struggling so hard! God saw the big picture, and that was that only by having a lower income - would we qualify for the insurance that covered Lucy's tests and brain surgery - saving her life! He knew what was on our road ahead, when we couldn't see that far!

I've learned that life is too short to be stressed and grumpy! OK, so I am still a work in progress on this one - but I'm working on it! Don't stress over the little things, or even the big things! Stress doesn't solve anything.

I won't turn this into an "I've learned" list, that we have all seen before - but I have learned so much in the last 40 years, that I look forward to the next 40 years of more learning, growing, and becoming!

So I am proud to accept my "40 year" virtual trophy! So bring it on 50, I'm not scared of you either!!!

Mom's update

OK, so I kept waiting for a pause in Mom's status to do an update - but that doesn't look like it is happening soon, so here goes.
They did a biopsy on her liver mass, and now are confirming that it is cancerous. This bumped Mom up on the list, and so we have to be ready at any time to drop and go to San Francisco for a liver. They could call today, or not for another 6 months - so this is the waiting game. Since she isn't as sick as a lot of people, that means she isn't as high on the list - but it also means that she can take an Extended Criteria Donor liver (one from an older donor, overweight donor, or donor who had Hep. B - but the liver is clear from Hep B), whereas a sicker patient higher on the list wouldn't be able to take one of these livers - so she could get a liver any day!
Tanya is coming over today so we can brainstorm how to raise the money for the things that her insurance doesn't cover (their financial clearance person said that we needed to have $5,000 - $10,000 raised). So we are going to get that rolling now.
Mom is doing fairly well since her surgery, except she is still very bloated (they are checking her labs, and had us do some more tests to figure our what is going on with that). She looks like she is 8 months pregnant, and gets "cankles" easily now. They think she is just retaining fluids, but checking to make sure it isn't something more serious (like her liver isn't functioning well anymore). So we will keep you updated as we have more information.
Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers! We are truly blessed!

Best Birthday Gift - EVER!!!!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to Loretta and Jannealle Frank!! Ryan and I just got home from the best concert ever!
So, Mom and I were visiting the Franks, and explaining about how tired I was - telling them about my completely crazy, up-all-night, obsessively scheming about the Josh Groban concert. Just the usual "my brain won't shut up" so I lie awake all night kind of nights.
Then the next week, I get a call out of the blue, telling me that they had gone and purchased two tickets to the Josh Groban concert for my birthday, and were on their way to bring them over.
I was shocked, and speechless (yes, I know - impossible to believe that I could be speechless, but I was).
So we get to the concert, and it turns out that they didn't sell as many tickets as planned, so everyone in the second tier was being upgraded to the first tier for free. But wait...that's not all! They ended up giving Ryan and I floor tickets. We were sitting in Row W, Section 3, Seats 3 & 4. But wait...there's more. To make it even better, the people who had Seats 1 & 2 (next to us on the isle), didn't show up - so we slid over to those seats! Awesome, I know!!
Then, when I thought I couldn't be more blessed, we find out that Josh Groban starts his concert on the floor, right behind us - and that we can go stand by that little stage! So there I was - standing right below Josh Groban, up front and personal, just a few feet between us - where I could hear his voice directly. I could see the stubble on his face! It was amazing (the perspective, not the stubble)!
He gives a great concert! He is funny, personable, and his voice....oh my goodness, his voice! He is even better in concert than on his CD's (if that is even possible). Talk about a voice straight from heaven!!
It couldn't be a more perfect evening!! Thanks Emmie for babysitting, thanks to Josh for the amazing concert, and an even bigger thanks to Jannealle and Loretta for making it possible!
BEST NIGHT EVER!!!!!!

Mom's surgey went well

Just a quick update on the past few days with Mom. Thursday was her birthday - and we celebrated by going to San Francisco to have blood work done, and to see the orthopedic surgeon for her hip (fun, fun - we really know how to party!!). Tanya is up in Oregon on vacation, and my van ended up in the shop (still there) - so the trip consisted of Cheri (my sister), Nathan, Esther, Mom and me. We left at o'dark hundred after she opened her present from me. Then her present from the surgeon was that her hip was completely healed, and she did not need a hip replacement. Also, she did not need anything done with her knee, the screws were fine, and the swelling and pain were from arthritis. As far has her leg pain from her hip - she just needs to push it. Eventually it will hurt less and less, the more she pushes it. After we were done with that, we did go to Tartine Bakery - which was featured on Food Network's "The Best Thing I Ever Ate", to get their chocolate croissants. I also got Mom a "birthday pie" - her favorite, coconut cream - and a coconut macaroon! We covered the sweet tooth all around! Then we went to her favorite restaurant, Red Lobster, for linner (no typo - lunch and dinner combined - linner). :-)
When she arrived home, she was surprised to find beautiful flowers and gifts from Megan Dold and Cindie Blodgett.
Then the next day, Friday, Mom and I went back to San Francisco for her Microwave Ablation surgery on the mass in her liver. Mom keeps telling everyone that it is cancer, but it has not been diagnosed as cancer. They won't know that, unless they do a biopsy, which they haven't done. The liver doctor is just treating it as if it is cancer, as it is an active mass in her liver, and we need to get her a transplant. Unfortunately Mom's liver disease causes confusion and memory loss, so Mom tends to get her information confused sometimes. You can always ask Tanya or me to get the exact details.
The surgery went very well. They were able to do it lapriscopically as planned, and she did very well. We won't know how successful it was for another 6 weeks - when they repeat the scan to see how the mass looks. I stayed with her until she was in a room and sleeping well, then I got permission from her transplant coordinator to come home for the weekend, and drive back to pick her up on Sunday or Monday when she is ready - with the nurses having my phone numbers to call if there was any change or information that needed to be given.
I called today, and she is dong great. Of course the nurses just love her. She will be up walking around - and they are moving her to a regular room around 1 pm - so she will be able to get calls then.
As far as upcoming items - they want to try some cortisone shots in her knee to see if that helps with the arthritic pain. She needs to be walking every day, and pushing through the pain to get past the pain in her leg. They will be doing an endoscopy and colonoscopy in about 4 weeks as part of the liver transplant screening. And we will have continued visits with her doctors, blood tests and support group / training meetings. Hopefully with an extended criteria donor, she could have a new liver in 5-7months, before the liver disease gets too bad.
We are just grateful to be so blessed with such wonderful doctors, nurses and hospital staff at CPMC - just as Lucy did at UC Davis. We are truly blessed!

How to turn off the music on my blog

Ryan just told me there are some who don't like to hear the music on my blog (I do admit, I need to update it). Some have said they love it, and others do not.

If you do not - you just scroll down to the bottom of the page, and hit the pause button on the player, and it will stop the music while you are reading.

Hope this helps!! :-)

OK! OK! Here's another update!!

OK, after much harassment (you know who you are, and there are more than one of you!) - here is another post. I do have to agree that it is long overdue. Time is just flying by, and I don't know where it is going! I can't wait for life to get boring. School starts for the kids (4 out of 5) on August 10th, and so it will be just Esther and I all day. I am hoping that I can have some quality time with Esther, since I have been gone so much for her whole life (with doctors, surgeries and such for Mom, Lucy and Emmie), as well as have some time to get things done around the house (organizing, cleaning, etc). Plus there will still be more doctors, procedures and such for Mom.

Lucy is doing wonderfully! She turns 10 tomorrow - and has been counting down the days for the past three months. I wish I was one of those Mom's who did a "dedication blog" to my children on their birthdays. Maybe someday. She only has therapy 2x a month, and you would never even know she had brain surgery. Her hair is growing in nicely, and you either don't notice, or people think she just cut her own hair. She is still an amazing, sharing, brilliant, beautiful, funny girl.

Emmie is, at this moment, on her way home from Australia - and I pick her up at the airport tomorrow at 12:20pm. I can't wait to see her pictures and hear all about it. She has emailed and called periodically, but our visits and emails were short, because she had to pay for the Internet, and was borrowing a cell phone to call us. She will be doing a formal presentation to the Lion's Club in a few weeks, and we will be having an open house for friends, family and sponsors to come and view her pictures and hear all about her trip.

Mom - where do I start. OK - so she is on the transplant list, and we (Mom, Tanya and I) have to do everything in San Francisco. We have required classes and support groups, as well as doctors appointments and procedure for Mom. So if Mom's tumor in her liver grows beyond a 5, or spreads outside the liver, she will not be eligible for a liver transplant. They tried to do a Chemo Embolization several months ago, which did kill some of the tumor, but not enough. It did make a lot of Mom's hair fall out, thinning it out, but the part that didn't was her "newer growth" (as our hair is constantly shedding and replenishing), which was shorter, so she cut the "crypt keeper" long strands (as she called it) that were left here and there, and now has a very cute short curly style. The procedure wasn't successful enough to make them happy or to repeat it. So now she will be going in for a more invasive procedure called Microwave Embolization, where they try to do it lapriscopically if they can, and if not, they will open her up. This is where they go directly into the tumor, and "cook" it to try to kill it. She will be in the hospital for a minimum of 3 days after that procedure. They can't get rid of the cancer, but are trying to keep it at bay and buy time until Mom can get a new liver. They are also now advising her to take an "Extended Criteria Doner" liver, so that she can get a liver sooner. The Extended Criteria Donors are people that maybe had Hep B, but the liver is clear, or they are older or have a fatty liver. There are a shortage of livers, and some people die while waiting. So they think she should consider this option, as they are still good livers, and would work fine in her, since she is not at the late stages of liver disease - when it wouldn't work unless it was a "prime" liver, but is racing time with the tumor. There are a lot more livers available that fall into the Extended Criteria category - so her chances of getting a liver before her tumor gets to big or spreads is increased. To make it more interesting, when she went in for her final x-ray of her hip, the doctor said it actually hadn't healed, and so she has to have a partial hip replacement. This can't be scheduled until at least 4 weeks after her tumor surgery. Then after her hip replacement, she has to wait a bit, and go back to San Francisco for a colonoscopy and endoscopy before she can actually get a liver.

It has been quite a bit financially on Tanya and I (since Mom doesn't have any money, Tanya and I split it, pay for everything (food, gas, hotels, etc.) for all the trips to San Francisco). The tough part is when Mom actually gets her liver, because we are required to have saved $5,000 - $7,000 to cover the extra cost. During the surgery, we as her support people, are required to stay in San Francisco, and be at her bedside from 8-5 for training. Also, after Mom is released, we are required to stay in an apartment with Mom in San Francisco 24/7 for another 4-6 weeks (depending on how she is doing). Looks like fundraising isn't in the past for me, but rather has just switched from Emmie to Mom.

Mom is hanging in there though. She doesn't like the required diet, fatigue, confusion, memory loss - or Tanya and I having to baby her, but knows it is a necessity. We also have to keep tabs on her - as the liver disease can cause her to go into a coma very easily. So she calls and checks in every 4 hours - and at night calls when she wakes up throughout the night. Also, she has to make sure to answer the phone whenever Tanya or I call to check on her (which isn't fun for her, since the liver disease makes her sleeping habits crazy - so she may be up all night, and just getting to sleep during the day, and we are calling her). But we told her if she is getting rest, she needs to let the machine answer for everyone else calling just to chat. So don't worry if you call, and she doesn't answer. Tanya and I are keeping very close tabs on her. Also, please don't be offended if you call her, and she doesn't answer - she may just be getting to sleep, no matter what time of day or night it may be. Also, her computer died, so she is without email right now. You can send mail to her PO Box - and I check that for her periodically. She (and we) appreciate all your love and prayers in her behalf.

Just like with Lucy, I will blog if anything significant happens, or will blog the mundane if I have time....ha ha ha...did I just say I might have time....I'm funny! ;-)

Thank you all for being so loving, kind, helpful and patient with me and my crazy family year! Have a wonderful week!! :-)

Scrub Jay love

So Lucy and Abigail were outside having lunch in the sunshine, and they dropped a piece of bread, and a scrub jay quickly flew down and grabbed it. So Emmie went out with some corn tortilla, and they started throwing pieces of tortilla on a rock to watch the bird come back. But then there were two, and they were landing and sharing the tortilla really close to each other. So then Abigail whispers to Emmie - "Maybe the birds are...you know what." To which Emmie replies "What?" and Abigail responded "Maybe the birds are...you know...on a date!"

Can't sleep (yet again!) :-}

Well, yet another night that I can't sleep. I'm sure I will be sorry I've been up so long when the kiddos starting waking up for the day! :-) I decided to come down over 2 hours ago and work on some bookkeeping, check email, and thought I would take the time to do a quick update on everyone. There isn't really much to update - but I keep getting emails asking - so here's the scoop:
Mom: She is currently at my house, and now can put 50% weight on her leg, as long as she isn't hurting (that is new as of yesterday at therapy). She will still have weeks of living with us girls, and her computer isn't working again! If you aren't sure where she is and are looking to get ahold of her, just email me. She is on the transplant list, but not active - pending her getting a clear report on a lung infection (too hard to tell if it is from years ago, and just scars, or current). She wants to be home, but other than that, she is doing well.
Lucy: She is amazing. We are down to therapy 2x a month, and her most recent MRI looks like they got it all! YAY!! She still has residual "weak ankle", and we are hoping that therapy and time heal that. She is now brace free - double YAY. Still watching the tumor on her brain stem - but now we don't have to go back for another MRI for 6 months. Next week is the end of 4th grade for her.
Emmie: Don't remember if I wrote about her abnormal EEG's - after her strange episode in September 2010. They can't pin it on anything, so they did an MRI - which came back normal, which is fantastic! Still don't know why the EEG's are abnormal, or what the cause is of her seizure/numbing - but they are pretty sure it will pass, and that it isn't Epilepsy. Also, she has pretty much received all the money for her Ambassadorship to Australia this July. Now she is just fundraising for her spending money, and to buy the Thank You gifts she is supposed to bring to hand out to everyone in Australia (i.e. - tour guides, home stay family, motor coach drivers, etc). This is her last week of 7th grade homeschooling (which we are both excited about), and her last meeting, including her big project for the Ambassadorship is this Friday night. A huge thank you to everyone who has helped her with this trip. I will do a separate blog about all those wonderful people (although it scares me a little, because I don't want to accidentally leave anyone out).
Abigail: She is gorgeous! Head to toe, model gorgeous. She is finishing 1st grade next week. She is still "feisty" as ever, with total Princess syndrome - but that is good, I've realized. At one point, she asked me what was wrong with her, because she didn't need therapy like the other three were doing at the time. I explained that therapy was good for Em, Lucy and Nate, but it was also a good thing not to need therapy. She lives her life dancing around, singing, and coming into bed with me for snuggles every morning before she gets in the tub with Lucy.
Nathan: "How do you solve a problem like (our Nathan)? How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?" Familiar lyrics - completely fit him. He is finishing his half day preschool next week, and hoping to do all day preschool next school year (starting in August). He is still as the song says - wonderful, silly, crazy, difficult, loving, or as some put it "All Boy" - so true, so true.
Esther: She is almost 19 months old, and everyone loves her. For all the crying I did when I found out I was pregnant with her - we wouldn't trade her for anything. We always tell her "How did we think we could live without you?" She is especially close to Emmie (Me-Me) since she was the one caring for her while I have been gone off and on lately - as well as Em being home everyday since I home school her. Esther loves signing, and uses more signs than words. She can see a sign once, and starts using it. She is so smart!!
Ryan: Is crazy busy with work right now, which has been a huge blessing that we can pay the bills - but we never know when he is coming or going, and when he is home - he is usually in the office editing. He has started playing "Pickle ball" at the Hulbert's house, and loves it. So much that he started a "Pickle ball Diet", and has lost almost 20 lbs so far.
Me: Same ol', same ol'. My memory is gone - I can't remember things from one day to the next, so I am a loony bird - but loving my family and grateful to God for blessing me as he does so immensely.

Thank you for your votes!!!

So a HUGE thank you to everyone who took the time to vote for our kids in the Mash Destruction contest. As a result - we made it to the final 20, and the judges chose our roller coaster idea as a first prize winner of $1000. We will be putting in savings and adding to it to go to Disneyland with the kids as soon as we have enough saved with it. You can see the results at:
http://mashdestruction.com/final/winners
Thanks again!!! :-) You're support is awesome!

Mom's approved!

So here is some great news on Mom. We got a call that told us that she was approved for the Liver Transplant List. She isn't on it yet, because she has to do some more tests and classes over the next 4 weeks - but then they will put her on. So we will be back and forth to San Francisco a lot in the next month.
Also, the doctor in San Francisco did more x-rays on her hip, and said that he thinks it is healing just fine. He was calling her Ortho Dr. here, and talking with him about just putting Mom on therapy to start getting around.
So hopefully by next month, she will be on the list, and getting around more. Keep your fingers crossed and your prayers coming! :-)
Still the best way to reach her is by email, as she is still rotating between Tanya, Cheri and Me. :-)

Yet another update on Mom

OK - so I am once again in San Francisco with Mom and Tanya. We were here most all of last week, got home Saturday night from her Liver Transplant Oval, and had to be back Monday morning for her Chemoembolization. Not sure how long we will be here this time. I will let you know how things are going as we know.
For the Transplant list, they take all the information from the doctors we saw and tests that were done, and meet as a board with her Liver Doctor to decide if she gets on the list, and how high up - that will happen in about 2-4 weeks. I will let you know when that is decided, and more info on what will happen at that point.
As far as the Chemo - they will do a CT scan in a few months, to see if it worked or not, and we will go from there.
And her hip surgery we are still waiting on. They are looking at doing it in 2-3 weeks. We are still doing a "Mom-share", and so the best way to contact Mom is through email - and she can call you or email you depending on where she is.
Thanks for your patience, and remember - no news is good news...(that is until we are waiting on a liver, then we want news!). :-)

Garage Sale Tomorrow and Saturday

Tomorrow and Saturday, Emmie will be holding a Garage Sale with items donated by the Hulberts and Aunt Linda, as well as selling the beautiful bibs and hot pads donated by Sister Zenk, flower hair clips that we made, and fun necklaces from Sister Hulbert. If you have a moment, please stop by and support her fundraising efforts toward her Ambassadorship to Australia.

Special Night for Emmie

What a very special night we had last night. Due to it's sacred nature, I won't elaborate much, but felt that such an important moment deserved to be shared more than my usual ramblings. Prior to taking Mom to Cheri's house, Cheri came up to stay with the younger four kids, and Ryan, Mom, Emmie and I went to Patriarch Matson's house, and Emmie received her Patriarchal blessing. It brought me back to when I received mine, when I was 14, and my Mom and Tanya accompanied me. Only this time, it was my sweet Emmie we were going for. What a beautiful blessing and a special night. Emmie, as I always say...thank you for being my daughter! I love you rosebud.

Mom is at Cheri's house

Hello there - Yesterday, Ryan picked up a bed frame from the Blodgetts, and a mattress from Bishop Davidson, and we moved Mom to Cheri's house. I have today to prepare for Emmie's fundraising Garage Sale on Friday and Saturday, and needed to prepare. Also, I am leaving town with Lucy after that - so I wouldn't be here to care for Mom. Cheri's information to reach Mom is: 916-735-9226, and her address is: 7178 Crail Ct., Citrus Heights, CA 95610. She will only be there for a week, and then she will be back at Tanya's house for one more week until we go to San Francisco to try to get her on the Liver Transplant List. I will update more then. Also, you can reach Mom by email (as her computer is now fixed). Her email address is: ladyc_forever@yahoo.com Please don't send forwards or junk mail, not matter how funny, sweet, or spiritual. Her email is swamped right now (as she hasn't been able to check it for months), so for right now, please only personal messages.

Mom's surgery didn't work; Lucy is doing amazingly well!

So, I took Mom today for her hip x-ray, and it shows that it is not healing; so it didn't work. Now we are looking at doing a full or partial hip replacement. I will be taking her tomorrow to see her Primary Care doctor, and we will ask her (and call her Liver doctor and ask him), if they want her to use a Sutter surgeon, since they are both Sutter doctors, and don't have privileges at Mercy; or should the last surgeon just do it again. Things are still really busy right now, but Lucy is doing amazing! She doesn't have the wheelchair at all anymore, and only has to wear her brace while she is out and about. She can move her foot all around, and just has some strength issues with her right foot, and some balance issues. Her therapy has been moved to 2x a month, instead of 2x a week - Yay! So right now the schedule is that I will be taking Mom back to Tanya's house toward the mid/end of this week, because I have to take Lucy to Utah for the studies and to see her Dr. there the beginning of next week. When we return, I have to get things ready, because Mom, Tanya and I have to spend the next week in San Francisco to do all of the panel testing to see if we can get Mom on the liver transplant list. We are hoping to get her hip surgery done shortly after that. The good news about that, is that it won't take so long to heal with the replacement surgery, so she will be back home in under a month after the surgery (and possibly the week after the surgery, depending on how it goes). So all is well. I will blog when we have any new news regarding Mom - so you don't have to wonder or worry, no news is good news! Thank you for your continued thoughts, well wishes and prayers! We love you!

Ore-Ida’s Steam n’ Mash, Mash Destruction at MashDestruction.com

Go online to vote for Emeryl, Lucy, Abigail and Nathan to help then win a spot in the final 20 for the judges to choose from. Click the link below - and it brings you to Abigail's idea, so you can vote! After you vote for her - then you can put "logan" in the search, and scroll down (not the big picture -but under it is where the search comes up) and it will show you all of the kids (and some boy named Logan from somewhere else) - and you can vote for each of my kids once a day. Only 7 days left!! Please vote!! Ore-Ida’s Steam n’ Mash, Mash Destruction at MashDestruction.com

This blogs for you - Randy (and everyone else)

OK - so I got a phone call, where I am in big trouble. He has forgiven me now, but Randy was very upset that I got him hooked on my blog, then quit writing. I tried to explain that I am a crazy woman, trying to catch up on Emmie's homeschool, her fundraising (next payment of $2000 is due next week, and we are still over $500 away - then the final payment of $3750 due in May), as well as the unbelievable pile of laundry and dishes I had to catch up, and keep up with. Then there is the corners and underneath of things. This is where everything went whenever Ryan asked the kids to pick up. I didn't realize how many corners and "underneaths" I had in this house. The bills (ours, Mom's and business bookkeeping) had to be dealt with and taken care of, errands ran, shopping done, etc. It keeps going, but he said (and he is right) that it is no excuse not to do a quick update saying:
"Hello there. I am swamped - so gotta keep it short. Lucy is back at school, started therapy and is doing great! Mom is going to be going back and forth between Tanya and I - so she can have a change of scenery. We will have an x-ray on April 11th to see if the surgery worked on her hip or if we have to do surgery again. Also, the week of May 10th we will be going to San Francisco to do the screening to get Mom on the Liver Transplant List, and most likely doing the chemo I talked about in an earlier blog. That's the update - gotta go!"
And he is right! Also, there are so many more Thanks that need to be given. I felt so badly that Aunt Karen, Uncle Jimmy and Chelsea sent Lucy this wonderful package, with a cool Ladybug lunch pail - adorable ladybug earring, a new Ty Beanie Baby Owl, and chocolate (green shamrocks and gold coins) and a sweet card - and I waited to call (for them to be home from work), and as usual, time slipped past me, then days slipped past. How rude of us. We do have our Thank You cards out, and are working on getting them done. Also, a HUGE thank you to all who brought in meals for my family while Lucy and I were in the hopsital, and the day we got home. I am still trying to find out who did that, and who I owe dishes to. :-)
Thanks for being patient, and I will try to be better about updates. Thank you again to everyone!!

We are home!

Not a lot of time - but a quick note to let you know that we are home, and doing well! Not sure yet when or if Mom is coming; I still need to talk with Tanya about that. Mom is missing the kids and I, but enjoying the quiet that Tanya's house has to offer. She is settled in, and Tanya and Sean have a schedule worked out now, so they may opt just to keep Mom there this time. I will update when that changes.
On another note - we got to go to church today. Lucy went in her wheelchair, as the halls get quite full and bustley (I know, that's not even a word :-), but it fits), and we don't want her to get knocked over accidentally, and her class is at the opposite end of the building as the chapel.
Lucy had quite the surprise when she got home - the Primary had made a huge, beautiful "Welcome Home Lucy" banner, and all signed it. They are amazing, and her ear to ear grin when she walked in was priceless! I wish I had my camera out; but alas, I didn't. I will attach a picture of the banner later, as well as pictures from the hospital.
It is nice to be home - loud, but nice! We joke that our kids only know two levels, loud and louder. We are trying to work on that. But seriously, I am so happy to be home again. Looking forward to getting everything back in order again.

Strike a Pose

So here is a little trivia question...What do Aunt Tanya, Uncle Boo and Lucy all have in common? Well, OK - I guess that wasn't so specific, since they are all wonderful, talented, etc... What I was referring to is that they all have been models.

Yesterday Lucy was photographed for the Family Link program here at UC Davis. She will be on their website and on their new brochures for Family Link. That is their program here that loans laptops to patients, so they can stay connected with their family when in the hospital. She has used it to Skype and play with her friends on Club Penguin. It's also great for checking email, and blogging updates. So now she joins the ranks of family models!

No More Sodium Chloride!

So today Lucy and I had to use her day pass to go to her 10-day follow up appointment with Dr. Boggan. She is doing great! Her sodium was up to 140 for the first time - which is great. He said she didn't have to take the Sodium Chloride anymore. I thought I had mentioned (but couldn't find it), that their concern was that she had SIADH - which you can search on the Internet. It happens in about 70-80% of brain surgery patients. We just had to make sure that it went away, and it looks like it has. So now, she doesn't have to take the "brine water" as we called it, and she just has to finish with the Applebees boneless hot wings (her oral steroids - which she has gained 7 lbs from), and her blue raspberries (Pepcid). The blessings keep coming!
Also, Lucy was able to move her foot up a little today - which is huge!! I was so excited I could burst. She is so amazing!
Side note to anyone taking these meds: After much trial and error - the best way to take them according to Lucy is:
Sodium Chloride - put in medicine cup, and dip saltine crackers and eat.
Pepcid - it's awesome - save for last to counter the bad other medicines.
Decadron - dilute in a dixie cup of apple juice, and drink with a straw - yes, the straw matters.

Three days and counting...

So the doctor came in today, and said that we are shooting for Saturday to get to go home. YAY!! On a more depressing note for Lucy, he said that she had to stop her crazy eating habits, and go back to normal - so we could make sure that she is doing well with her sodium on her own, and not because she eats 8 pc of bacon, salted egg, etc for breakfast, the equivalent of a family size bag of Doritos and Costco size bag of beef jerky daily, in addition to her sodium chloride they give her, and salted fries, soups and other foods. Considering she noshes all day long - and is still eating Doritos and jerky at 10pm in bed, she is already going through withdrawals!
Still not sure what will happen with school. Lucy is itching to get back (not to the work, but to see her friends), but she still can't walk very far without needing to stop. So she may be home until she can - or go back in a wheelchair for a while. We are going to see where she is on Saturday, when we get released.

Mom needs a transplant

OK - so here is the scoop on Mom, after seeing her liver doctor today. Apparently, the other doctor was very wrong. Mom wouldn't survive surgery to remove the tumor, as they would have to take so much of her liver, which would be fine for someone with a healthy liver, because the liver would regenerate itself - but for her, with her cirrhosis, it wouldn't regenerate, and she wouldn't survive it. She has a tumor that is about 3cm (an inch and a half in diameter) - and they rate them by size from 1 to 4. A level 1 is under 2 cm - which is too small to make it urgent for transplant; 3-5 is a two, and that is prime for transplant lists - because it is urgent enough, but not too far gone. A three and four are over that, and they are pretty much too late for transplant. So the good news is Mom is perfect in that aspect for a transplant. Also, since she doesn't drink or smoke anymore, and hasn't for a while - they like that too.
The plan at this point is that she is to go to San Francisco (yes, still going there), where she needs to have Tanya and I both there, a requirement to show she has enough family support, where we will stay with her in a hotel, while she undergoes the transplant list screening process. Upon approval, they will then begin a new type of Chemo - where they put a tube in going directly to the tumor, and they put in a chemo in the form of these little balls that basically act like leeches - and attach directly to the tumor in the liver. With this type of chemo, there is little to no side effects for most people. Only 1 in 20 have some side effects. They will call us to tell us when to come. There won't be an option for the time or date - they tell you when, and you show up. Then after she gets on the transplant list - then it is usually about 12-18 months before you are matched and get a liver for the transplant.
Her doctor doesn't know why the orthopedic surgeon didn't do the full surgery on Mom, once he had her open; so although she is doing well, and can get to the bathroom with her walker and good leg - she still has to be extremely careful, and have someone spotting her all the time, so she doesn't stumble and re-injure her leg. The surgery they did on it, was just putting in a few pins, and it only has a 25% chance of working to fix her femur - so that is why the extreme caution and care giving that is required. So as for now, Tanya and Sean are tag-teaming taking care of her between their appointments and work schedules, and she will most likely still come to live with me when we get out of the hospital; Tanya, Mom and I will discuss it. She is in a routine there - but if Sean starts working more, she won't have anyone to spot her during the day - so she will need to come to my house. She is just worried about all that I have going on, although I assured her that we would be fine and make it, as we did last year.
Tanya is sorry that she doesn't have a land line to have people be able to call Mom - but she only has a cell phone, and has already blown through over half her allowed minutes, and the month has just begun; not to mention that she uses that phone to run her businesses as well - so she can't afford to go over, and pay the rip-off overage fees that cell phones charge. Also, Mom's laptop is still on the fritz, so she can't check her email. I will work on getting that fixed when I am out of here. If you want to send a note or card, you can send it to: PO Box 1087, Shingle Springs, CA 95682. This is Mom's new mailing address, so you can put it in your book. I will check it, and deliver her mail to her; and that will save you from having to add Tanya's address, then mine, then Mom's PO Box later.
Thanks again for all your love, support, prayers and service to our family - we are so amazed at the angels all around us, who are always so willing to help. May God bless you all, as he has us.

Happy Birthday Boy!

Today my little man turns 4. He is so excited that his birthday is finally here. I tried to get a day pass so Lucy and I could go home for Nathan's birthday, but alas, no such luck.
Nathan is so many things. He is a tornado, curious, destructive, crazy, tough, wild, messy, spontaneous, silly, "Monkish", intelligent, snugly, loving, thoughtful, good boy! When he gets a treat, he asks for one for "his girls" (meaning his sisters, Rachel, Grandma and me). He calls Esther "his baby", and he means it. His smile will melt your heart, and his hugs will completely liquefy you.
He is obsessed with all things "boy" - cars, trucks, planes, trains, mud, balls, etc. His favorite movie has switched from Cars and Up (both he still loves), to Pete's Dragon - because he is now loves lighthouses.
He loves to watch Umizoomi when he gets to, and can't resist sweets - especially chocolate. That boy will do anything for chocolate, and will sneak into it anytime he can, regardless the consequence.
A game he loves to play is "Squeeze the Air out of Me" - you got it...we hug each other so hard, we try to squeeze the air out of one another.
He started Preschool in January, and is so excited to go every day. He says his favorite part is his friends. He also became a Sunbeam this year, and transitioned well from Nursery. He gave his first talk in Primary (our children's church group) last month, and did great.
He brings such horror, chaos, frustration, joy, love and happiness into our lives, and we are so grateful to have him in our family.
We love you Nathan, Nate-the-Great, Natey, boy-boy! Happy 4th Birthday!

Lucy and Mom Update

Not a lot to update on either one - except they are both doing well.
Lucy continues to just excel in her recovery. The only residual issues at this point are her right foot - which still doesn't work completely. She can push off with it, but can't pull it up or more her toes. Every now and then we get a slight movement, and get very excited. She has a brace for when she is sleeping, or in bed for long periods, and just got a walking brace for when she is doing therapy or walking around. She is getting better and better at getting her coordination and balance back to what they were. She is working in therapy on stairs a lot, since we have a multi-level home with no bathroom on the main level - as well as the fact that it requires stairs to get into the house. Her spirits are up, and she isn't hating life here anymore. I almost think she will miss it when we go! The team meets tomorrow to let us know what our release date is. The doctor said she is walking so well - even "go home well" is what he said. The other issue is her sodium levels. If you want to understand that better - look up SIADH on the Internet. It explains the syndrome better than I ever could.
Mom is doing well with Tanya and Sean. She is getting back on schedule with her regular doctor appointments, and getting her liver issues taken care of. They are thinking she has liver cancer, and the oncologist has referred her to a surgeon in San Francisco (we can't escape that city). Today they meet with her liver doctor, and I will update more tomorrow, when I have the info from that appointment, as well as Lucy's release date.

Kerr jar soup, ladybugs and Primary!

Sunday was quite a busy day for Lucy. First of all, her friend Abby came to visit again - and stayed most of the day. They had so much fun together. Then, she had a visit from the Primary Presidency, who brought her the most amazing poster board ladybug card. Each of the Primary children had written a message inside of a ladybug, and then decorated it's wings, which were attached with brads - so Lucy could open each of the bugs wings to read the message. The were complete with googly eyes! They also brought her a chocolate Ladybug, filled with little ladybugs inside, some cool ladybug sunglasses, a color your own purse, a plate of cookies - and some wonderful homemade soup in a Kerr jar for me! And, I saved the best for last - they videotaped Primary, so Lucy didn't miss it, and could have church at the hospital. As soon as they left, Lucy put the DVD in to watch. She loved it. Then while she was watching that - Ryan came to visit, and brought Emmie and Abigail to visit. Then Tanya came to visit, and they played Payday, and ate snacks all evening. I so wish I had a card reader, so I could upload pictures. I think that I will go back, and edit the posts with pictures when I get them off the memory card at home.

Hospital Heaven

So, we all know up front, that nobody wants to be in the hospital. But today I was teasing Lucy that she had it made when the nurse and I were giving her a shower for the first time. I told her that want to be waited on with room service, get to go to the gym everyday, then get a spa treatment (that's what Tanya and I used to call it when we would wash Mom in San Francisco last year). Not to mention all the extras - wait, let's do mention them. So this post will talk about the positives of her stay:

• The staff is amazing. We are so happy with how thoughtful and kind all of her nurses, doctors and therapist are. Even the food service, laundry and cleaning staff are sweet and efficient.
• Child Life - this is a wonderful program here where there have music time, arts and crafts, a huge playroom filled with toys, volunteers who will play with your child if they want, etc. They have loaned Lucy a laptop, so she can Skype family and friends - as well as play Club Penguin online (that is what she is currently doing - so I have time to blog).
• Visitors, visitors, visitors!! I blogged already about some of them. She also has had her Principle, Deedra Devine visit, as well as her current teacher, Julie Olsen. Mrs. Olsen brought in an activity book and candy, as well as a Dr. Seuss Night book bag filled with books from the Librarian, Mrs. Miles. Also, she brought Lucy a pile of homemade cards that the kids in her class had made for her. She was a bit distracted with her friends with Mrs. Olsen came; but enjoyed reading every card later that afternoon. She thoughtfully looked over each one, and talked about the student who made it for her. What a wonderfully supportive and loving school Buckeye Elementary is. That is why when we moved, we made sure to keep the kids there - we love it. She had our good friend Randy Bartlett (Premier Entertainment - why not give him a plug? http://www.premierentertainment.biz/ ) visit - bringing her a pile of activities (create a Butterfly diary, sticker activity book, How to draw book). Our dear friends Cyndi and Donald come and visit with Starbucks hazelnut hot chocolate (for her and Mommy - yay!), as well as a cool light up constellation ladybug, a stuffed Eric Carle grouchy ladybug (which fits her mood sometimes), and a Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy book (where the girl is named LuLu). They also gave Ryan and me an sweet card with an Arco gas gift card inside. She had her friend Abby come back again yesterday, and I think Rachel is coming again today. In addition to Uncle Travis, Aunt Krista, Aunt Cheri and Bishop Melville who have made multiple visits. Poor Grandma and Aunt Tanya haven't been able to visit yet - but maybe will soon.
• Therapy - she loves the playroom and having fun. Although it is hard work, they make it play. When I asked her what her favorite part was, she said "All of it". Kinda like having a personal trainer at the gym, huh? I miss that. Someday I would like to go back to Zack at 24Hour Fitness in Folsom - he's the best! It's tough, but he makes it fun, and I loved the results.
• Room Service - She gets to order off a wonderful menu, and the food is good. When she wants more of something, they get her more. Must be nice. ;-)
• Doritos, Doritos, Doritos (plus Bacon and Turkey Sausage galore). Lucy thought this deserved it's own bullet point.
• Complete package - including a TV, DVD player, VCR, telephone (to 916 & 530 area codes), Internet, Skype, waited on by Mommy and hospital staff, etc.

This is like Christmas for Lucy (and the rest of the family). The family has received meals brought in every night by loving members of Cameron Park and El Dorado wards. My mom's cousin, Mary K is sending a little something for each of the kids at home, who aren't getting Mommy's attention. As well as sweet cards and gifts from so many people (The Funk family, Neldine Valles, Marva and Ed, etc). Yesterday her Aunt Summer's family sent her a gift basket filled junk food snacks and a cute little stuffed kitty, with a Get Well Balloon flying over it. Sweet Becky Gibson even included a Candy gift bag for Ryan and my Anniversary.

The best gift of all is your love, support and prayers for our family during this time, as well as the blessings we have received from our Heavenly Father. Even Dr. Boggan, who came in today, said he was praying for Lucy. We continue to be showered with kindness from everyone. We are so blessed!

With Flowers...

So today I was talking with Emmie, Esther and Nathan on speaker phone. I was telling them how much I missed them and loved them. I made Esther delighted when I repeated (as I often do), that she is my little honey muffin, honey bear, honey bunny, honey bee, honey love. Then I was telling Nathan that I missed him - and he said in a very sad voice "I miss you Mommy". I told him "I love you like crazy!!" to which he replied "I love you with flowers!" How I love my children so!!

Dr. Seuss' Birthday Celebration

So last Friday, on the day of Lucy's surgery, she was so sad that she was going to miss the big snow storm and Dr. Seuss Night at school. As it turns out, Dr. Seuss Night was postponed, due to the pending storm - which also never happened. So she didn't miss them.

Then, on Dr. Seuss' actual birthday, the hospital had a big celebration. They offered a buffet breakfast of green eggs (scrambled) and ham (as well as fresh fruit) to the families on the floor. Normally we don't get food here, just the kids. Then they served the kids green eggs on their breakfast tray, along with their normal choices of food. Then a doctor dressed as the Cat in the Hat came around to see the kids.

The playroom spent the day playing games, reading stories, doing crafts, etc. all centered around Dr. Seuss, for the kids to come and go as they wanted to. It is so neat all they offer to the children here at UC Davis.

I haven't been able to post pictures, because I don't have a card reader here at the hospital - but the wonderful lady who took pictures of the kids with the Cat in the Hat, emailed me the pic, so I could share it with you. Enjoy!

Lucy is doing GREAT!!

I'm so sorry I didn't get this posted yesterday - but we didn't have a spare moment between doctors and guests. Then in the evening, Travis and Krista came up to stay with Lucy, and Cheri picked me up, drove me home, and stayed with the kids while Ryan and I got to go to dinner for our anniversary. We went to a place called Bistro 33 in El Dorado Hills - and it was wonderful. Great food, fantastic service, and best of all - an hour of candle lit conversation with my husband of 16 years.

Now on to Lucy; she is doing fantastic! It is miraculous how fast she is healing. She is surpassing what they thought she would, and just flying through by leaps and bounds. She is now up standing and walking with support. She is getting stronger everyday. They came in yesterday and cast her for a brace for her right leg. She has a soft brace for when she is not on her feet; yeah, it may be soft fleece inside, and soft foam outside - but the metal frame makes Lucy disagree with the name of it. She has to wear that on and off every two hours, and all night long. Then they are making a walking brace, which should be ready by tomorrow that she will wear when she is up and about. They are to help her Achilles tendon not get tight, as she still can't flex her right foot up. However - she did wiggle her toes a tiny bit - which was huge!! Our friend Randy would like to claim credit for that, since he came to see her the day before - when she couldn't move her toes, and then the next day she could. :-) He's funny.

She also got one more IV out yesterday, so she is down to just one left (out of four). That was exciting, and we are working with her on bending her hand at the knuckles, because she tends to hold it up in the air and stiff, as if the IV was still there. She was able to close it into a loose fist yesterday for a bit.

Her sodium is holding - so she is still eating all the salt she can through bacon, sausage, Gatorade and Nacho Cheese Doritos. Her thumb and forefinger are turning orange from those chips.

She also is doing great about her stitches and hair. I had talked with her, letting her know that although it was not fun or what she would choose for her hair, there are many kids who have it worse off than her, and still keep a good attitude and cheerful disposition. I don't know that she believed me, or took it to heart - until I started taking her to the playroom, where she started seeing other children here. Now she walks around without her hat on, and even looks in the mirror, and gets excited that her hair is starting to grow back so quickly. She has been fighting me in washing off her "extra eyes". When she had her Stealth MRI, they put these "donuts" on her head all around her forehead, behind her ears, and on either side of the top of her head. Then they had to trace around them and in the middle hole with a Sharpie, to mark where they were, in case one fell off somehow. I told her I would take a picture, then she would need to let me take them off, now that it has been a week. We are still waiting to see if she can take a shower today, and wash her hair finally.

She should be coming back from her morning therapy soon, and then wants to participate in the Child Life celebration, where they will be making musical instruments out of medical supplies, and then parading around the pediatric unit to kick off music group!

Trying to stay positive amidst more sad news

OK, so there are some updates.

Lucy's doctors now think that her deficit is more on the permanent side, and not temporary. She is not responding to the steroids, so they are going to start weaning her off of those. Her sodium is still low, so we are loading her up on bacon, chips, Gatorade, etc. She also has to drink this sodium chloride that she detests - and still it is too low. We are working on that. They have decided that she needs intense therapy - in patient. They are trying to clear through insurance now - and she will be here for a minimum of 1-2 weeks, maybe 3-4 or more. We will know more after she has had a week of therapy, and we can see how it is going.

When the doctors came in and told me that, it broke my heart. I was tired from no sleep, and have held it all in emotionally for the kids - but I couldn't. It was as if a dam broke, and the tears poured out. I guess the nurses got worried, and sent social services in to talk to me. I had to tell Tanya that Mom needed to go live with her and Sean until Lucy and I could come home - then I would take Mom.

We are not telling Lucy that they are saying it is permanent for a few reasons. First of all - they are not always right with things like that. The therapist told me that they have worked with kids that the doctors said would never walk - and they got back to 100%, whereas other cases that were mild, and they were sure would heal after rehab, never did. Secondly, that is not a good way to start rehab, by someone telling you that your issues are permanent; talk about a reason to give up trying before you start!

However, things picked up, as I talked with resource people here, and they hooked Lucy up with a loaner computer with Skype on it - so she can see and talk with family and friends who can't come in. Also, she had a load of visitors today that lifted her spirit sky high! First, Ryan came in and stayed with her, while I ran home to shower and gather some things, and pay some bills. Next, Bishop Melville came in, and brought a travel Connect 4 game, and played two games with Lucy (which she won). Then her friend Abby came in with her Mom. They brought her beautiful pink and yellow tulips, a balloon, donuts, beautiful handmade card and a picture of Abby. Then her friend Rachel came with her Mom and sisters, and brought her a box of Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies. Then our Relief Society President, Cheryl, came with her granddaughter, who had made yummy homemade cookies, and brought her and me a new book to read. Also, while I was at home, a package arrived for Lucy from the Buchan family, with a card, a new journal (which she already wrote in), and a cool Barbie MP3 Player (complete with changeable Barbie faceplates). We went to the playroom with everyone, and they played games and had so much fun. For the first time in days, Lucy came back to the room, ate her entire dinner, had her meds without being upset or complaining. It was awesome!!! Thank you so much!! For those who have asked, she is at UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento - Rm. 7785, Bed 2.

Call for help

Hello there,
OK - I know I have received several offers for help, and here is where we sit. Mom's hospital is ready to send her home. They wanted to today, and my sister, Tanya, told them we had to talk tonight and figure things out. She and Sean are willing to have her, but Tanya works all day, and Sean would have to help Mom on and off the potty. We both know that Mom will sneak and try to go on her own, not wanting to bother him as often as she has to go, and out of not wanting him to help her with that (which we can't blame her).
The nursing homes are not staffed well enough to be able to watch her as often as she goes to the bathroom (the last one put her in diapers, because it took them too long to get to her - and even left her on bedpans way too long), so she would end up getting up unsupervised, because she couldn't wait, and that is if Medical would even cover it.
What she needs help with, is someone to come to my house and spot her as she gets up and down out of bed and on and off the toilet - and mostly making sure that she has absolutely NO weight on her right leg (she tends to claim she is just touching her toe down to balance, but puts weight on it as she uses her walker). So they would have to have time, and be able to stand up to her and not let her put that foot down while walking with her walker, and walking beside her, able to support her if she loses balance, so she doesn't fall again.
The hospital here still hasn't told me what they are doing about Lucy, they need a few more days to figure out what is causing Lucy's problems, and the best solution. They can't send us home yet, because her sodium is still too low, and they are giving her IV steroids hoping it is swelling causing the problems, and that the steroids will help that, and stop her issues. They will give her PT and OT here as an In Patient basis.
I had received an offer from our cousin Crystal to come and help, as she just finished her CNA, and was available - so we thought that was the answer. But upon reading her offer again - she isn't done with school until March 16th, and I need the help for 3 days up to 3 weeks starting Wednesday.
So if anyone is available, and can handle being very firm with Mom about no weight (she will argue that she isn't putting weight, when she is), and be able to spot and help her getting up and down as needed - that would be greatly appreciated. Please email me and let me know if you can help, and what your availability is.
Thanks again so much!!!

Some complications....

OK - so Mom is doing very well, and coming home to my house in the next day or two. She should be much easier to care for than she was last year this time, as only her hip is injured, and not multiple fractures and/or breaks on her right side. Also, she is hoping to be helpful to me by helping with homeschooling Emmie and/or Lucy during this. Another deciding factor, was that even if she agreed to let Sean take care of her during the day, she wasn't comfortable with it - and would most likely try to go to the bathroom on her own (not wanting to bother him) and possible fall and start the process all over again. So it really is best that she come to my house.
Lucy, however, has encountered some problems. She can't walk, due to her right leg having issues connecting with her brains commands. Also she has trouble sitting up on her own. She is very frustrated by this, and down in spirits over it, as well as her hair (she says she looks like a boy - but I told her after a week, when we can wash and brush it, she will see it isn't as bad as she thinks; as well as the fact that people love her for her personality, not her hair), the IVs (her nemesis in the entire thing), etc. Also her sodium levels are low, and despite her high sodium IV, these sodium "shots" she has to drink every 3 hours and loads of bacon, Doritos, etc - we can't seem to get it up. This is important because your sodium level dictates whether you are storing fluid inside our outside the cells, which affects the swelling and healing. She loves visitors (especially when they stay to play a game with her), and is so homesick for her siblings and poochie.
Sweet Krista (my new sister - no, Travis didn't propose yet, but we got tired of waiting, she is my sister in heart no matter what he does), Travis, Tanya and Cheri have helped out and visited with Lucy. She is snuggling in bed with her silkie (her favorite possession in the world), her Ladybug Pillow Pet (from Grandma Betty and Papa Ken), her Pink Puppy and rainbow blanket from her Activity Day leaders and friends from church, her stuffed dolphin from Aunt Tanya, a snugly blanket made by volunteers and given to each child patient here to keep, and a cute little bunny that came from her surprise visitor - her former 2nd grade teacher Mrs. Carver. It was such a surprise, and Lucy and I still can't stop talking about it. That was so sweet for her to come, and we didn't even know if she was still getting our emails, or knew about the surgery.
Today OT, PT and the Neurosurgery associate came in to see her and check things out. They are assuming it is due to swelling, and have been continually upping her steroids to combat that. They aren't sure if it will be a week or a year - but are hoping that it is temporary. Next we have to see what they are going to do with her. Either they will keep her here and do aggressive therapy and see if that works over the next week. Or they might admit her to their Rehab facility (still in the same place, on the same floor), and she could be here for a few weeks or more. Possibly some rehab her and then move her home for outpatient rehab (either in home, or me driving her to therapy). Not sure until they have a pow-wow with each other and decide what is best.
Ryan has spent the weekend in bed, fighting of a chest cold that is trying to turn into bronchitis, and sweet Emmie has been holding down the fort! I am throwing around ideas in my head from offers to help and will know better hopefully tomorrow as to what the plan will be. I am happy to say that last night, we actually were able to get a little rest. They still come in every few hours for vitals, and her nasty medicine - and she wakes to go to the bathroom several times a night, but we did rest. Today her roommate went home, so we are wondering if we will have an even quieter night tonight. I must say, for all the hospital fold out chairs, this one is the most comfortable.
Thanks again so much to everyone for offering to help, and for your love and prayers. We can't thank you enough, and feel so blessed to have such love and support for our family.

Hospital Hopping - Updates again

So last night around 10:30, I went over to visit Mom at Mercy Hospital, while Krista stayed with Lucy, and Tanya and Sean arrived shortly after I left to visit her also. Then came back and have stayed with Lucy the rest of the time.

Mom is out of surgery, and doing very well. They didn't think she would make it, yet she pulled through with flying colors to the shock of the surgeon and his staff. They only put pins in, and she will need to schedule a partial hip replacement surgery most likely after she gets stable with her liver disease. They messed up last night, and gave her two batches of platelets, and she was supposed to have gotten one batch this morning before surgery. However, it was a wonderful, God send, because when they ran her blood this morning, it was down 1 point from last night. So her body is just eating up the platelets. So then they gave her more, and kept giving them to her throughout the surgery. They plan on keeping them going for the rest of her hospital visit. They will do some rehab with her, and then it is time to care for her again - with 6-8 weeks of no weight at all on her right leg. We are still working out who she will stay with when she gets out. She will need someone to help her with all of her care - food, getting on and off the potty, getting showered, to PT and doctors appointments, etc. Cheri has a 1-story house, but she is gone at work, and looking to get a second job. Tanya and Sean can put a bed in their living room of the bottom floor - but Tanya works all day (it's tax season), so Sean would have to help Mom on and off the potty - so that isn't ideal. For Ryan and I, we have a split level house, with not one floor being on the ground level. We would need to put her in the bottom level by completely clearing out our office and putting it somewhere else in the house. It is a very small room, and will barely fit a hospital bed, commode and TV stand for her - but there is a bathroom on that same level, and there is only 3 steps to get to the garage level to get her in and out of a car when needed for therapy and doctor appointments. It really is the best option, because I am home - and can best care for her without any embarrassment to her. I will be caring for Lucy at home, and still homeschooling Emmie as well. But Mom is worried that I have too much on my plate, and although she wants to come to my house again, she is fighting it, because she doesn't want to put any extra stress on me. So we will work it all out, and let you know what happens. But as for now, she ate lunch after her surgery, and is now resting well.

As far as Lucy, she is doing really well!! She is currently in for a post-op MRI, and they are trying it without sedating her. If that doesn't work, we will have to wait and do it again. She is such a trooper, and a funny girl. She uses the doctor 1-10 scale for pain very well and accurately. Although, she doesn't complain as much about the head pain, as she complains about the IV's (she had 4 of them in at the same time, and now is down to three), as well as the bandage on her head going around under her chin, the blood pressure cuff, the oxygen monitor on her toe, etc. When I asked her where she wanted to be - if it could be anywhere in the world, she said "Home, I want to go home". Even when I told her that she could choose anywhere, even the Bahamas or Hawaii - she still said "Home". She is feeling better though, and playing on the DSi off and on. She has learned that hospitals are loud and hard to sleep in. We have been so blessed with such wonderful staff though!! All of her nurses have been amazing, although her favorite it her current nurse, John. He was the first to let her eat anything, and he can flush out her IV's and give her meds in them without her feeling it (she is very sensitive to her IV's). But Melissa (both in PICU), and her recovery nurse, Iedia (not sure of the spelling, I didn't look at her name tag) have been such a joy. Also, we had a nice visit from Dana - who works here, but is also very involved in Aquasol, Emmie's swim team - who let us know that if we needed anything to call her.

I hope this makes sense, I am going on very little sleep over the last 4 days. :-)

We are so grateful for the wonderful care, and love and prayers from friends and family. I'm so sorry I don't have time to respond individually to all of your emails, facebook and blog comments - but please know I have read every single one, and shared with Lucy your love and concern. I will let you know if we need anything, and appreciate all of the offers!! It is so amazing to feel such love and support from so many fantastic people!! Thank you!!

Another Update

Hello there. Gotta keep it short, as I need to get back to Lucy. The surgery was harder than the Neurosurgeon thought (due to some of her veins), and so there was some concern. But she seems to be doing great. She was just moved from recovery to Pediatric ICU. We will stay there tonight, and then she will have another MRI in the morning.

Mom, on the other hand is a scarier story. She is having surgery in the morning - but they are very concerned at the high risk of her not making it through the surgery due to her liver problems. They opted not to do the better surgery, because it would be way more dangerous. They are just going to do a 20 minute surgery (1 1/2 hours total time), because her odds are better of living through it. The odds of it fixing her hip are about 25% - but risk is very high. So keep her in your prayers please. I will update again when I get a chance (only a few places in the hospital I can use the Internet, and I don't leave Lucy alone at all, because it scares her.

What a night!! Update....

So, things are crazy as usual. First of all, our van decided to have issues, and need to go to the shop. Dropped it off last night, and they had to order more parts, and it won't be done 'till tomorrow. I had mom come over at 11:30 today so I could try to get everything done before taking Lucy in tomorrow for her surgery, and then she was to stay the weekend here so she could help with kids while Ryan was at work or visiting Lucy and I at UC Davis. While I was in my office working on some paperwork, I hear a thud and my mom moaning. As I ran up the stairs, Emmie was running down telling me that Grandma fell.
Mom had been playing "Grandma Butterfly", where she wears this wrap, and flaps it like wings and chases the kids (at Grandma slow pace), and catches them in her wings, hugging them. The other kids follow behind and "save" the captured child. Well, Nathan was being captured, and stopped - and mom had a forward momentum and lost her balance - while the girls were closing in behind her. She didn't want to step on Nathan, and ended up falling on him instead. They both hit the floor, and Nathan's biggest issue was that he was stuck, and then when he got free from under her, he was very upset that his snack was still stuck under her. Mom, on the other hand, couldn't move. Against her pleas, I called 911, and had an ambulance come and get her.
I rode with her to Mercy Hospital in Folsom, where it was determined that she had fractured the neck of her femur. The surgeon was planning on doing surgery tomorrow - but with her health issues, and former surgery issues with bleeding - he has decided to wait and consult with her other doctors before making any decisions or doing anything. She will be in the hospital for several days (Lucy and I may be out before her). Then it will be most likely back to living with Ryan and I so I can care for her - but we will cross that bridge when we come to it.
As far as Lucy - we have to check in tomorrow morning at 7:15am, and she will have her MRI at 8:30am and her surgery at 11:00am if all goes on schedule. She will be in surgery for about 4 hours. I probably won't have Internet access in her room, but will update the blog within a few days on her progress (as well as Mom's progress).
I just got home from the hospital where Mom is, and wanted to update everyone. So she will be in Room 207 at Mercy Folsom, and Lucy will be at UC Davis (no room yet, obviously). I gotta go get packed, and get to bed, since I have to be up at 5 to get ready to go to the hospital with Lucy.

Can't sleep

So I went to sleep last night around 11:30 pm, and woke up to the TV still on and Ryan snoring at 1:15 am, and couldn't get back to sleep. I figured if I got up and worked on the bookkeeping, that it would make me sleepy - but no such luck.

It's awful - 'cuz my eyes are burning, my body is tired - but my stupid mind won't stop going a mile a minute! It has been that way for days now. Normally I just lie in bed, trying to shut my brain up, toss and turn until morning. So tonight I did that for about an hour and a half, and finally just got up and came down to the office. It's 5:00 am now, and the alarm will be going off in about and hour and a half - and I am still nowhere near getting my head to quiet down.

What's so crazy is the stupid stuff my mind obsesses over. Like I'll get a song stuck in my head, and can't get it to stop replaying over and over; or I will replay my stupid moments over and over, trying new endings (not that I can go back and change it - so that's a real waste of brain power). Most of it is worry over my kids, and my failings as a mother and person.

Now I'm second guessing even posting this... but I guess that I should, because that is what I love about my friends blogs - they put it all out there, good and bad, crazy and sane, happy and sad. Maybe someone is up reading this, 'cuz they can't sleep either! If so, I'm sorry my friend, I feel your pain! :-)

Well, off to go rest my eyes and body - and pray that I might get a little sleep (since napping is a very rare treat with my schedule).

Emmie's Scholarship

So we found out tonight that Emmie was chosen for a $1000 scholarship towards her Ambassador Program. She had to write an essay and submit it with a complete application and her community and school activities. They had said they were calling the winners, and posting it on the website by end of business Feb. 8th. So when we didn't receive a phone call, and nothing posted to her account, we thought she didn't get it. Then tonight, I looked on her account, and there it was!! We were so excited! Ryan took Lucy out to get a cake, and came home telling Emmie it was for me, because I was having a rough day. He told Emmie to take it out of the box while he went to get me from the office - and much to her surprise, the cake said "Congratulations Emmie on your scholarship".

Scholarship - $1000
Cake to celebrate - $12.99
Emmie's reaction - Priceless

This was so awesome, because we were really worried that she wouldn't even come close to making it without scholarships. She is still babysitting, selling homemade hats, jewelry and flower hair clips, Razmatags fundraiser, etc. Slowly but surely she's chipping away at the cost of the trip.

Lucy's Surgery Date

We got a message on our machine while we were out today - Lucy's surgery is set for February 25th. They will be doing her pre-op stuff on Monday, February 21st. We will have more information then, and will keep everyone updated throughout the process. She is so amazing how she is handling it. Tonight, we talked some more about her hair being shaved, and she made jokes about it. We know she is nervous and scared, but she is so amazing!! We are so grateful to have her in our family, and love our dear Lucybug!

Mom Updated

OK, so some of you keep asking me about how Mom is doing. She is still waiting for a 4-phase ultrasound of her liver before we will have any new information. She was set up for an ultrasound, but then found out the day before that it was only a 3-phase, and had to cancel. That lab didn't do the 4-phase, so she is having her doctor refer her to a lab that does. As soon as we know anything new, I will blog and let you know. :-)

Emmie's Exciting News!!!

We have all been so caught up with Lucy and her surgery, that I haven't posted yet about Emmie. She was nominated to be a People to People Student Ambassador, representing the United States in Australia. We aren't sure who nominated her, a teacher or a coach.

The People to People Ambassador Program was started by President Eisenhower in 1956, in the hope that bringing young people together throughout the world, would bring about future global understanding and world peace.

After the referrals and interview, Emmie was accepted into the program. She will get to travel to Australia this July for 17 days. A few things she will be doing is going backstage at the Sydney Opera House, Snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef with a Marine Biologist, learning about the ecosystem, spend time with the Jawoyn people and learn ancient traditions of the Aboriginal people, meet with a member of Parliament in their meeting place, and learn of their governmental system, help meet a local need through a group service project, etc. I could go on - but it is a great educational opportunity for her (as well as a thrilling and fun adventure). She will receive college credit for it, helping her start early. She is so very excited.

The tough part (aside from letting our baby go so far away), is that she has to raise the money for her trip ($7,000). She has applied for a scholarship for $1000, and is applying for a few more. She is doing babysitting, getting business sponsors, and doing fundraisers. One of them is making these adorable flower hair clips (the ones that are popular now), and we have made over 200 so far. I will post a picture as soon as I take one and upload it.

Also, she is doing a Razmatags fundraiser. If you go to www.razmatags.com/?org=Emmie and place an order using the code: Emmie - at checkout, she will get earn 25% of each sale towards her trip. They are really cool tags - that are Personalized, Water-proof, Dishwasher-proof, Laundry-proof labels (for clothes, dishes, sports equipment - you name it) as well as luggage tags and other cool stuff. You just go online, place your order, pay, and they will ship it directly to you. So no matter where you live, you can get them!!

This is what we are starting with (I'm a little swamped right now with everything going on - so I can't take on more than this). So if you start getting emails from Emmie with her fundraiser ideas, please check them out and see if it is anything you can use.

Still Waiting for Lucy's date

We want to thank everyone for keeping us in their thoughts, hearts and prayers. I keep getting many emails asking the same questions, so I am going to answer them now. We still don't have a date for Lucy's surgery. We were told it would be in February, and we would know by now. I will call and bug them again on Monday. It was after months of careful consideration of all the options (waiting, chemo, clinical trial drug, etc). After we talked again with the Neurosurgeon, Dr. Boggan, at UC Davis (check him out on the web - he is amazing), we knew we needed to do the surgery. At this time, her brain has shifted functions to other parts of her brain, and is actually moving away from the tumor, creating a pocket. Also, the tumor has become encrusted with a growing cyst. So the risks of paralyzation are very low, and the chances of getting it all are very high, not to mention that the cyst itself could cause problems, and needs to be drained/removed. Of course, there are no guarantee's, and any surgery is risky, brain surgery not excluded. There could be tiny, microscopic particles that we cannot see, that would be missed and still pose a risk to go malignant and shorten her life span, but that's only a maybe, and can't be helped.
Lucy is so cute! We were fasting as a family on Sunday, and after church, Lucy walked out eating a piece of chocolate. I explained to her that just as we start our fast with a prayer, we need to say a prayer to close our fast, and ask for the confirmation we were seeking. I told her she could say a prayer in the van on the way home, and listen for an answer. Upon arriving home, all the kids were hungry, so we told them we would say a family prayer to close their fast. When I called Lucy in, she told me "It's OK Mom, you don't have to pray or fast anymore, because Heavenly Father told me to have the surgery". I asked how she felt about it, and she said she felt calm and happy about having the surgery. I explained that I was happy that she had a confirmation for herself, but we still needed to close our fast as a family. She didn't get it, since it was clear to her that she already had an answer. Our entire family had a peaceful feeling and confirmation to our prayers. We are so grateful for the gospel in our lives to guide us and give us peace during difficult times. We are also so grateful for such loving and abundant support from friends and family. Thank you!! I will post as soon as we have a date!

Tough Decision

Hello all. Well, I was waiting to blog this, so I could add detail - but time hasn't allowed for that. So here is the short of it. After much thought, research, talking to multiple doctors, etc... Ryan and I have decided to go ahead and let them remove one of Lucy's brain tumors. It is a huge decision, that we haven't taken lightly, and have done our diligence in studying it out before making the decision. At this point we told the surgeon that we wanted the weekend to pray about it, and we would let him know for sure on Monday morning. We have been praying, and will be praying and fasting tomorrow for confirmation from the Lord, to make sure it is the right decision. This was not an easy decision, yet we are still remaining very positive and confident that it is all in God's hands, and we can just love each other and be grateful for everyday we have together. May it be more than we hope for!