Adjusting
It has been an extremely long time since I updated the blog and I apologize. I am not sure if anyone is still checking this blog, but I will update it when I have time. I think about Grace every day and I miss her more than words can describe. She was an amazing person and I know she is watching over her family.
Since her death things haven't been easy but friends and family have really rallied around kids and I. I cannot thank everyone enough for all of their help. There are too many people to mention individually, but please know that I appreciate everything that everyone has done.
We have found a wonderful nanny, her name is Susan and she is great with the kids. She has been flexible with my long work days and has helped a ton around the house. It is a true blessing to find a good fit in that area. It takes away some of the stress of this transition.
I have posted some new photo galleries on this site:
http://gamradtsfamilyjourney.shutterfly.com/pictures/3008http://gamradtsfamilyjourney.shutterfly.com/pictures/3023http://gamradtsfamilyjourney.shutterfly.com/pictures/3042I have also posted a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNv0l3oH1swI will be posting more videos and photos slowly as I have time. I am on Facebook which I am updating somewhat more frequently, though I have been doing very little social networking as of late.
I just want everyone to know that overall Alexa, Tyler, and I are doing well. The children are the continuing legacy of Grace and I, so I am going to do my absolute best to raise them right.
I have to go for now, but I will be updating again as soon as I have time.
Donations
I know some people have asked if they should send flowers or something else. We have decided that instead of sending flowers, please donate to the following foundation:
Breast Cancer Research Foundation --
http://www.bcrfcure.org/Again, keeping entries short for now given everything going on.
Baptism
Tyler will be baptized tomorrow at the same church as Grace's funeral. It was one of her last wishes. The baptism will be at during the 9:00 AM mass (around 9:30 AM).
Wake and Funeral Information
Keeping this short as there are a number of things going on today:
Wake:
Date: Sunday, April 5th
Time: 5:00 PM to 7:30 PM (Prayer Service from 7:30 PM to 8:00 PM)
Location:
Flanigan Funeral Home and Crematory
4400 S. Lee Street
Buford, Georgia 30518
Website:
http://www.flaniganfuneralhome.com/Funeral:
Date: Monday, April 6th
Time: 11:00 AM
Location:
Prince of Peace Catholic Church
6439 Spout Springs Road
Flowery Branch, Georgia 30542
Website:
http://www.popcatholicchurch.org/There are a number of hotels near the Mall of Georgia, I would recommend getting a room there as they are nice hotels and still relatively close to everything that is going on.
Grace is in Heaven
For those who are not already aware, at about 5:25 AM EST this morning, my wife, my best friend, the love of my life, passed away. I am going to miss her endlessly.
Words fail to explain how difficult this day has been, not just for me, but for everyone who was present as Grace's spirit left her body.
I tried to call a number of people to let them know, but I have realized I cannot get to everyone.
The story of Grace's fight has been the topic of this blog since the cancer was first discovered. I thank everyone for all of their kind words and prayers. As well as all other efforts to help Grace, Alexa, Tyler, and I through this difficult situation. You are all great friends and family members, your kindness will not be forgotten.
Our two children are Grace's legacy now. I will do everything in my power to raise them right. I have to do that for her, for us.
Please remember her always. She was a wonderful mother and wife, a true one-of-a-kind. I will never understand why she got cancer, but she fought it as best she could for as long as she could. That is all we ever asked of her, and she didn't fail us. Never take your health or your family for granted, ultimately they are all that is important.
Once I know more details about the funeral, I will post them here.
Going Home
This is Neal. Grace will be going home into hospice care. The current release time has been set for 4:00 PM today. She will be coming home via ambulance and they will have her set up with a bed and IV at the house.
We would ask that no more visitors come to the hospital today, it will be very busy here.
Grace is very tired today and not feeling well physically. Even with pain medication she is just not feeling right.
We have a number of family members in town, as much as we would like to see everyone, we would ask that people call ahead before visiting. The house number is 770-614-0370.
Please pray for Grace, we are still hopeful for a miracle.
Some Progress
This is Neal. Last night Grace had a bowel movement. That is a good sign that her digestive system is still working. She is still having a lot of trouble eating. She has been very tired today. I think perhaps the cumulative effects of the pain medication make her kind of sleepy.
I am glad to see that she is comfortable. We haven't given up hope. We ask that everyone pray for a miracle. We might look into some alternative treatment options as long as they are not harsh and don't cause Grace any harm.
I love Grace with all of my heart, she is my best friend. I just hope God chooses to let her live longer, so that she can be here to help raise our children.
I have to get going for now. I thank everyone for everything.
There is Always Hope
This is Neal. The past couple of days have been very difficult. It has been determined by Grace's doctors that the current chemotherapy is no longer working against the cancer. The cancer has either built up a resistance or is just growing such a pace that we cannot keep up.
It has been decided that we will no longer do chemotherapy. Grace isn't a candidate for a clinical trial due to the extent of the cancer and the amount of weight loss that ahe has experienced.
Both doctor's spoke with us today and stressed that Grace's cancer is highly aggressive and that this was always a difficult case from day one. Surgery is not an option due to the extent of the tumors. It was recommended to us that we get Grace stable and look into hospice. The focus now must switch from quantity-of-life to quality-of-life.
In regards to the amount of time she has left, that is currently unknown. It could be days, weeks, or months. Grace currently is having trouble with her bowels, the current goal by the doctors and get things moving again so that she can eat. Once she is eating she can be released from the hospital. If we cannot get her bowels functioning normally, then Grace's time may be short.
Obviously this is all very difficult for us. We have had many conversations mixed with a good deal of emotion. We are now resolved to accept with God has in store for Grace. We are still hopeful for a miracle, but if that doesn't happen, I just want Grace to have peace and be free of her pain. It has been very difficult over the last months to watch Grace deteriorate. She has fought with all of her might but this has been such a huge thing to overcome.
I will forever be proud of Grace, no matter what happens. She has done everything she can and that is all I and our children can ask of her. I cherish the time I have had with her, and I just ask God that he give us some more.
Father Jose Luis visited us last night. We had a very good spiritual conversation and he anointed Grace.
Please keep Grace in your prayers. We are currently at Northside hospital in room 341 (near 285/GA400 intersection). Visitors are welcome. Believe it or not, Grace is in fairly good spirits and would like to see our friends.
We thank everyone for all that they have done. Grace's mother has went above and beyond the call to help us. We will be forever grateful.
Emergency Room
This is Neal. I had to bring Grace into the emergency room last night. Her heart rate was off the charts (137 bpm) and she was hyperventilating. They admitted Grace around 4:00 AM and got her in a room around 6:00 AM. Today they scanned her heart and examined her chest. It turned out that a huge fluid build-up had occurred around her lungs. They removed all of the fluid that surrounded her left lung this afternoon (over a full liter of fluid). Tomorrow morning they are going to remove the fluid surrounding her right lung (less fluid, but still significant). She will hopefully get to go home tomorrow.
The hope is that by removing this fluid it should help lower Grace's heart rate and make breathing easier again. This should also help her to eat more because it should cut down on the gag reflex. Through all of this it appears Grace has gained some weight. Some of this could be due to the fluid they gave her through the IV, but we will take it as good news anyway.
Mom is flying in tonight (changed her ticket). She will be staying until the 8th of April. It is great to have the extra help. We really appreciate all the sacrifices others are making to help us out, I doubt we will ever be able to repay people fully for their kindness.
Grace's mom has put in endless hours with the kids. They both love their Oma very much.
Again, we thank everyone for their prayers and support, Grace is fighting as hard as she can against this cancer. She has many good things in this life that keep her going.
Overdue Update
This is Neal. Many things going on here so I have to keep this short. I apologize for the lack of updates. Things have just been extremely busy here with the kids and taking Grace to her treatment, crunch time at work, etc.
Many people ask us what they can do to help, one thing we would recommend is to donate some blood. Grace has had to use a lot of blood from the blood bank and even though the blood you donate won't go directly to her, it would make us feel better. I have donated a number of times in the past but I currently am not going to donate, I cannot risk getting run-down.
Grace's mom will be leaving at the end of April for three months. We are working to figure out some kind of plan for watching the kids. If anyone knows of someone who would want to spend some time in Atlanta for a few months and help with the kids, we will pay for all food and we have the extra room. We would also work out some kind of weekly pay. We cannot afford a full nanny, they are expensive in Atlanta. All of the local daycares appear to be full, we are still checking into that as well.
This last treatment was very difficult for all of us (of course hardest of Grace by far). The 72 hour chemo is like a 72 hour torture session for Grace. It is so bad that it really wears us all down emotionally. We are going to ask the doctor's if it has to be given over 72 hours or if it could be cut in half or something.
Grace is still doing her best to gain weight back. She didn't lose it all overnight so we realize it will come back slowly as well. This whole situation has been hard on everyone and sometimes it is still hard to believe this is all happening to us in our 30s, but I guess that is how life goes sometimes.
Given we haven't been updating this as much as we would like, please feel free to e-mail me at ngamradt@gmail.com. We thank everyone for their support and prayers. I have to get going for now, a full weekend is ahead.
Another Update
This is Neal. The port surgery went well but Grace was extremely sore from the surgery. They started her 72 hour treatment on Friday afternoon. She has a small portable pump that is pushing the "red devil" chemical into her system through the new port in her chest. The other two chemicals she received at the hospital.
I think it is safe to say Grace is miserable with this new treatment method (the chemcals haven't changed, only the delivery method). She can taste the chemicals non-stop and it is affecting her ability to keep food down. With the trip to M. D. Anderson, having the port put in, and then doing the chemo, it has just been a very long week and a half for Grace.
I hate seeing her this way and I feel powerless in many respects. I am very proud of her for fighting so hard for all of us, but I can only imagine what she is going through during the chemo sessions.
Tomorrow afternoon I will bring Grace in to get the pump removed and her port sealed. I am hopeful she will start feeling better in the next 24 hours. She needs to be able to eat and get her strength back up.
The week before we left some friends of ours held a special prayer session for Grace, we also went to a healing service. We thank everyone for continuing to keep us in your prayers.
I still plan to document all the numbers that we got from the doctor, but I need to get to sleep for now.
Quick Update
This is Neal. We are back from M. D. Anderson. Grace is getting a port put in tomorrow, they are keeping the same chemo drugs but are changing the delivery method. She will be getting a pump that she brings home and that will pump the chemical in slowly over 72 hours. She has to eat lots of cold things like ice cream during this period to prevent mouth soars.
Overall we received good news from M. D. Anderson. All of her tumor markers are down (some by over 45%) and some tumors have shrunk by about 25%. There are others that have increased slightly though. They call this a mixed response and it is not uncommon.
She has less fluid in her abdomen and her weight is now stable.
Grace or I will post more details later when there is more time.
Alexa and the "knock knock" joke!
Alexa and Tyler are my life! My dear daughter, Alexa, is growing up fast. She started telling me the knock knock joke a couple nights ago. She said "mommy, knock knock!" Then, when I said "who is there?" She said "owl". I said "owl who?" Then, she made the owl's noise. She makes me smile and want to fight this cancer. She makes me realize giving up is not an option. I love her with all my heart.
Update from GA!
Update from Grace!!
Had my chemo on Monday. My hemoglobin was low so I also had to receive 2 unit of blood again. It was a super long day Monday. It went pretty good except for me losing more weight which I have no clue how it happened. I had been eating more.
Tuesday was bad. I felt like crap, had to deal with nausea. It was so bad, I couldn't eat last night. Wednesday was a little bit better. Trying to keep positive. When I look at Tyler and Alexa, I know I cannot give up. I have no choice but to fight this cancer.
Good news is the BRCA1 and BRCA2 test came back negative which means all my siblings and kids do not have increase risk of ovarian and breast cancer caused by genetics. Now, they are doing a different genetic test.
I am hoping today will be better. My mom has been making me all kind of juices trying to increase my weight.
Good news from today: becoming a US Citizen!!
Hi,
This is Grace! Doing pretty well today. Last Sunday I went to church with Neal, my mom and the kids. That made me feel really good.
Big news from today is I am officially a US Citizen now. Took the oath today. Neal went with me. Monday is chemo day. I am not looking forward to it with the nausea and everything. I think I am doing a little bit better everyday. I've been eating better compare to when we were in TX. I am just thankful everyday being able to spend time with my kids. They are my life. Like I said to Neal, at least we have a house and he has a job. Lots of people have no house and no job in this economy. Trying to be positive here. Neal and I are taking things day by day now and just spend time with our kids.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Love you guys.
Update from GA from Grace!!
Hi everybody,
I know it's been a while since I updated the blog. I am doing pretty good considering everything. The news from MD Anderson was very devastating to me as a mother. They freaked me out and got me thinking I might not be here for my kids to raise them and that thought really kills me. To tell you the truth, it took me a while to finally decide not to feel sorry and depressed for myself. A friend of mine made me realize nobody really knows how long they have. The only thing I can do right now is keep my faith up, keep praying and keep positive. We're taking it day by day now. I've decided instead of feeling sorry for myself, I am going to be thankful for what I have everyday and spend as much time as possible with my kids. They are my life and my inspirations and I hope to God I will get the chance to raise them. Not sure why this happened, but it happened and Neal and I are trying to deal with it the best we can. We are not going to give up because of our kids.
I will get my second treatment here in ATL on Jan 26. I am sure after the treatment I will be super tired again and have super nausea for a couple days at least. Nausea was super bad and the meds didn't help much. Guess I will worry about that later. Right now, I am doing pretty good, I think I've been eating a little more and the pressure on my stomach has been less. I am hoping and praying that this new chemo works. We have a great Saturday so far. Hong, Kurt, Cooper and Elise came to visit. They brought food from Olive Garden. Alexa had fun with Elise. Think she was getting bored at home. Thanks Hong and Kurt. You guys are great friends.
We'll be leaving to go to TX on Feb 12 and come back on Feb 17 for my next check up. We bought our tickets. My mom and the kids will stay in ATL. Neal's parents are planning to come during that time to help.
I better go now but please continue to keep us in your prayers. We need it. We love you guys.
Back in Atlanta
This is Neal. We made it back safely to Atlanta. We are all very tired and Grace has been very ill from this new chemotherapy. We hope and pray that this time they have it right. I guess time will tell. We will write a more detailed update later. For now I need to get Alexa to bed.
Meeting Update
This is Neal. We had our meeting with Dr. Gonzales today. It is so much information I will try to summarize with bullet points (but I will surely miss some things):
1. The original treatment was applied correctly as there are changes in Grace’s bone marrow which reflect the impact of her current treatment.
2. The original treatment had no effect on the cancer.
3. The brain MRI came back clean, no cancer in her brain.
4. There is cancer in the following areas:
a. between lungs
b. lungs (minor lesions)
c. both breasts
d. neck lymph nodes
e. abdomen
f. liver (minor lesions)
5. Tumors have grown extremely rapidly. Since the scan on 10/20/2008, the following are a couple of the increases that have been seen:
a. abdomen: 9.5 x 1.7 cm increased to 13.2 x 19.2 cm
b. abdomen: 5.8 x 4.1 cm increased to 10.4 x 8 cm
6. Cancer appears to be breast cancer, but doesn’t act like breast cancer. This is consistent with the Mayo’s findings. M. D. Anderson pathology has been instructed to re-examine all tissue and slides.
7. Grace started new chemotherapy today using three new (harsh) chemicals:
a. Fluorouracil
b. Doxorubicin (known as the “red devil” due to side effects)
c. Cyclophosphamide
8. Due to the harshness of the “red devil” drug, she can only receive nine treatments as anything above that could cause damage to her heart. Since she is young this is not a major risk.
9. The new chemotherapy is on a 21 day cycle. We will come back to M. D. Anderson in six weeks for a full check up. Dr. Gonzales said she will be happy if there is not further growth by that point in time but would hope for reduction in the tomors. Dr. Gonzales told us there is a 50/50 chance that the new treatment will have an effect on the cancer. Please pray that it works.
10. Going to check into doing all chemo at M. D. Anderson for consistency and the option to meet with Dr. Gonzales. If that is not possible, will do some of the chemo sessions in Atlanta.
11. Grace has lost more weight, all dietary restrictions have been removed. She is to eat whatever she wants as often as possible to try to gain back some weight. She also is supposed to drink a lot of water.
12. There is a large amount of fluid in Grace’s abdomen caused by the “weeping” of the large tumors in her belly. However, it is currently felt that it is too dangerous to remove the fluid. The risk of damaging any organ and risking infection is too great.
13. If the new chemotherapy doesn’t work, Grace is going to be put into a new clinical trial. I forget the name of the drug but I believe it attacks that cancer in a different way. We will try to find out more details later.
14. A number of genetic tests are being done to see if Grace has a gene mutation which caused the cancer. If there is a gene mutation, both Alexa and Tyler will have to be checked as well as all of Grace’s siblings.
15. Dr. Gonzales feels that based on the current rate of growth, the cancer has only been active in Grace’s body for roughly six months.
There are probably many things I am leaving out of this update but it was simply too much information to take in.
Novie was with us today and that was greatly appreciated. Grace's parents have been with watching Alexa and Tyler. Grace’s dad flies out on Wednesday and we will start driving back on Wednesday. I believe any further visits to M. D. Anderson will just be Grace and I, or maybe only Grace for some of the more minor check-ups.
Today was a difficult setback to accept but we will push on. We must have hope for our children’s sake. Just to be clear, at this point-in-time Grace’s cancer is technically not curable, it can most likely only be reduced and then controlled with drugs like Lupron. Given all of the unknowns, we were told that Grace could have anywhere from 2 months to 20 years to live.
We have been asked by many how they can help. At this point all we ask is that everyone pray for God’s healing power to be put upon Grace. Pray that the chemo works and has a dramatic impact on the cancer. Given that chemo attacks quickly dividing cells (killing them when they divide), and given this has been dividing and growing rapidly, we are hopeful that the right therapy will kill as fast as it has grown.
We thank everyone of everything they have done so far, we have had endless support from friends and family which we could never fully repay. We also thank God for letting things fall in place up to this point. We are at the best hospital and my insurance is good, now we just need to get Grace through this.
This Week
Hello Everyone,
This is Neal. Grace's father is going to fly out from Dallas on Wednesday. Everyone is going to stay in Dallas while Grace and I go back to Houston on Monday. Grace and I will meet with the doctor and hopefully then have a plan for the rest of the week.
Novie will drive Grace's mother, Alexa and Tyler to Houston once we know what the plan is for Grace. We will then drive back in the van sometime this week.
I will try to work on NBA projects when I can during the week as our team has some deadlines coming up.
As Grace stated, we thank everyone for everything they have done for us so far and we appreciate all of the support and prayers. I wish I could list everyone that has helped, but I am afraid of leaving someone out.
We will update the blog as soon as we know more.
Just a quick update
Hey guys,
This is Grace from Dallas. We are at Novie's place just relaxing and no big plan. We got here on Thursday. Neal and I decided to come here because we do not want to stay in Houston and just worrying what's going to happen on Monday. Novie was actually in Houston with us. She met up with us when we got there.
I like my doctor so far and I've been really impressed with MD Anderson. Dr. Gonzalez is one of the top doctors in her field in the States. It's a pain trying to get in here but once you're in, they seems to know what they are talking about. Guess that's why they are number 1. They all have been super nice and their bed side manner is superb. Neal and I really hope they find the right chemo for me. We realize it will be a long road to recovery. We hope 2009 will be better for us. Having my family here and the kids have been great. The kids really give me strength. When I see them, I know giving up is not an option because I have to be here for them.
My dad is leaving to go back to Indonesia on Wednesday. He will probably come back here again after a few months. Everybody knows this will be a long process. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Thanks for everything.
Released
This is Neal. Grace is being released for now. It has been determined that she only has a partial blockage. They do not want to drain any of the fluid as that could risk infection. If she gets infected, then she will not be able to get chemo until the infection is cleared. If anything gets worse, that is when we are supposed to come back in.
They need to start chemo as soon as possible because we need to shrink the tumors as quickly as possible. Surgery is not an option because it will cause a sixe week recovery during which no chemo can be done. So that would allow new tumors to regrow. The only time surgery is an option is if we are dealing with an early cancer with just one tumor, or if a cancer has been treated for a long time and there are just one or two remaining tumors.
Our next appointment is on Monday, they told us that nothing will happen on Friday and tomorrow is a holiday. We may go to Dallas for the rest of the week.
We hope that everyone has a Happy New Year!
M. D. Anderson Scans and Tests
This is Neal. So far Grace has had the following scans and tests:
-Mannogram, DX Bilateral
-US, Breast with FNA
-Blood/Specimen
-Chest, PA & LAT
-Bone Scan
-CT Scan, Chest/Abdomen/Pelvis
-Brain MRI
-Abdomen X-Ray
-Additional Bloodwork
-EKG
Today she is supposed to get a scan of her heart as well to make sure everything is looking alright. We will update again when we know more. Yesterday was a very long day, we were here from 7:45 AM to 9:30 PM.
M. D. Anderson Emergency Room
This is Neal. We are currently in the emergency room at M. D. Anderson per the doctor's orders (Dr. Gonzales). After all of the scans yesterday, it was determined that Grace has a near full blockage of her small intestine due to the tumors pushing on it. We are supposed to be meeting with a gastrointestinal surgeon soon.
It has been determined that the tumors in her abdomen are completely solid and not fluid-filled as they had speculated.
We currently have no further details. I will write another update outlining all of the tests that have been done so far.
First Meeting at M. D. Anderson
This is Neal. We had our meeting with Dr. Ana Gonzales today. The highlights from the meeting are:
1. Stopping the Lupron. This is based on research that shows that Lupron actually reduces the effectiveness of chemotherapy. It will probably be given after all chemo is complete.
2. Stopping the Procrit. She said about six months ago it was banned for use as a cancer treatment. A recent study has shown that it can actually increase tumor growth along with the benefits that it provides. The drug is used to treat other diseases which is why it is still available for use. It appears some doctors will still use it for cancer treatment despite the risks. We will not be taking it anymore.
3. Stopping the Etoposide. Etoposide is not used to treat breast cancer, only for a cancer of unknown primary.
4. She suggested that there is a stomach cancer that retains water. She is going to discuss that another doctor there and get back to us by Wednesday.
5. They are going to test Grace's blood tomorrow to see if she would need another transfusion.
6. Among the scans, they are going to do an MRI of her brain just to be sure.
Tomorrow Grace has a full day of tests and we will hopefully have some results on Wednesday. We currently have another meeting set up for next Monday with Dr. Gonzales.
Getting ready to go to MD Anderson!
Hi everybody,
We are in Houston now. We had a safe trip. Getting ready for our first meeting with the doctor. Neal and I are very nervous. We finished up the paper works this morning. The kids did really well on the road. Please wish us well and continue keeping us in your prayer.
Merry Christmas to everybody!
I just want to say Merry Christmas to everybody. Neal and I were busy cleaning up the house and trying to start packing stuff up. Kids are doing fine. Tyler's height is 22 5/8" (50%), weight is 11 lbs 3.5 oz (50%) and his head is 16 1/4" (90%). He got 6 shots and he did pretty good. He got DTP, Hib, Hep B, Polio, PCV-7, and rotavirus. His next checkup will be at 4 months.
We hope everybody has a great Christmas. Neal and I are pretty nervous about what the doctor will say. That's part of it why I haven't slept so well the last few days. It looks like I might be staying in TX longer too. Neal and I promise each other will make it work. Whatever we need to do to make me better.
Please continue keeping us in your prayer. We love you guys.
Another update!
Happy Christmas Eve to everybody. I am actually at the doctor's office for my chemo. They are currently giving me my anti nausea medicine now. I am only supposed to get one drug today, so it shouldn't take too long at all. Good news, my hemoglobin went up to 11.6 from 8.6 after the transfusion and my white blood cells is at 8.2 and the normal range is 4.10-10.60.
Yesterday was a long day. Neal and Alexa drove me and my dad to the doctor. Alexa cried when I walked out from the car. When I called home, I asked her if she loved mommy and she said "yup, mommy". Then, I told her I had to hang up and she got really mad. She said "but, mommy". Neal said when he hang up the phone, she cried and cried.
I went to the transfusion place and they took my blood sample for cross and match. Then, I went back to ACC for my chemo. After the chemo, I went back to the transfusion area to get the blood transfusion. We were there until 4 pm. But then again, my dad and I had to wait for Neal to pick us up for a while. He got to the hospital about 6:30 pm ish. I was going to drive myself but I thought I wasn't going to be done with the transfusion until about 6 ish and Neal was afraid I was going to get too tired.
The reason we waited for him that long was because he had to take Tyler to the doctor and Tyler's doctor was super busy. Tyler is doing really well. He got all his shots and he was not happy about it. Doctor Thomson said we shouldn't worry too much about the "strawberry" on his head. He said it will get more red and bigger and he could have it up to 5 years old but it could go away earlier than that. His eye's discharge seems to get better because of the eye drop. He told us to put a pillow under his head at night to elevate it to help him breath at night since he's a preemie. He doesn't want us to put him in daycare because he's a preemie. He wants us to take the little gloves off and make sure he is grasping well. We also need to put him on tummy time and make sure he can start lifting his head up. He is at 11 lbs 3.5 oz. I'll write more about his height, etc when I get home. I was so tired last night and didn't ask Neal about it.
Neal is here with me now. Today we are going to finish up stuff around the house before we leave to TX. We are also going to start packing up. I think we are going to go out to eat to celebrate my mom's birthday and my parents' anniversary today after my chemo. I'll write more when we get home. Please continue to keep us in your prayer. We'll need it. Love everybody.
Update from today!
Hello everybody,
I just want to give everybody a quick update, then I have to go to bed. Today was a long day. Neal took me to the doctor. We picked up the mammogram/ultrasound films and the cds for all the other scans for MD Anderson. If we don't have that, they will reschedule our appointnment. Yup, it's a pain. My hemoglobin went down again. It's at 8.6. Dr. Dubovsky decided that I need another blood transfusion which going to happen tomorrow after my chemo, so tomorrow will be a long day again. The fact that we're going to travel to Houston this weekend too, he says he'll feel better with me getting transfusion before I leave. Today is the start of my 3rd round. Neal worked from there while I was getting my chemo. I think I was there for 5 hours because they hit me with all 3 chemo medicines. I am pretty tired now. I'll only get one tomorrow but then again I have to get transfusion afterwards and it will be 2 units. It will be a super long day.
We haven't decided yet. I might drive myself and my dad will go with me or Neal will drop me off. Neal has to take Tyler for his 2 months check up. I was going to take him but now with the transfusion, that's impossible.
I've been doing pretty good, except that I've been getting hotflashes at night because of the lupron shot. Huh, guess I cannot make fun of people in menopause anymore because I know how they feel. It's miserable because I can't sleep good at night. Ofcourse, I also have been getting constipation. He said part of it is from all the meds I am taking. The other thing, I've been getting a lot of discomfort in my abdomen area which force me to take the pain medicines. Neal and I are hoping MD Anderson can fix this.
I better get ready for bed now. Thanks for thinking about us and please keep praying for us. One more thing, MD Anderson finished reading my pathology slides and they confirmed it originated from the breasts aka breast cancer. Neal and I are baffled on how quickly it spreaded to my chest and my abdomen. Now we just have to pray and fight.
Delayed Update
Hey guys,
I know it's been more than a week since I give everybody an update. I am feeling better. Seems like the antibiotics is working. I have 2 more days worth of antibiotics. It looks like the antibiotics is helping my cough too. Dr. D thinks I've been having some kind of chest infection/pneumonia for a while and that's why my cough never went away since August/September when I started getting it. He said it got super worst and that's why I got my fever. Anyway, I went and see him on Monday and he gave me the taxol (chemo) that I missed on Thursday because of my fever. He is not sure if he is going to give me my third round on Monday or not. He said he'll see me and we'll decide then. I guess my immune system will be the lowest that weekend when we leave to go to Texas if I get my third round. He doesn't want to take any chance if I get sick on the road. Guess we'll see on Monday.
Alexa started to have runny nose and cough yesterday. I am keeping her home until she gets better. We finally took care of the van stuff. We changed it to our name and get the insurance under our name too. The van has been serviced. It wasn't cheap though. Thanks Judy and Allen for taking care of the bills. This was stupid though. They fixed the check engine light and I guess in GA after you fixed the check engine light, you have to drive it for 80 miles (combined back road and highway) otherwise it will not pass the emission. If it doesn't pass emission, they wouldn't give you the GA plate. Neal was not happy. He worked from home on Wed and drove the van around.
I better rest a little bit here and I have to take care of paper works that MD Anderson wants. Please continue keeping us in your prayers. We love you guys. Thanks for everything.
I tried to post this earlier, but Shutterfly was having issues again. We may switch to a different blog if this continues.
Not my day!
Apparently today is not my day. I went to the doctor's office to get my chemo. They did my blood test and they said my hemoglobin and white blood cells look good. When they took my temperature, we found out I had a fever of 102.9F. They did blood culture to make sure I don't have any infection but I don't have the result yet. They took urine sample to make sure I don't have urinary tract infection and my urine came back clear. They also did chest x-ray and basically Dr. D said I have pneumonia. They gave me antibiotics once a day for ten days. Oh yeah, on top of that they actually had poked me 3 times on my left arm when they tried to put the IV needle in. The first two just didn't work. Yup, now I have bruises all over my left arm.
I am supposed to go back in on Monday. Dr. D will check me and if I feel better, they will give me my treatment. When I came home, I took some ibuprofen. Looks like the fever broke which is good.
Guess I better go to bed early tonight.
Got accepted to MD Anderson!!
We have a big news. Neal and I finally heard back from MD Anderson yesterday. Yup, we got accepted. We have to be there on Dec 29. Dr. Gonzalez has agreed to see me. Neal and I are happy that we are finally going to be able to get a second opinion from top rated cancer center in the country. We are currently trying to make our travel arrangement. Neal and I are thinking about driving Brenda and Jim's van and take the kids and my parents. I told Neal "what if they want me to stay there longer" and that means I wouldn't be able to see the kids until who knows when. With "no stop", it will take about 12 hours to drive there. We are thinking we can stop as needed and stay overnight in the middle. Our friends, Maria and David, said we can use their house while we are there. Yup, we have such great friends.
Neal and I are also considering trading in my car with a Mazda 5. We'll see... right now that's not our first priority. I also went for my 6 weeks check up with my OBGYN. He said my uterus is back to normal size. He said what he felt in my abdomen were the tumors. But, according to him, the tumors haven't grown at all. It felt the same size when he was feeling it in the hospital in October which is good news.
I am really hoping this whole MD Anderson thing is the beginning of getting my health and life back. I have to believe that I still have "stuff" to do here in this world and I am going to get better and watch the kids grow up. Please pray for us and wish us luck.
Love you guys.
Happy 31st Birthday to me!
Today is my 31st birthday! I am thankful to be here and be able to celebrate it with my dear husband, my mom and dad and my mother in law. My mother in law is going back to MN today so Neal took yesterday off that way we can celebrate my birthday early. We went to Pappadeaux for lunch to celebrate my birthday. The food was awesome.
I am thankful for all the blessings God has given me especially for my family, friends and my two wonderful kids. Through all of this trial that God is putting our family through, people have shown us lots of kindness and we are so thankful for it. People have been so amazing to us.
What can I say, just last month when Neal took me to the hospital for the second time, I didn't think I was going to live to see my 31st birthday. This whole year has been such a roller coaster for Neal and I. I am trying to be strong and positive everyday but I do have to admit, sometimes I get scared. The thought do pop up in my mind, what if I don't make it? It scares me when that thought pop up in my mind. I have to be here for my two wonderful kids to raise them. I am lucky to have Neal in my life. He gives me the will to live. He tells me that I don't have to be strong 24/7. I can be scared and cry if I need to because I am a human being. He said nobody expect me to be strong 24/7. The only thing he wants is for me not to give up. Neal makes me realize I can have a moment of weakness and there's nothing wrong with that but he and I are a family and we will fight this disease together for our kids. He and the kids gives me strength and the will to live and I am so thankful to have them in my life.
On a different note, I went for my chemo on Thursday and my hemoglobin went up to 10.2. I also got my first shot of lupron. This will be a once a month shot. Lupron basically tells my ovaries to stop producing estrogen which means I am going to early menopause. The reason we are doing this is because the type of cancer I have feeds through my estrogen so we have to shut it down. The nurse said I might get hot flashes. I told her whatever I need to do to get better. Thursday night I got side effect from the lupron shot. I was sweating like crazy when I was sleeping so I didn't really get a good night sleep. Good thing it didn't happen last night. Last night was a pretty good night. I also got my procrit shot (to increase my hemoglobin).
I am going back in next Thursday to finish up my second round.
Thanks for all the birthday wishes from everybody. The most important thing is I got my wish for this year which is to spend my birthday with my family. Please keep us in your prayers. My other wish is for me to be able to spend lots more of my birthdays with my family in the future. Love you guys.
Keeping my spirit up!
Hey guys,
This is Grace. Today is a pretty good day. Alexa and I got to hang out with Hong, Elise and Cooper and she and I had lots of fun. When we got home, Alexa refused to take her nap so she is in bed already now and it's only 8:08 pm.
I am supposed to go in tomorrow for the chemo (Taxol) that I missed on Monday at 12:45 pm. Dr. D said I might get that Lupron shot tomorrow and it's supposed to reduce my estrogen level. Dr. D also said he felt more comfortable after talking to the doctor from Memorial Sloan Kettering who had similar case as mine. She told him that I should finish my second round, maybe even a 3rd round before switching to this different therapy she suggested. She also said it's great news that nothing grew and multiply and we should not expect substantial reduction is such a short amount of time.
The other good news is it looks like we finally are getting somewhere with MD Anderson. Long story short, we do have to thank Novie and Vivek for it. It looks like they will be doing the assesment tomorrow to decide whether or not they will take me. Yeah..... finally!! Neal and I are hoping by the end of Friday, we will have a decision. Basically, we have to get accepted first before somebody looks at my pathology.
I better get ready for bed now! Keep praying, we love everybody.
A little minor set back!
Hey everybody,
I just want to give everybody a quick update. My dad went to the doctor with me. Went to the doctor this morning for my chemo and I was in for a couple little surprises. Doctor told me that my hemoglobin level was at 7 which was unacceptable so he could not give me the chemo because I had to get blood transfusion. Long story short, I had blood transfusion today. Doctor wanted me to get two bags but since we did not have enough time I only got one. I have to go back to get the other one tomorrow.
Second surprise was he told me that the result from the CT scan showed some slight improvement but not substantial like he wanted it after my second round of chemo last week. He was pretty much was not too happy with the result. He said the good thing is nothing grew larger. If it didn't show slight improvement, it actually stayed the same size. I asked him if I needed to be worried but he said we knew when we started my treatment we would need to tweak it. We had to do something because I was in such a bad shape. He tried contacting MD Anderson while I was there but they gave him the round around. He was hoping MD Anderson "would have something up their sleeves" and can help him tweak my treatment. MD Anderson probably has the tools that he or even Mayo don't have. He and Neal tried contacting Dr. Bassil but no luck. He told us if we knew anybody who has contact with MD Anderson we should use it. So, I talked to my brother in law, Vivek. Vivek and Novie have been awesome with trying to get me better. He will contact MD Anderson tomorrow. We are also going to call Maria Stedman, a friend of our's. She lives in Houston, Texas and she knows people who work at MD Anderson. Neal and I are really hoping we hear something back from MD Anderson soon.
Since Dr. Dubovsky didn't hear anything back from MD Anderson today, he actually talked to other breast cancer experts. The one doctor told him that she had similar case like mine. She told Dr. D that it's important not to stop what we are doing while waiting for MD Anderson but she also suggested him to add this one drug that is supposed to reduce my estrogen level. Dr. D told Neal he wants me to get that one drug and my chemo that I missed today on top of the blood transfusion. So, it looks like it will be a super long day again.
Please keep praying for us. Neal and I need it.
Updates!
Hey guys,
This is Grace. Thought I give everybody a quick update on stuff. Happy Thanksgiving to everybody. This week has been so busy for me. I started my second round of chemo on Monday. Safe to say I am pretty exhausted now and not feeling too peachy now. They hit me with 3 drugs on Monday, 1 on Tuesday and 1 on Wednesday. Friday and Saturday I am supposed to get the shots that's going to boost my white blood cells.
On the good note, I passed my citizenship exam. Yeah.....! But, they can't close my case yet because I was on an F-1 student visa and the guy had to fill out one additional paper work.
The kids are doing awesome. I am losing my hair though. It's kind of depressing but I decided I am going to focus on my health and not my hair. I think we are going to check on the wig store this weekend.
The big news this week was MD Anderson received our pathology and they almost sent it back to Atlanta. Apparently, somebody forgot to fill out an additional paperwork. Good thing Neal called them. We are still going to get second opinion from them. Neal and I are hoping that we'll hear something soon from them.
We are thankful for everything we have, our friends and family and all the blessings from God especially for my two wonderful children. They are my inspirations. My family is the reason I am fighting this disease. Neal made me realize that I have so much to live for and I can't give up. Tyler is a miracle. He is doing so well. It looks like I am responding to treatment pretty good which I am very thankful for. It is pretty scary when you thought you almost died. It's actually an eye opener. Neal and I have no idea why this happened, but we both decided we are going to fight it for our kids and our family.
We do want to thank everybody for all the gifts they sent and for all the prayers. Neal and I need lots of prayers.
Quick Update
This is Neal. Today we got an update from Dr. Dubovsky. He is awaiting the final written radiology report which he hopes to receive on Monday. However he did say the following:
"I spoke with radiologist who thought that central lung mass was a little smaller
and that the lung field lesions much diminished."
I am guessing this is good progress given they usually don't do a check-up until 8 weeks have passed. We should know more by Tuesday. Dr. Dobovsky also mentioned he is rethinking the timing of the Tamoxifen, but he didn't give any details on that.
Grace has started losing her hair. So far it is slow but definitely appears to be starting.
Tyler is up to 8 lbs 6.5 oz. He has grown a lot in the last couple of weeks. Yesterday we brought him in to get his heart scanned. Either Grace or I can give more details on that later. His heart is normal and healthy, so the heart murmur he has is being caused by something harmless which should go away within the next nine months.
Tyler does carry the Thalassemia trait, so he will have a slight anemia, it will be so slight that he will have a normal life. They way they explained it to me, a "normal" person has a red blood count that registers a "12". They best he will be able to do is an "11.5". I got the impression that you will not even see any effects from this unless you are below "10", I don't know what the name of the scale is that they were using, I forgot to ask.
Anyway, in it's current state, it isn't technically a disease because he can live a perfectly normal life with it. Here are more details if anyone is interested. He does have the "trait", not just a "carrier":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ThalassemiaAnyway, I have to head out for now, but so far this week is ending with positive progress.
Down day!
Hi guys,
This is Grace. Just want to give a quick update. Kids are doing well. I am doing pretty good. Actually yesterday was better than today. People were right when they told me I have to be patient because there will be ups and downs. My swallowing trouble seems to be worst today. I have trouble swallowing from the side effect of the radiation. Basically they said your esophagus gets burned and it may take take 4-6 weeks to heal. When I swallow, I feel a burning sensation or sometimes I feel there's a lump on my chest. It hasn't been fun trying to eat. I have to chew the food really well before trying to swallow it. My cough seems to be a little worst too compared to yesterday. Neal told me he doesn't want me to get depressed because this will happen. He said I will have a good day and a bad day but seeing the kids everyday lift my spirit up.
Update on Today's Events
This is Neal. Just wanted to give a quick update. Met with Dr. Dubovsky today. All forms for M. D. Anderson were completed and sent to Dr. Chang at Northside. Dr. Chang will be responsible for sending all pathology to M. D. Anderson now that she has the forms.
Grace will have her next CT Scan on Friday to review what impact the current chemotherapy is having on the cancer. Dr. Dubovsky picked a specific tumor in her breast to follow as a simple way to see if things are improving as well. We will watch that tumor to see if it reduces in size. The CT Scans are obviously the official way to track progress, but he said this is just a simple indicator that we can check at home.
Grace will get a shot in the afternoon for the next three days. Since it was going to be difficult to get her there for just a simple shot, they agreed to let Grace take the shots home and have her father give them to her (since he is a doctor). It is just one shot per day. It is to help boost her white blood cell count (I think).
Dr. Dubovsky was encouraged by how well Grace is doing despite everything she has been through. He was happy to see her so determined to fight and in high spirits.
In theory Grace will start her next full round of chemotherapy next Monday. That could change if something comes back from M. D. Anderson. It also could change based on a meeting Dr. Dobovsky is having. I guess it is some kind of meeting where they discuss special cases, which Grace's case still is. Though he didn't feel it would change based on the meeting, he wanted to mention it. If the CT Scan on Friday shows significant decrease in the tumors, then that would also be a factor to consider.
I am going to try to schedule a check-up of Grace's biopsy area on Friday as well. I don't think anything is wrong with it, but just to get it checked.
Grace is feeling better each day. She has been eating a lot more than she was, but she still needs to take in more calories. It is something she is going to work on this week. Dr. Dubovsky recommended some specific drugs to help her with constipation and such, hopefully that will help with this issue. I picked those up tonight and she took the first drugs tonight.
Tyler got his blood taken again today for the second round of tests to confirm that he has the "alpha thalassemia trait":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ThalassemiaAccording to our pediatrician and some literature that we received about it, this is not a disease when it is in the "trait" form, it simply means that he will have a very mild anemia. It will be so mild that there is no treatment needed. However, if he married another "trait" carrier, I believe one out of four would get full-blown Thalassemia.
A really quick update
I have my chemo today. Neal is working from home that way he can take me to the chemo and we can meet up with the doctor.
Quick Update for everybody!
Hey guys,
We got the report from Mayo. Nothing new in there. It's still an epithelial cancer that they think originated from my breasts. We are still trying to go to MD Anderson too. Like I was telling everybody, I will do anything to get better and be back on my own two feet that way I can spend more time with my two inspirations. Alexa and Tyler are doing great. I fed Tyler today :-) Alexa, I think is going through her terrible two now. I am doing pretty good, tired though. Told Neal I am going to take it easy. Did my radiation treatment today. Tomorrow will be the last treatment. I guess they weren't planning to do radiation and the only reason they decided to do radiation on my chest was because I was such in a bad shapes last week with my breathing and they didn't think the chemo would shrink the tumors on my chest quick enough. They were going to do more than 10 treatments but the doctor decided to give me bigger dose and that's why I am only getting 10 treatments now. I am hoping I can get rid of my cough though soon. The cough gets worst when I am out in the cold weather. Told my doc about my cough and he said he didn't wave the magic wand. I have chemo scheduled on Monday.
Neal and I are very hopeful about everything. We have no idea why this happened but we are going to fight it. The kids are my inspirations and we are lucky to have our friends and family. My mom is going to stay here until probably April 09. Yup, I am lucky. I am all this people supporting me. I do thank everybody for all the support and prayers though. This will not be an easy battle and I am going to need lots of prayers.
Home Sweet Home!
Hey everybody,
Thought I give a quick update. I was discharged yesterday. I had my chemo yesterday and my radiation treatment and they discharged me. My white blood cells and hemoglobin are good. They said I am breathing much better. Neal picked me up from the hospital last night. It was night seeing everybody especially my little Alexa and Tyler.
First night went well. I was actually able to sleep. I am not on oxygen anymore. They took the oxygen away on Sunday. They said my oxygen saturation was over 96-98% in room temperature. I am a little tired now and my legs are a little weak. Looks like I will need to exercise it that way it can go back to normal. Yup, being in the hospital for over 2 weeks and sick at home for a week which means I haven't really been walking too much. That's ok... I am thankful to be home and being able to spend time with the kids. I promised Neal that I am going to take it easy. Neal has been great. He is a little lost without me but to his credit he's really been trying to take care of everything. Before I got sick, the only thing Neal had to do was to go to work and I took care the rest and now he has to take care of everything from bills, the kids, me and go to work. I do have to give him credit. I am a very lucky to have him and I love him with all my heart. Yup, for better for worst and in sickness and in health. Neal and I are determined to fight this.
Neal took Tyler to his first doctor's appointment today. He is 3 weeks old now. Tyler has been doing super well. Alexa too. My parents and Neal's parents have been spoiling them. Alexa has been through a lot and she is adjusting really well to her credit. Tyler's is 7 lbs 3 oz (10%), his height is 19 3/4" (18%) and his head is 14 1/2" (35%).
Just want to let everybody know that we are so thankful to have all the support everybody has been giving us. We are so lucky to have all our friends and family. We know we are going to need lots of help and prayers.
Updates from Grace
Hey everybody,
Just thought I give everybody a quick update. I just finished my radiation treatment. Feeling pretty good. The doctor told us that Tyler is being released tomorrow. They are moving me to the regular room. Yeah :-) I wish I could go home with Tyler and spend time with my Alexa. Miss Alexa so much. Guess I have to be patient. Neal and I agree that we'll do anything to get me better. We know this is not going to be easy, I'll have to make lots of sacrifices and one of them is being far away from my two wonderful kids. They are my inspirations.
The biggest news is the tumors between my lungs have shrunk 10-12%. They have been giving those tumors radiation treatment and ofcourse I've been getting chemo. That is such an awesome news. I've been praying for a miracle. We've also been told that the tumors I have is not a sarcoma. It is actually an epithelial cancer. Also, doc thinks it's originated from the breasts because it's an ERPR+ 85% of cancer are epithelial cancer. This means that it's not a rare cancer.
Neal and I are still trying to get second opinion from MD Anderson. The whole process has been slow. Wish the process could be faster but for now I am counting my blessing. The doctor told us that since we have a positive result so far from the chemo and radiation, it's very important for us not to stop treatment. We need to continue the treatment otherwise that cancer will grow back.
I know everybody is worried about me and I am so thankful for everything but I just want everybody to know that I am doing everything I can to get better. I do want to get better for my two inspirations.
Update from Northside.
Hey guys,
Doing pretty good. Breathing better, I finished my chemo for this week. Next one will be next Wednesday. So far so good, no really bad side effects. I am also still receiving radiation treatment for the tumor in between my lungs. They need to tackle that first because my lungs could collapsed. Can't complaint much or I am trying not to. Becky and Rialyn came to visit yesterday so that was nice. I do miss my babies though. But I am fighting this for them.
Update from Grace
Hey guys,
This is Grace. I am in the ICU at Northside. I am doing and feeling pretty good today. Chemo went pretty well last night. Neal was right there by my side the whole night. Tonight I am supposed to receive one more chemo drug. I am still on oxygen. Miss my Alexa so much though. I received communion today, got to hold my miracle baby, Tyler. Both of my babies and my dear husband really give me strength. Neal and I talked a lot on Sunday. Sunday was really hard for both of us. But that's the day that Neal and I decided that I am fighting this cancer no matter how hard it is. I cannot leave my two beautiful babies. This will undoubtely be the hardest fight of my life but I know I have my family and friends by my side. I have so much to live for and I know I still have so much to offer to this world too. Please wish me luck and pray for us. We are going to need a lot of it. I have also been praying a lot. Neal and I believe in miracles that they do happen as long as you have faith in God.
Catching Up
This is Neal, sorry it's been so long since we updated everyone. I am going to try to make this quick.
Grace had breathing problems all weekend, last night I got a call from Dr. Dubovsky stating that the cancer is at stage four. I had already decided to bring Grace in because her breathing problems were getting so bad. Dr. Dubovsky and I had a short conversation and then I took Grace in. Alexa stayed with Oma.
We went into the emergency room and they admitted Grace (which was a very long process). They were able to stabilize Grace's condition and they moved her to the ICU. During this process some X-Rays were taken and it was determined that the tumor in her chest had grown significantly. The tumor was pushing on both her lungs and almost blocking her left lung. It was the first time they mentioned the possibility of radiation.
Today was just a whirlwind. They decided to do radiation treatment on the tumor in the chest, that has been done and as I am writing this they are preparing to start the chemotherapy. This will probably take all night for the process to complete. I intended to write more but I have to go now. By morning Grace will have had her first chemotherapy complete, so please pray that this combination will have a huge affect on this cancer.
Update on Grace for today
Hello, this is Neal's Mom updating you today on Grace and their family. Grace is not having the best day. She has a cough which is making it hard for her to rest. She also has some discomfort from where the biopsy was taken on Thursday. They have an appointment to see the oncologist on Monday at 1:15 p.m. and they'll discuss her treatment and answer any other questions that Neal and Grace have at that time. The dr called and talked to them for quite a while last night and said that the Mayo did receive the latest biopsy and they might have confirmation on Monday. But, in the meantime they feel confident that they have the right type of chemo for the type of cancer cells that she has and she's scheduled to have her first round of chemo on Tuesday. Of course, Grace isn't looking forward to the treatment, but knows that it has to be done. They are trying very hard to keep positive and have faith.
One of their neighbors took Alexa and me to a Halloween Festival at her church last nght. She got to go to a petting zoo and loved the animals. I sure saw a lot of cute Halloween outfits and it was a fun time with her. Their friends and family have been great.
Neal and Lucia (Grace's mother) just went to see Tyler. His doctor just called and said that he is doing well and might be able to come home in about 1 to 1 1/2 weeks! It will depend if he starts eating better from the bottle, but he seems to be starting to get that down, the doctor said. This will be the first visit for Lucia to see him. He's a cutie!
I guess that's about all for today. If anything else comes up, we'll be sure to put it up on the blog.
So much had happened!
Hi everybody,
This is Grace, I figured I can write a little bit since I am home by myself now. My life has been a roller coaster physically and emotionally for the past 2 months. So much had happened and I do not even know where to start. It all started about 3 weeks before Alexa turned 2. I got super sick (no appetite, puking, no energy) and that's just a short list. My doctor told me that's all because of the pregnancy.
On the joyous occasion, our sweet little daughter turned 2 on Oct 16, 2008. Neal took her to the doctor for her 2 year check up on Friday. She is healthy (height 2' 10 1/4" - 55%, weight 25 1/4 lbs - 30%, head 19 3/8" - 75%). I still cannot believe she is 2. I made it to the birthday party on Saturday. Alexa had fun and it was great to see our friends. But, deep down, I felt super bad and didn't feel so well. The night before her birthday, I found a lump on my left breast. We called in and told it was an infection. On Sunday morning around 3 am, I tried sitting up and standing up and I couldn't. I was in pain on my right side. Told Neal maybe it was the baby moving around. Neal said "no". We finally went in to the hospital.
When we got there, we were told I probably had appendicitis or gallbladder issue. They also told me that I was dilating and contracting which I didn't even know. After ultrasound, MRI and a bunch of blood test, they finally told me that they found a couple masses aka tumor in my abdomen. They tried stopping the contraction but my labor kept progressing. All the doctors finally decided that since the baby was at 33 1/2 weeks, it will be just fine and they said it was better and easier to treat me with the baby out. They finally convinced me of that.
Sunday night was when it all started. They moved me to the labor and delivery room and induced me. They broke my water and gave me epidural. Epidural worked at first. After a while, I started feeling pain and the nurse kept pumping me with more drugs. After a while, they finally called my midwife and the baby was ready to come out. The other big surprise was it's a BOY. I was told it was going to be a girl all this time. We names him TYLER ALLEN GAMRADT. He weighed 5 lbs 8 oz. They took him to the NICU after they let me hold him for a couple minutes. Tyler is doing well, he is gaining weight and he is still in NICU. He'll probably be there for a couple more weeks. He is my MIRACLE baby.
After I gave birth to Tyler, they kept doing test on me. More blood test, CT scan, chest x-ray, mammogram. You name it, I probably had it. They also did biopsis on my abdomen and breast. On Wednesday, I finally got the bad news. They told me the biopsis result on my breast showed that the mass is cancerous. I was angry and I asked myself "why me?". I am only 30. At 30, I didn't think I have to deal with this. After more tests, they told me that what's in my abdomen, breasts and the mass between my lungs are all the same thing. The problem is they are puzzled and do not know what kind of cancer it was and they told me it's a very rare cancer. That question popped into my head again "why me?".
Well, I can tell you it's been emotionally and physically draining for me. There are nights when I just couldn't sleep. Luckily I have such great friends and families that support me. We are getting closer to a diagnosis and for me to start getting treatment. I am starting to accept the fact that life is not fair. I cannot turn back time. I have two beautiful children and a loving husband which I am thankful for. I've decided that I am going to fight this disease for myself, my kids and husband. When I look at their faces at night, I know I cannot leave them now. I have too much to live for and I still have a lot to offer to this world. I've decided that I am going to focus my energy into getting better instead of being negative. There are bad days and better days but I made a promise to Alexa, Tyler and Neal that I am not going to give up. I made a promise to Alexa and Tyler that I am going to raise them, see them grow up and be there for them. If you guys can pray for me and my family, I would really appreciate it. I know the road ahead is not going to be easy with the treatment.
Grace's & Tyler Update
Grace had her biopsy this morning and that went well. She is back home and feeling pretty good after the procedure. It was sent off to Mayo Clinic to study and they will get back to us with the results as soon as possible. The results should be in no later then Monday afternoon, but they said hopefully sooner. We'll keep you posted if we hear anything! Tyler is eating a little better from the bottle. He now weighs 5 lbs. 9 oz., so has gained a little weight. They have him dressed in a little Halloween outfit today. Will try and get pictures of him in it. I went quick to see him while Grace was having her biopsy done. I changed his diaper and got the first experience of him peeing on me!
Update on Grace for today
Hello everyone, this is Neal's Mom again giving you an update on Grace. Grace is set up to have another biopsy done tomorrow. They will have that procedure done around 8:30 a.m. as an outpatient. What the doctor told them last night is that they think Grace may have what is called Alveolar Sarcoma cancer which is a very rare cancer. However, they need the additional biopsy so they have enough material to confirm their diagnosis. So her type of cancer is still not confirmed. The biopsy will be sent to Mayo Clinic for possible confirmation. They will start treatment early next week. Hopefully they will be able to confirm the type of cancer so they can start with the best possible treatment versus throwing something at it to see if it works. Before the doctors go into detail with Grace and Neal they want to find out for sure if this is what she has. Please keep praying that they find out what type of cancer we're dealing with. Grace and Neal are trying to keep positive thoughts.
Additional Update
Hello Everyone, this is Neal's Mom again. Neal and Grace just received a call from her OBGYN and he told them that he has been in contact with the Mayo Clinic and also MD Anderson in Texas and that they still cannot determine what type of cancer we're dealing with. It seems to be a type of cancer that started as gestational and fed by estrogen and hopefully now that Tyler has been born it has slowed its progress. According to the doctor her biopsy's have been seen by about 30 pathologists and they are still working on the prognosis and will continue to work on it. The doctor said the important thing is that the type of treatment they throw at it is effective in killing it. Hopefully they will be able to identify it, but if they haven't they will start some type of treatment next Tuesday to see how it responds. If we hear anything else, we'll be sure to post it as soon as possible.
Another Update
We just heard from the doctor. The final staining today did not produce the expected results at the Mayo Clinic. The Mayo Clinic is now seeking out additional help from other cancer organizations to try to determine the type of tumor we are dealing with.
It doesn't appear that this tumor is gynecological in nature so it appears Dr. Dubovsky is going to be our primary doctor. We were told to set up an appointment with Dr. Dubovsky in his office so he can give us a more detailed update. Regardless, they are going to plan on starting treatment next Tuesday. The Mayo Clinic is confident that they will have final results and a treatment plan in place by then.
We are unsure if all of this should be considered good or bad news. We will post further details when we have them.
Also, it appears that the Shutterfly galleries are broken yet again, I am going to put in another ticket to get them fixed. This site had been stable up until a big update they did last week, since then, there have been issues. We will post more photos of Tyler when they are back up.
Update on Grace
This is Neal's Mom. Sorry that we didn't get this updated last night, but Neal was going to and feel asleep. We received a call from the doctor around 7:30 p.m. last night and he reported that the Mayo Clinic is still determining what type of tumor Grace has. According to the doctor, it is a very rare type of tumor and the Clinic has to do some more staining of the cells to determine what we are dealing with so they can determine the best treatment for Grace. At this point we have to wait for the results from Mayo as they deal more with the rare type of tumors. The doctor is hoping to have more information for us today and we will certainly let you all know when we hear.
Grace is feeling a little better today and got a good nights rest.
Neal got to see Tyler last night. He is doing well, but still doesn't want to take much formula from the bottle - which is common for his age of development. He's very alert and looking around. The nurses say he is a very good baby.
We will give you an update again as soon as we hear anything today!
Morning Update
We checked in with the hospital. The Mayo clinic has so far been unable to determine what Grace has. They are having a meeting at the Mayo clinic with a number of doctors to try to determine what she has.
They said we may hear something back in the next few hours. This is all very strange and honestly adds to our concern. Hopefully they are just fine-tuning the prognosis or something. We were given little detail.
Additional Photos of Tyler
Pictures of Tyler
Tyler is doing very well. He is gaining weight and is very active (looking around etc.) We have added an album here on the website under the gallery, we are in the process of uploading the images now, so it will take a little while before there is much to see.
Tyler will not come home until he is eating from a bottle. Currently he eats twice a day from the bottle. He is being a bit lazy about this and isn't eating his whole bottle (30 milliliters of formula). That is why he still has a feeding tube in his nose. If he doesn't eat enough, they feed him through this tube.
We are glad he is doing so well and hope he can come home soon.
We still have no update on Grace's condition. We are supposed to have an update from the doctor sometime in the morning.
Grace Back Home
Grace is now back home. She is in good spirits and glad to have a break from the hospital room.
We will not have further updates until Monday regarding Grace's illness.
Tyler is doing extremely well. He is no longer on an I.V. and has been removed from the heating bed. Basically the biggest remaining hurdle is getting him to eat consistently from the bottle. We have more pictures that we will post later.
Need to get to bed, but wanted to make a quick update.
Grace Being Discharged
Grace is being discharged tonight. The Mayo Clinic has not finished their work and I am shocked to learn that in these cases, they will not look at her case again until Monday. So Grace is coming home for the weekend.
I am glad she is coming home but upset that this is being put on hold over the weekend. I want to discuss this further with the doctor's over the weekend.
I am leaving to pick up Grace now.
Grace Moved Rooms
Grace has been moved to room 398.
No other updates yet...
Morning Update
They will be moving Grace to a larger room sometime today, we may have some results back from the Mayo clinic by tonight.
There is not much additional information at this time, will give another update when we know more.
Quick Update
It has been determined that the masses in Grace's abdomen are of the same cell type and structure as the masses in her breasts. However, the type of cancer is still not identified. It is a round cell and they have sent samples to the Mayo clinic for further examination.
Grace is being kept in the hospital per the Doctor's recommendation in case they need to do further tests and they work on a final diagnosis.
Grace is tired but keeping in good spirits. Alexa is confused as to why mom isn't around but overall holding up well.
We have received an overwhelming amount of prayer requests and support from everyone, I want to mention that we are sincerely grateful to everyone for all of the support and we appreciate what everyone is doing to try to help us (bringing us food, etc.) We will not forget these kind gestures.
Tyler is doing extremely well, he is now eating from a bottle (small amounts). He is off oxygen and now is wearing clothes. His temperature is no longer being regulated by the bed he is sleeping in. His digestion processes all appear to be normal. He may soon lose the I.V. that is in his arm, which is good news. No date as to when they expect he can come home.
That is all for now...will have more updates when I can.
Pictures of Tyler
Background on Grace's Condidtion
Just to give some background...Grace wasn't feeling well the past few weeks, no appetite, vomiting, lack of energy.
On Friday we found a lump on her left breast, called the doctor, they said most likely early mastitis, we got antibiotics to treat it.
Grace still didn't feel better on Saturday and the lump did not decrease in size.
Early Sunday morning Grace woke up with extreme pain on her right side. We thought perhaps a appendicitis or something...we called the doctor...were told to get to hospital as soon as possible.
After a number of scans (ultrasounds, MRI, x-rays), it was determined that Grace had a number of odd masses in her breasts, lungs, and abdomen. One mass on her right side is very large. Her body was going into labor and the doctor's didn't want to stop it due to the huge amount of stress her body was under (dehydration, whatever these masses are, etc.)
Our baby boy was born early Monday morning, he weighted 5 lbs, 8 oz. We were expecting a girl so this was a surprise. He was born at 33 weeks, 4 days, so he is in neonatal care. He is doing well.
Grace has since had a huge amount of blood work done, CAT scans, additional ultrasounds, etc. It has been determined that we are most likely dealing with some kind of cancer. We will post more updates when we can.
This is Neal writing this post, will update people more when we can.
Grace and Tyler Update
I'm writing this update for Neal and Grace. This is Neal's Mom. This is what we know so far on Grace. She does have cancer and the doctors are now determining where the main source is coming from. Yesterday we were told that it was breast cancer, but that there were more masses in the abdomen. They did a biopsy yesterday on the abdomen and will know the final results better by tomorrow and then will go w/a plan of treatment. The doctors feel that there is a main source attributing to what is going on w/Grace. Today we were told that now they think the main source might be ovarian cancer and she'll have to go w/a hysterectomy and additional cancer treatment. We'll keep you updated.
The babies name is going to be Tyler. As far as Tyler, he's doing well. He's very alert and looking around. They took him off oxygen last night and he's breathing on his own now. He'll be in neonatal awhile yet, but the nurses said he's doing well. He has lots of black hair. Will try and put up some pictures of him shortly. The website seems to have trouble in that area right now.
Alexa has been a little trooper. She misses her mom and we're going to take her up to see mom shortly after her nap. But, she's really been good with everyone else that's had her. She's pretty perceptive that something is going on. Before this, it was all mommy.
Grace got a good night's sleep last night. Novie, Grace's sister, flew in and has been great and it's wonderful that she's here. It sounds like Grace's Mom will be coming by the end of October - so that will be wonderful, too. I flew in yesterday and will be here for a few days.
Some of you wanted to know the hospital that Grace and Tyler are at. It is: Northside Hospital, 1000 Johnson Ferry Rd NE, Atlanta GA 30342-1611.
We will try and update this blog daily to keep everyone informed as to what's happening with Grace and Tyler.
Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
Another doctor's appointment
Today was another doctor's appointment for me. They gave me the paper work I had to fill out for the hospital. I will be 30 weeks on Wednesday. Anyway, everything is looking good. The baby's heart beat is good. Glucose test result was good, thyroid level was good. The only thing that's still a little low is the iron. She told me to get an "off the counter iron pills" and try that. She also told me not to take the iron pills with my prenatal vitamin because my body can only absorb so much. Also, do not take the iron pills with calcium (aka milk, cheese, yogurt, icecream) because the calcium is going to make the iron not being absorbed by my body. Guess I will have to go to Kroger and get some of those now.
Next appointment will be in 3 week and they will do ultrasound to also check for my placenta.
On a different note, Alexa is growing so fast. I said "thank you" to her today and she said "you're welcome" to me. Also, we were playing with her tea set this morning and I pretended to cry and said "hot hot hot". She gave me a hug and she said "don't cry". I was so surprised. My baby is not a baby anymore. I can't wait to see what she'll learn next. I truly cannot imagine my life without her. She makes life worth living for. She makes me laugh and smile.
Sesame Stree Live: When Elmo Grows Up Show.
I took Alexa to the Elmo show yesterday at the Philips Arena. Neal stayed at home because he had to work. We went with Hong and Elise, Andea and Raine, Leah and Gabe. Leah and I drove. Hong and Elise went with me and Alexa while Andea and Raine went with Leah and Gabe. Sure enough I was in a hurry and ended up wearing my sandals that have heels even though it's not super high but it was killing me when we had to walk and Alexa wanted me to carry her. I thought Alexa was going to have a melt down. To my surprise, as soon as the show started she actually had fun and enjoyed it. She was dancing, clapping. It was so cute. The second half of the show was a different story. She was watching it but she was getting tired. She sat on my lap and sucked on her bottom lip. Yup she was tired. She refused to walk when the show was finished. Hong was super nice and carried Alexa to the car for me. Alexa fell asleep on the way home. Alexa was so tired, she let Hong carried her
. I am really glad I took her there. Overall, Alexa had a great time.
Potty Training is going very well!
I am so proud of Alexa. I started putting pull ups/easy ups on her during the day not even two weeks ago. She had been able to keep herself dry when she was awake but not when she napped. Today, for the first time she was able to keep herself dry the whole day even when she napped. That's very amazing and I am so proud of her. She also started telling me when she needs to go to the bathroom to pee. She says "mommy, pee pee". As far as pooping, she's been pooping in the toilet since she was 15 months old. I did not want to push her on the peeing. But somebody told me I should take her to the toilet every 1/2 hour or so to get her used to the idea of peeing in the toilet. So, I decided to start now, I figured once the baby comes it will be hard for me to take her to the toilet every 1/2 hour. I guess I am lucky that she does not fight me on this and she wants to do it. But, it also makes me realize that she's growing so fast.
I was outside tonight and cutting some shrubs and Alexa was so cute, she was helping me gather all the leaves together. She's becoming such a little helper.
Getting big, 26 weeks appointment!
Had my 26 weeks appointment today. They did the ultrasound, glucose test, iron test and my thyroid test. The doctor said my placenta moved a little bit but not enough yet. She said it's probably because we haven't given it enough time to migrate. She told me we'll do another ultrasound at 32 weeks to check it again. As far as the glucose test, iron test and thyroid test I am going to have to wait for the result. They took lots of blood for that. The baby's heart beat was strong
. Yeah.... My next appointment will be in 4 weeks.
Alexa was super good while we were at the doctor's office. Everybody kept saying she was such a cutie pie. I am trying to plan her 2nd birthday. Yup, can't believe she's almost 2. Crazy how time flies. She is so awesome and I love her so much. She's putting sentences together. She said "Mommy, I know". Oh yeah, she is almost completely potty trained. Alexa has been pooping in the toilet since she was 15 months. I started putting the easy ups on her on Monday. By yesterday (Wednesday), she was able to keep herself dry during the day. She's been doing really good today too. Yeah, maybe she'll be completely potty trained by the time the baby comes. At least during the day. This could mean, Neal and I can save up lots of money
.
Little Gym Class
We got Alexa to try the free Little Gym class today. She actually liked it. She especially likes the balance beam. We figured it's probably because Alexa loves climbing so much. Neal and I are thinking about enrolling her in it after she's done with her Kindermusik class.
Kindermusik Class
Took Alexa to Kindermusik class. Her first one and Alexa loves it. She loves music. Alexa is growing so fast. It's so cute and now she started saying "daddy, where are you?". Watching her putting sentences together is pretty amazing.
It's a - - - - for us!
I had my doctor’s appointment today. Neal worked from home that way he can go to the appointment with me since we’re having ultrasound today. I am 23 weeks now. I can’t believe that. The baby will be here before we know it. Everything is looking good and normal which we are very happy about. The baby’s heartbeat is strong. I told the doctor that I’ve been having dizzy spell and they said I need to drink lots of fluid but we also have to watch for it. They gave me a different iron pills samples than my prescription one since the one I’ve been taking has been making me a little bit sick. This iron sample is the same one as the first sample they gave me before I got the prescription and I know this one didn’t make me sick. I guess my placenta is low so they will have to watch for that. They will need to do another ultrasound for my next visit. They said a lot of time it will move up as the baby gets bigger. But if it does not move up, they will have to do a C-section which I really don’t want to do. So, we’ll have to keep praying.
Oh yeah, it will be a baby SISTER for Alexa. They will be partner in crime before we know it. Neal and I are just excited that the baby is healthy. Neal said he’ll be outnumbered. Yup, 3 against 1 
Now we can focus on picking out a name too.Can’t wait to meet our little GIRL.
Minnesota visit!
Neal and I and Alexa left Atlanta on July 30 and came back on August 5 to visit Neal’s family in Minnesota. We flew on Delta. It was a very nice visit and we had lots of fun. Allen and Judy picked us up at the airport and the drove us back to the airport. Alexa enjoyed meeting everybody. Last time we were there, Alexa was only 7 months old. Angie, Seth, Sarah and Adam also made it back. Alexa had lots of fun playing with her cousins. We also got a chance to meet up with Dustin, Pam and Logan half way between Fargo and Sauk Centre and we had dinner. We met up with them at Perkins in Fergus Falls. Logan is such a cute little boy. They also gave us the news that they are expecting their second child and the baby is due in March 2009. We are so happy and excited for them. Congratulations to Dustin and Pam. Neal and I also got a chance to visit the grave of Gary Quade (Neal’s uncle - Judy’s brother) who passed away on July 8. We wish he was here with us. But we are glad we had the chance to visit his grave. Everybody was so nice and made us feel so comfortable. It was very hard to leave. Alexa did well with the plane ride except that she refused to sit with daddy.
Alexa did well until Saturday when I noticed she started having runny and stuffy nose problem again. She woke up in the middle of the night crying on Saturday night and Sunday night. On Sunday, she started coughing too. I’ve been giving her claritin kids since Sunday night. I am hoping that will clear it up. The doctor is not going to give her antibiotics anymore since she just finished hers not too long ago. I seriously hope it doesn’t get worst. Dealing with sick kid is not fun. I think the fact that we were so busy and she wasn’t following her schedule/routine made it so easy for her to catch cold. Alexa loves her routine. I remembered thinking to myself, this is just my luck.
Sick child is no fun!
Alexa did really well even though we’ve been busy. She did get sick though because of all the busy schedules I think. She threw up quite a bit. The cough that she got while we were in NY actually never really went away. Anyway, I took her to the doctor on July 2. They said she had a lot of mucus in her throat. No sinus infection yet so they wanted to try antihistamine for 10 days and see if it goes away. If it doesn’t, they’ll put her on antibiotics. Sure enough, it didn’t go away. She was coughing like crazy and would wake up in the middle of the night and cried. I took her back in to the doctor after the antihistamine. They gave her antibiotics for 2 weeks. They said it should clear up the sinus infection. If it doesn’t, that means she probably has seasonal allergy or dust allergy. Anyway, the antibiotics cleared up everything. Thank goodness. Finally… no more sick child and cleaning up pukes.
Happy Independence Day!
We spent the day with Rina, Tito and Ken. They invited us for a cookout. It was a lot of fun. Alexa had fun playing with Ken. At the end of the day, we went to the Wills Park in Alpharetta to watch the fireworks. Alexa loved the fireworks but I think she didn’t like the loud noise. She was exhausted by the time we got home.
Doctor's appointment!
I had my doctor’s appointment today. Pregnancy is going good. They said my iron level is kind of low so they gave me prescription for iron pills. They also adjusted the dosage for my synthroid. The baby’s heartbeat was very strong. I asked about the dry skin and they said they can’t explain it but some woman has problem with dry skin and it will go away after the baby is born and I just have to deal with it. I am so excited about that. Neal and I are excited about the baby. The iron pills have been making me a little sick lately. But I can deal with it as long as the baby is healthy.
Big bed for Alexa.
When we came back from Dallas, we moved Alexa to the big bed. A week after my parents came, she decided no more crib. She was crying and puking and she actually slept with us for at least 3 weeks which wasn’t fun for me since I am pregnant. Alexa loves to roll around and that usually keeps me awake. I think Alexa felt confined and she also didn’t like the hard crib mattress. Yup, she is a spoiled girl. Since we’re not sure whether we should get a full size bed or a queen bed, Neal and I decided to move the queen mattress part of the bed from our guest room to her room for a trial run. We figured we’ll see how she does with the queen mattress. We also want her to adjust and train herself sleeping in the big bed before we buy her a new bed. With her rolling around, at least it will will not hurt her if she falls from the mattress to the carpeted floor. Once she gets control on the rolling, we can buy her the new bed (mattress and boxspring). Alexa loves the big bed so far. I think it makes her feel like a big girl
Welcome Opa and Oma!
It’s been such a busy summer for Neal and I and Alexa. My parents came from Indonesia on May 29, 2008. They had to get into the States before the end of July to make sure they don’t lose the greencard. They stayed in Atlanta until June 21, 2008 then they went to Dallas, TX to visit Novie and Vivek. We had lots of fun. It took Alexa about 10 days to warm up to them though. Alexa liked having oma and opa because she got oma to cook her Indonesian/Asian food and she had oma and opa to buy her stuff
My parents left the States to go back to Indonesia on July 3, 2008 from TX. One weekend (June 14, 2008), we took them to Madison, GA for a day trip. It was fun. Alexa and I also went to TX with my parents. We left on June 21, 2008 and came back on June 25, 2008. It was a short trip but it was great to spend more time with my parents and of course to see auntie Novie and uncle Vivek. Alexa had a blast. The trip coming back to Atlanta went well but the trip going to TX didn’t go so well. Delta lady couldn’t figure out how to check in the car seat. She took the luggage and put the tag on but didn’t put it on the belt. By the time they finally figured it out, they said it was too late to check in the luggage and I had to drag the luggage to the gate to check it in which didn’t make Neal happy since Neal couldn’t go with us because he just started his new job with Turner Broadcasting on June 2. They gave Neal a security pass to help me get the car seat and luggage to the gate. I had liquid stuff in the luggage since I didn’t plan to bring the luggage through security. Since I had some space, my mom put their stuff in my luggage and she locked it. Of course I forgot to ask her for the combination. Going through security wasn’t fun, they thought I didn’t want to give them the combination on purpose. TSA had to cut the lock and they took a bunch of liquid stuff. Oh well…. just one of those days. By the time we got to the gate, they were already boarding. Alexa and I were so happy and tired by the time we got to Dallas.
Doctor's appointment!
I also had my doctor’s appointment today (May 29, 2008). They took blood for a bunch of test but they said everything is looking good with the pregnancy. The baby’s heartbeat is strong. Thank God for that. A week after my doctor’s appointment, I started noticing my hands and feet started developing patches of dry skin. I remembered thinking to my self. Great…. this is probably not going to go away until the baby comes. Oh well, guess I have to wait until my next appointment to ask the doctor if they can give me something.
It's official!
It’s been confirmed and it’s official! Neal and I are happy and excited to say that Alexa will be getting a baby brother or sister in Dec. Went to the doctor today and they confirmed my pregnancy. I am 8 weeks 2 days. The baby is due on Dec 3, 2008. Yeah
What a busy week!
We left Atlanta on 4/12/08 and came back on 4/19/08. We went to Little Falls, NY to visit auntie Angie, uncle Seth, cousin Sarah and cousin Adam. Grandma and Grandpa Gamradt met up with us there. Alexa had a lot of fun. She liked riding the four wheeler and she liked dog too (oh oh for mommy). Everything went fine until we all got sore throat, runny nose and cough about the middle of the week. Alexa refused to eat for a couple days and she was pretty attached to mommy too. And she threw up two nights in a row.
Visit went too fast. Time for us to leave. It took about 2 1/2 hours to drive to the Newburgh’s airport. Alexa was tired and not feeling well. The airplane ride went well. She fell asleep when mommy was holding her. Mommy tried transferring her to daddy because she had to go to the bathroom and Alexa woke up and got mad. We got stucked in traffic because they were working on repaving the road and closed three left lanes. It took us 2 hours to get home. Alexa was so mad in the car and she had a meltdown. She threw up in the car 3 times. I had to take her out of the seat. She calmed down a little bit up to when I put her back in the car seat because traffic started moving again. What a day!!
Home sweet home! We’re finally home and Alexa was so happy. I think she was a bit homesick. I made her “miso soup” and she ate. Thank God. She hasn’t throw up at all since we came back home. She’s been eating better. She still has her runny nose and coughing though.
Time to take her for her 18 months checkup. We changed doctor and this is the first visit to the new doctor. I like them. She’s growing fast and everything is good. However, she does have an ear infection. The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics which I still have to pick up after she wakes up from her nap. Her height is 33″ @ 80%. Weight is 23 lbs 6 oz @ 40% and her head is 19 3/8″ @ 92%.
No more bottle!
Alexa wasn’t happy with me. No more bottle for her. Good for me though We went to see Elise and Hong on Wednesday, 4/2/08. Hong told me that Elise is off the bottle. I decided maybe it’s time to try again. In fact, I tried that same day. Alexa took the milk in the sippy cup just fine. She finished the whole thing, but then again that was because she was half asleep. That night, I tried again and she refused. She is a very stubborn little girl. Hong told me to be strong and not to give in. Hong said if she doesn’t want to drink it out of her cup, don’t give her the bottle. Thanks Hong for the moral support. That’s what I did…. I tried to be strong. Next day (4/3/08), it was a challenge. Alexa drank it just enough to make her not thirsty and she pushed the cup when I tried to give her the morning and night milk. However, she did finish the whole cup right before her nap. But then again, she was already half asleep.
Finally, it’s about time. It’s Friday and she finally realized mommy is being serious. If she wants her milk, she better takes the sippy cup. Yippy Thanks Hong for the moral support.
Doctor's visit!
Since the cold is not going away, I took Alexa to the doctor today. She has this cold for a month already. Poor Alexa. Good thing I took her in. The doctor said her cold turned into sinus infection and ear infection. Yuck! He gave us prescription for antibiotic. Time to get rid of this cold.
Grandma's visit!
Grandma Gamradt was here to visit us from March 6-10. Think she was surprised to see how much Alexa had changed. It was a short trip and Alexa had a lot of fun. We went and did a little bit of shopping. All of us has been fighting this cold. I am still coughing really bad which is not fun. Neal’s still coughing too. Alexa still has runny nose and is still coughing and throwing up quite a bit. She threw up when we were at the mall (The Children’s Place).
Got to change the antibiotics!
Doctor called. They said they have the result of the repeat urine test. Yes, it’s been confirmed. Urinary tract infection. They didn’t say what caused it. They told us to switch her antibiotics because the strain of bacteria she has is resistant to the antibiotics she’s been taking. Yeah, that’s great. Oh well, at least they figured it out.
Another doctor's visit!
We had to go to the doctor again today to re-check Alexa. Her fever was gone by Tuesday night. I was giving her tylenol. But, she started throwing up once a day since Tuesday. She coughs and has runny nose. Last night, she was sleeping so good. Suddenly around 10 pm she started to cry and she threw up everywhere in her bed. The doctor said she has urinary tract infection so they are giving her antibiotics. They also took another urine sample because on the previous sample, the nurse sucked the urine from the exam bed when Alexa peed everywhere. Of course, it’s not so sterile. I am not kidding too. They tried using the catheter but it didn’t work too well. This time, they used a bag to get her urine sample. Alexa got her MMR shot and chicken pox shot today. The doctor will call us on Monday to let us know the result of the second test and whether we should continue the antibiotics or not. So, we’ll have to wait and see. In the mean time, I started treating Alexa with antibiotics this evening.
Not feeling well!
Alexa had her 15 months checkup today. I could tell she hasn’t been feeling well. She refused to eat even her milk and she hasn’t been herself. We met up with Becky, Cristina and Rina for lunch at the Super H Mart before going to the doctor. Yup, they said she’s having a fever. 101 degrees F…. They decided not to give her the shots today. They did the flu test, strep test and they took her urine sample. They want us to come back on Thursday to re-check her. If she feels better, she’ll get her shots then. Her height is 31 inch (75th percentile). She only weighs 20.5 lbs though (10th-25th percentile). She needs to eat more. Her head circumference is 19 inch (97th percentile). Alexa got so mad every time the doctor/nurses came in the room. I think she knew because she’s old enough to know what’s going on.
Our little world traveler.
Our journey began on Thanksgiving Day 2007 (11/22/07). We left Atlanta to go to Indonesia on 11/22/07. We went to LA from Atlanta with Delta Airlines. From LA, we took China Airlines to go to Taipei and Jakarta. We arrived in Jakarta, Indonesia on 11/24/07. It was a long trip. Four and a half hours from Atlanta to LA, then 13 1/2 hours from LA to Taipei which was the hardest. Finally, 5 hours from Taipei to Jakarta. My sister, Connie, and her family met us at the airport. We had lunch then we took Garuda Airlines to fly to Palembang which took 45 minutes. My mom and my sister, Ivonne, picked us up. This journey was more tiring than the last trip Neal and I took in 2004 to go back to Indonesia. Probably because we had to take turn to sleep because of Alexa. We both didn’t want to sleep at the same time. Alexa was such a trooper. She did so well on the plane. By the time we got to Palembang, Alexa was so exhausted. She was done
We stayed in Palembang for 5 days. All of us had to fight with the jet lag. Alexa liked the food but not the hot weather. Every time she got out from the air conditioned room, her head was soaked with sweat. Poor Alexa…. she got that from her dad. Alexa finally got to meet her cousins, Tiffany, Audrey and Ashley. Tiffany is only 3 weeks older than Alexa but she was so much bigger even though she wasn’t a good eater like Alexa. They looked so cute together.
We left Palembang on 11/30/07 to go to Bali. We had a layover in Jakarta. Ivonne and her family couldn’t come because she couldn’t pull her two sons out of school again. They took 3 weeks off from school when they came to the States for Novie’s wedding. Connie, Ashley, Audrey met us in Jakarta and we all flew to Bali together. Meigi couldn’t come because he had to work. We stayed at the Hard Rock Cafe Hotel for the first two nights. The next four nights we moved to the Ritz Carlton (12/2/07-12/6/07). Bali was so much fun. Alexa loved the beach. We really enjoyed it. Ritz Carlton was great too. Service was awesome. We went to eat dinner at the Padi Restaurant at the Ritz on 12/5/07 for my 30th birthday. It was great that I got to celebrate my big 30 birthday with my family. Last time I got to do that was when I was 17.
We left Bali on 12/6/07 and we went to Jakarta. We stayed at Hotel Borobudur. We took Neal back to the airport on 12/8/07 that way he could go back to the States. He didn’t like leaving Alexa and I alone in Indonesia. Oma, opa, Alexa and I left Jakarta to go back to Palembang on 12/9/07. We were going to go to Bandung and Puncak but since Alexa was getting sick, we changed our mind.
For the next two weeks, Alexa and I stayed in Palembang. We didn’t do much. Just hang out with all the family members and ate. I think Alexa liked hanging out with her cousins. Dec 11 was a big day. Alexa finally decided to walk on her own. Connie, Ashley and Audrey arrived in Palembang from Jakarta on 12/16/07.
Alexa and I left Palembang on 12/22/07 to go back to Atlanta. Oma went with us to the Jakarta airport. Connie, Ashley, Audrey and opa said their “good bye” at the Palembang airport. It was hard to say good bye. We miss everybody already. Thanks to everybody, we had such a good time. Alexa did really well on the plane again. I was so proud of her. She was such a good girl. Oh yeah, apparently it only took 11 hours from Taipei to LA because we traveled with the same direction of the wind. That was good news. Our flight in LA was delayed for 2 1/2 hours. That was the bad news. We are glad to be home. Alexa has a cold now and still fighting with her jet lag. She doesn’t mind her car seat which really surprise me. I thought she was going to be mad being put in her car seat after not having to use car seat for 4 weeks. The trouble now is Alexa is refusing to sleep in her crib. I think she is so used to sleeping with mommy. Well, hopefully we can fix that soon. We don’t want to force her yet because she is not feeling well from her cold.
Thanks everybody for being so great. Alexa, Neal and I had such a great time. We are hoping we can go back to Indonesia soon and not have to wait too long.
Big milestone!
Alexa started walking on her own using the walker yesterday. Yeah….
Growing fast!
Yes, Alexa is one year old now. We had her one year check up yesterday. We got to see auntie Becky, auntie Rina and Ken for lunch before the doctor’s appointment. We had fun. Alexa even let auntie Becky hold her which made auntie Becky super happy. Alexa is doing well and growing fast. She got 3 shots yesterday so she wasn’t too happy about it. Oh yeah, she took a couple steps this morning using the walker that auntie Rina, uncle Tito and Ken got her. I think it’s going to happen soon Anyway, she weighs 19.6 lbs (25-50%). Her head circumference is 18.5 inch (95%) and her height is 30 inch (75-90%). Dr. Khan said it would hurt for her to gain more weight. She told me to keep Alexa at rear-facing for at least one more month to make sure she reaches the 20 lbs before moving her to forward-facing. When I look at Alexa, sometimes I still cannot believe she is one. It’s pretty amazing when you think about it. She learned so much stuff in the past year.
We also had our second swimming lesson yesterday. It went good but she was tired and cranky. I think it was from the 3 shots and the fact that she refused to take her naps at all yesterday. She had fun in the water though. She got super mad when I took her toy away to give it back to the instructor. Alexa actually kicked in the water when I put her on her stomach. Alexa is still all about mommy especially when she is tired. Oh yeah, she’s been a little bit better with eating the last couple days. Dr. Khan said it’s normal at this age for her to start getting pickier at eating because she wants to be independent and the way to do it is by showing me that she has control over what she wants to eat or not eat. I’ve been letting her feed herself more and more and that seems to help her eat more. She wants to be involved I guess. I still think she gets her picky genetics from her dad and I am sure he wouldn’t argue.
Happy 1st Birthday, Alexa!
Can’t believe it’s been a year since I gave birth to Alexa. Yup, she turned one year today. She is not a baby anymore. Oh well, Alexa will always be my little baby. Alexa is growing up way too fast She is so much fun though. She likes playing with mommy. She is currently a mommy’s little girl. Alexa is on cow’s milk now. No more pumping for me. She is almost walking but not quite yet. I thinks she’ll probably start walking soon. Looks like Alexa is getting pickier at eating too. All thanks to her daddy. I have to be really patient when I try to feed her. It’s not always successful, sometimes I get super frustrated when she refuses to eat.
We celebrated her birthday on Sunday (10/14/07) with a bunch of friends. It was fun. We had a total of 19 people in the house. Alexa got come cool toys. Neal kept telling me that we need to get her new toys before the party. Good thing she got some cool toys otherwise I will have to start shopping. The cake was awesome. Thank you to Rina. Alexa enjoyed the party even though she was tired. She refused to take her nap before the party. We are so lucky to have such great friends.
We started swimming lesson yesterday (10/15/07) at the Collins Hill Park. The pool is in door. The water was cold though. Both instructors said next session will be warmer. They just finished renovating the pool. They filled the water but didn’t have time to get the temperature up. Alexa was cold. She was afraid at first. Yesterday was the first time I ever took her to the pool. Toward the end, she started getting used to it and she had fun. Next session will be on Wednesday. She learned to be on her stomach and back in the pool yesterday. Alexa’s one year check up is on Wednesday. I will write again on Wednesday after her second swimming lesson and her check up.
What a busy month!
We left Atlanta on 9/13/07 to go to Dallas for Auntie Novie’s wedding. Flight was delayed for 2 hours. Then, after flying for one hour we had to turn around to go back to Atlanta because the plane had mechanical issue. We suddenly lost pressure. Had to descend suddenly for cruising altitude to 10,000 feet. It wasn’t fun. Alexa didn’t like it, she was screaming so loud. I thought I was going to die. Anyway, they found us a different plane. We got to Dallas at 2 am. We were supposed to get there at 8 pm. Alexa was tired… Poor Alexa. Uncle Vivek picked us up at the airport. Oma and auntie Novie waited at home and they were glad to see us.
Alexa got to see Opa, auntie Ivonne, cousins Terrence and Jonathan on 9/17/07. We picked them up at the airport at 6 am.
It’s finally here. Daddy flew in to Dallas on Thursday morning, 9/20/07. We had the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner on 9/20/07. Then, we had the Indian ceremony on 9/21/07. Finally, the church ceremony and the reception at Ritz Carlton were on 9/22/07. What a busy weekend. We had lots of fun. Everything turned out great. Auntie Novie was beautiful. Thanks for having us being a part of your special days. People kept saying Alexa was super cute. Think Alexa liked it Alexa did awesome. Toward the end of the trip, her tiredness finally caught up with her. She wouldn’t not let anybody else hold her. She was glued to mommy. It was all about mommy. I think the fact that she wasn’t at home in her familiar environment had something to do with it too.
We left on 9/23/07 to go back to Atlanta.
Found Alexa standing in her crib on 9/24/07. Alexa was tired. She took 5 hours nap on 9/24/07.
Picked up oma, opa, auntie Ivonne, cousins Terrence & Jonathan from the airport on 9/27/07. They went shopping on 9/28/07 at the mall of GA.
On 9/29/07, we flew to Orlando with Airtran. Daddy didn’t come because he had to work. Went to Universa Studio city walk on 9/30/07 and we ate at Bubba Shrimp. On 10/1, everybody went to Magic Kingdom. On 10/2, they went to MGM Studio. On 10/3, they went to Epcot. Mommy and I just hang out and relaxed at the hotel. We stayed at Wyndham Cypress in Kissimme, FL. It was raining everyday so mommy didn’t want to bring me to Disney because she was afraid I was going to get sick. Besides, I was tired too Everybody got to watch the fireworks at Epcot. They had lots of fun.
We came back to Atlanta on 10/4/07. Everybody went shopping a lot on 10/5 and 10/6. On 10/7/07, we had Alexa’s first birthday party. According to the Chinese calendar, Alexa’s birthday fell on 10/7 this year. We decided to celebrate it with oma, opa, auntie Ivonne, cousins Terrence and Jonathan. It was fun. Alexa liked her ice cream cake from DQ just like daddy. We’ll have another party for Alexa next week (10/14/07). Oh yeah, Oma even cut a little bit of Alexa’s bangs. They were getting too long and always got into her eyes.
On 10/8/07, we had to take everybody back to the airport for their flight back to Indonesia. It was weird. We came back home and it was quiet. We were so used to the boys screaming everyday. Alexa loved playing with the boys. She misses them already but I think it would be good for her to go back to her routine. We are planning to go back to Indonesia this November. We want Alexa to meet the rest of the family. Trying to get the visa, passport, etc right now. Hopefully that works out. If it does, we’ll see everybody again soon We want Alexa to know where mommy came from. Oh yeah as of today (10/8/07), Alexa is taking 100% cow’s milk now. Because of all the traveling we were doing I couldn’t keep up with the pumping. She doesn’t mind it. Next step, I need to take the bottle away from her.
On 10/9/07, Alexa took a 6 hours nap. I think she was tired from all the traveling. I think she knows home too.
Alexa was so used sleeping with mommy the last month when we were on the road. Now, she gets mad when we put her in her crib. Mommy has to rock her to fall asleep and wait until she’s completely sleeping before moving her to her crib. We are trying to change that slowly.
We can’t believe she is turning 1 in 4 days. She is growing fast.
Our little climber!
Alexa tried to climb up the stairs this morning. In fact, she did climb three steps. I found her doing it and when I stopped her, she was mad. We have a gate on top of the stair but not on the bottom. I have to get one today. It’s amazing how fast she is. I was doing something in the kitchen, I got suspicious when I didn’t hear her at all. She was being so quiet. Next thing I know, she was on the third step already.
Big milestone
Alexa pulled herself up to a standing position on the elliptical machine. Guess it wouldn’t be long before she starts trying to walk. My baby is not so little anymore. She has been so great. She crawls all over the place now.
Happy 9 months and she's on the move!
Yes, she turned 9 months today and she is on the move. Alexa figured out how to pull herself into the sitting position and she also figured out how to do an actually crawling all in one day. She’s been doing the army crawl for a while until yesterday Our little girl is not so little anymore. Neal and I will have to lower her mattress one more level. We got the gate today, and now we have to install it.
Alexa had her 9 months checkup today. She did really well. She got one shot and they took her blood for a complete blood count. She did really good when they took her blood. She was mad about the shot though. Dr. Khan said she is growing and doing well. Her height is 28 3/4 inch (90%), her weight is 16 lbs and 15 oz (25-50%) and her head circumference is 18 inch (90-95%). Dr. Khan said it’s normal to gain weight slower now since she is all over the place and she is burning more calories. No need to “force feed” her
Ouch ... those 4 teeth are sharp!
Yup, Alexa has 4 teeth now. The two on the top erupted on her baptism weekend. Those teeth are sharp. Alexa had been biting me all the time when I tried nursing her every since she has 4 teeth. I do have to say, it really hurts when she does it. I’ve been reading and they said I should hang in there and it will pass. I really tried but she kept doing it. She had been getting occasional bottles this week. Yes, she takes the bottles now. Thank God She doesn’t like it, but she’ll do it. Finally, today I decided to stop nursing her and just give her bottles. I’ve been pumping. I figured it’s time. Besides, she eats solid now so it’s not like she is going to starve. I also don’t want to give her mix messages by going back on forth between nursing and bottles. I think she is adjusting to it. I don’t think she likes it because she was rejecting the bottle unless if she got super hungry. I am hoping by Monday, she’ll forget all about the boobs and she’ll go back to her normal self.
I have to admit that I feel weird and sad about not nursing her and not have that connection with her. I love being able to spend time with her and feel that close connection. But, I don’t think I can stand the biting though. Neal tried to make me feel better and he said a lot of babies didn’t get to nurse this long and besides with me pumping, it means she is still getting my milk anyway. Thank God for dual pump. Pumping is a lot of work but I still really want her to get breast milk until a little bit longer.
Baptism weekend!
Alexa had a really busy and fun weekend. We picked auntie Novie up from the airport on Wed, 6/6/07. Then, on Thursdau, 6/7/07 and Friday, 6/8/07 we went to the Mall of Georgia to do auntie Novie’s wedding registry at Macy’s and Bed Bath and Beyond. Good thing is I think auntie Novie finished her registry. We went to Ruby Tuesday on Friday night after auntie Novie finished her registry. Uncle Vivek came on Friday night. His flight was delayed so he didn’t get here until 1 am.
We had Alexa’s baptism on Saturday, 6/9/07 at St. Monica. Fr. Pavol performed the baptism. Alexa did really good, didn’t cry at all. She was getting bored and tried to escape from whoever was holding her. Auntie Novie is Alexa’s godparent. It was great being able to share Alexa’s special day with auntie Novie and uncle Vivek. We went to eat at Milton’s Restaurant afterwards. We came home and just hang out after that. Oh yeah, the AC upstairs stopped working on Saturday and it got up to almost 90 degrees upstairs. Got ice cream from Bruster’s.
On Sunday, 6/10/07 we just hang out and went got brunch at Garrison’s. It was good. We came back home and hang out a little bit more before uncle Vivek had to leave for the airport. After uncle Vivek left, we just hang out around the house and went to dinner at Taco Mac. Alexa refused to sleep till 10 pm on Sunday night.
On Monday, 6/11/07 mommy and Alexa took auntie Novie back to the airport. Can’t wait to see auntie Novie again in September for her wedding. It will be lots of fun
Big news is Alexa’s two top teeth are out She has 4 teeth now.
First boat ride!
We had a great memorial day weekend. Yup, it’s Alexa’s first memorial day. Kurt, Hong and Elise invited us to go up to Kurt’s parents’ lake house in South Carolina. We decided to go since it’s only about 65 miles from our place. We had a great time. Food was great and weather was nice. Ken and Kathy were really nice. Most important thing, Alexa had fun with Elise. They were talking back and forth in “baby language”. They looked so cute together. We went on a boat ride. It was Alexa’s first boat ride. I think she liked it. She didn’t like the life jacket though. I think it was too warm for her, so we decided to take it off. We really had a great time…….
First airplane ride!
We went to MN for Karla’s wedding. Just got back last night. We left on 5/18/07 and came back on 5/21/07. Alexa did really well on the plane. She only cried a couple times on the way there and a couple times on the way back. I nursed her on the plane and we gave her rice cereal. Alexa sure was not happy when we got stuck in traffic on I-494 when we were driving to Sauk Centre. Think she’s tired though from the trip. Everybody said Alexa is an adorable baby. I have to agree with that
Alexa was getting upset at the reception. Think it was too late for her and I am sure it was too many people for her to meet. She wouldn’t let people hold her. She held on to me really tight and she kept saying “ma ma ma ma”. The trip was a success and we are glad everybody got to meet our little angel.
Roll, roll, roll!
Today Alexa decided that she is sick of being on her back all the time, so she started rolling over and she wouldn’t stop. I was having trouble changing her diaper because she kept rolling over. Neal lowered her mattress in the crib today. What should I expect for tomorrow? I am sure it’s another surprise
Oh yeah, she still hates the green beans.
Mi little scoocher!
Happy 6 months and lots of first!
Alexa turned 6 months old today. I can’t believe she is 6 months already. She is growing too fast. Tell you the truth, I am not sure I am ready for it She is so much fun… I am enjoying all the time I spend with her. Oh yeah, she actually sits up on her own now. She loves her rice cereal and oatmeal. She likes carrots, squash, sweet peas, sweet potatoes. She is not too crazy about green beans. Seems to me that she doesn’t really like fruit right now which is fine by me. She is also learning to use her sippy cup and drinking from the straw. I think she almost got it. She loves eating and drinking with her spoon. Usually after I feed her with solid food, I give her some water using the spoon and she likes that. She figured out the spoon already for sure When she sees the spoon, she opens her mouth. I am still nursing her. Looks like she’ll probably go directly to sippy cup She still doesn’t like formula. Guess Alexa knows what she wants. I still get this amazing feeling every time she smiles and laughs.
Her two bottom teeth are out. The two top one are coming in now. Yup…. this makes nursing a little bit difficult. Wish me luck 
Alexa had her first Easter (4/8/07). Think she knew we had guests that Saturday (4/7/07) because she refused to sleep. She wanted to stay up and spent time with everybody. We had Rina, Tito, Ken, Paul, Chili and Kurt. We had ham and I made marshmallow topped sweet potato baked and broccoli rice casserole. Rina made dessert. Everything was yummy and we enjoyed spending the time with our friends.
Alexa knows daddy and mommy very well now. She knows daddy is the “fun” one. She looks for daddy when she is all fresh and ready to play. When she gets tired, cranky, hungry and needs comfort, she looks for mommy. Oh well, I still love her with all my heart.
She is also saying “ma ma” now. That makes me feel so good even though that might just be her babbling She says it a lot though.
Took her to the doctor’s appointment for her 6 months check up. Alexa got 3 shots. Oh wow, she was super mad. It’s been a while since I saw her that mad. She is doing well though. She weighs 16 lbs 1 oz (50-75%), her height is 27″ (90%) and her head circumference is 45 cm (97%).
I am looking forward to see what she’ll learn next. She always keeps me entertained. Everyday is never the same. It’s always something new. It’s a journey and I am so glad I get to take the journey with her.
Yucky green beans.
Alexa tried something else other than rice cereal today. It was green beans. She probably thought it was yucky. Her facial expression was so funny. I was laughing so hard because of it
I am hoping by letting her try the veggies first, she wouldn’t become a picky eater like daddy. I can only hope
No luck.
Still no luck with the bottle. I think those 3 nights when Alexa took the bottle, she was super tired and didn’t realize what’s going on. I tried yesterday twice, she rejected it. Oh well… guess she knows what she wants
Breaking news!
I got Alexa to take a bottle with formula in it last night while she was sleeping. Victory for mommy
Hopefully she’ll take it again tonight.
Back from vacation.
We came back from our vacation with Neal’s family yesterday. We went to Pigeon Forge, TN. We were there from 2/24/07-2/28/07. Alexa, Neal and I had a very great time. The resort was really nice, we would come back there again. Everybody thinks Alexa is very cute. They also think she is mommy’s little girl right now What can I say…. I am the only food source right now so I have to be her favorite person Sarah was so cute. I can’t believe how big she is now. She is 2 1/2 years. Oh wow, she is 100% daddy’s little girl. Sarah loves babies. She got very excited every time she saw Alexa. They were so adorable together. She would say “hi baby Alexa, how are you doing?”. She got Alexa to sit on her lap and she kissed Alexa a lot too I think it’s super cute when she insisted that she is having a baby sister and not a baby brother. I guess a baby brother is out of the question
Let’s see… everything with the vacation was great except for the ride there and back. Neal and I think Alexa has a 100 miles limit now. Hopefully that will change as she gets older. She only likes short car ride, 280 miles was way too much for her. Let me put it this way, I’ve never seen her that mad before. On our way there, she was fine the first 180 miles since she was sleeping. After the 180 miles, she was upset. Coming back was worst, she was only fine the first 80 miles. The rest of it was crying and screaming all the way. Well, I guess she stopped and fell asleep a few minutes here and there between the crying and screaming. Neal and I felt bad about it.
Sad news was Neal’s grandma passed away on Tuesday, 2/27/07. She was 81. She had a stroke and never regain consciousness. Neal was trying to go back for the funeral this weekend but no ticket was available.
Yummy rice cereal!
Alexa got to try rice cereal today…. I am not quite sure if she liked it or not yet. She did pretty good though. It was pretty funny, I think she was wondering what the heck I was feeding her. We’ll see next week when we try again…. Everyday is a journey with Alexa. I can’t believe she is in her 5th month now. She is growing way too fast…. I am enjoying her so much
Breaking news!
Alexa slept in her crib in her room for the first time last night…….. She is a big girl now. Daddy had separation anxiety and didn’t like having Alexa sleeping in her room by herself
Happy 4 months.
Alexa is 4 months old today. She is really getting bigger and stronger. I took her for her 4 months check up. She received 4 shots today and she was really mad about that. She is doing really well and growing fast. Dr. Khan said Alexa is already teething now…. She said we can start introducing solid to her if we want to since Alexa has really good head control. She told us not to rush and just take our time. Neal and I have not decided if we should start introducing solid to her now or if we should wait. Alexa’s height is 24.5 inch (50-75%), her weight is 14 lbs 1.6 oz (50-75%) and her head circumference is 42.25 cm (75-90%).
Like father like daughter!
Alexa will celebrate her 4 month birthday this Friday. She is 17 weeks now. Time goes by so fast… It does not feel like it’s been 17 weeks since I gave birth to Alexa. She is growing fast. She is really getting stronger and she is so much fun to be around.
Her personality is starting to come out now. She is stubborn and picky. I tried giving Alexa formula a couple times when we went out and I didn’t have time to pump. Oh wow, she refused to eat. She would rather starve than drink the formula. In fact, she got mad at me for trying to give her formula. So, Neal and I decided that maybe she is not ready. After all, she is only 4 months old. We are going to wait now until she is ready. This week I found out that she decided she doesn’t like eating from the bottle even though it’s pumped milk that I put in the bottle. Alexa would rather starve than taking the bottle. I was told Neal was a picky eater when he was a kid. Hmmm, guess like father like daughter. Neal said she is getting spoiled. She knows that she doesn’t have to take the bottle anymore since I am home. What can I say…. Alexa is stubborn and has a mind of her own already.
Oh yeah, she doesn’t like other people besides mom and dad holding her. Neal told me Alexa has “mommy addiction”. Feeding session can be frustrated sometimes for me. I have to wait until Alexa is asleep or half asleep to feed her otherwise she fights eating. I also have to bring her to a quiet room as soon as I see the signs of tiredness from her. People asked me how I like staying home since I always worked before I had Alexa. This is different than work but in a good way. It’s pretty amazing seeing her learn new things and growing everyday. I really truly enjoy staying home with her and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I cannot imagine missing out on all of this stuff.
Bye bye NUK!
I noticed the last couple weeks that it’s been harder to feed Alexa. I can tell that she preferred the NUK than my boob. She started crying on Wednesday night, so I put the NUK in her mouth. Immediately, she stopped crying and she fell asleep. I pulled the NUK out after she fell asleep and as soon as I pulled it out, she woke up and started crying again. So, I said to myself “crap, she is addicted to the NUK and this is not good”. I did my research online and I guess I am not the only person having this issue. I decided to be brave and stop giving her the NUK at all especially after I read about the fact that pacifier will affect teeth alignment. Call me selfish, but it’s also because I am too lazy to pump since I don’t work anymore. Don’t see the need of doing that extra step especially since I am staying home now. The first day and second day were really hard. Alexa was upset and mad. I can honestly say I was exhausted those two days. Today is better. I think Alexa might have forgotten about her NUK. I think she got over her NUK addiction. It was easier to feed her the whole day today. Thank God……….
A test for mommy.
Alexa is 15 weeks old today. Today was a test for me. Oma left yesterday to go back to Indonesia. Today was the first day of me being home by myself with Alexa and I think Alexa knows it. Oma was a lot of help, we miss her already. Oma really helped Neal and I adjust to life as parents. We really appreciate everything she did, more than words can describe. I learned so much from my mom about being a mom. I think my mom would probably call me stubborn because sometimes I refused to listen to her. Hope my mom knows that I still love her and I just have a mind of my own. I have to be stubborn and have a mind of my own in order for me to survive this long in the States. Hint…. hint I think Alexa has some of my stubbornness. Today opened my eyes and I have more respect for stay-at-home mothers now. Raising a baby is a full time job. It’s not an easy job and I hope I can do this job right. Oh yeah, Alexa decided to cry and cry and cry today. She refused to eat or take naps. She is finally sleeping now…. and I hope that means I passed the test because I want to be a great mom for her. She is everything to me and Neal and I want to do this right. Everyday is a journey and tomorrow will be better.
First laugh!
I came home for lunch today… and I am glad that I did that because I got to witness Alexa’s first laugh. I do have to say that it was an amazing feeling. Today was big and special. Alexa is 12 weeks old today. Yup, she is growing fast. I was playing with her and kissing her cheeks over and over again and she suddenly started laughing and giggling. It was great. She was so cute…. So, I turned in my resignation on Tuesday (1/2/07) and today (1/8/07) they announced that they are closing the Suwanee facility. I think this is so weird because even if I didn’t turn in my resignation, I was still going to end up losing my job because Neal and I just can’t move right now. I think this is all part of God’s plan. I don’t know what God’s plan is but I know and believe that everything will work out the way it’s supposed to be. I am really looking forward to see what’s out there and what’s next for me. Until I figure out what that is, I am going to take a break and stay home with Alexa which I know I will enjoy very much. Life has a funny way of working itself out…
First Christmas!
Yeah, it’s Alexa’s first Christmas. She is officially 10 weeks old now. We were going to go to the mall to get Alexa’s Christmas outfit on Christmas Eve. Surprise… surprise, Neal and I have become a last minute planner ever since Alexa was born 10 weeks ago
I think our friend, Angela, read our mind from Iowa. We got her package on Christmas Eve and she sent a Christmas outfit for Alexa. Thanks Angela!!! We love you. We still went to the mall anyway. We went to Macy’s to buy more ornaments for our Christmas tree since our tree did not have too many ornaments and it did not seem like a Christmas tree
Then, we decorated our Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. Neal and I decided to get into the Christmas spirit. It has been a really busy year for us. The tree turned out really well and looked more like a “Christmas tree” after we finished decorating it. The great thing is Alexa loves the Christmas tree now. Neal and I decided to have a quiet and relaxing Christmas and just spend it with Alexa. We had a great time. We bought ham from Kroger and sides from Honey Baked Ham. The sweet potato souffle and the broccoli rice casserole were awesome. We really enjoyed it. Alexa is growing so fast. She changes everyday and it’s an amazing feeling to see her change everyday. She is getting more adorable everyday.
Second month appointment.
Unbelievable!! Alexa is almost ten weeks now. She will be ten weeks old on Christmas day. This year has been an amazing year for us and next year will be better. Alexa has changed our life. Alexa has given me so much joy in this last 9 weeks. When she looks at me with her smile, she melts my heart. I am falling in love with her more and more everyday. Every minutes I spend with her, I truly enjoy it. I love being a parent. I would do anything for this little girl. I have been so blessed to have Neal and Alexa in my life. Sometimes I wonder what I did to deserve having both of them in my life. Alexa stole my heart the minute she came out of me. She smiles a lot now. She is also getting stronger, she can hold her head up. She is so active and very observant. We took her for her second month doctor’s appointment today (12/22/06). She loves Dr. Khan. She got her 4 shots and she wasn’t too happy about it. It took her a while to calm down. Alexa is doing so well and growing so fast. She weighs at 11 lbs 2 oz (50-75%), her height is 23″ (75%) and her head circumference is 16″ (90%). One thing I have to say, Alexa is the best Christmas gift that I could ever asked for. We have so much to be thankful this Christmas. On top of our list is Alexa and all our our family and friends. I am looking forward to 2007 and see what God has planned for us.
Growing fast.
It’s been a pretty amazing journey. I can’t believe Alexa is going to be 8 weeks old tomorrow. She is growing so fast. She is cute and adorable. Neal and I love spending time with her. We love being parents. She is so much fun. She smiles at us. It makes me feel so great when she smiles at me. I think I will have a really hard time when I have to leave her at a day care to go to work. Tell you the truth, I am not sure I want to do it. Neal and I have been talking about our options. Never ever thought I would say this before I had her. I love her more and more everyday. I am ready to sacrifice anything for her. I cannot imagine my life without her. She is our life now
Alexa has her nights and days figured out pretty much. She sleeps really good at night now. She has a routine now. She sleeps about 4-5 hours at night now. She wakes up about 7 am every morning. She does not like sleeping during the day anymore. Yup, she is a “cat napper”. I should be thankful that she is sleeping at night actually. She usually passes out about 7 pm-8 pm. Probably because she refuses to take naps during the day. I think Alexa does not like it when the sun goes down. She does not like the transition from day to night because she does not like darkness. She usually gets pretty cranky and moody around 5-6 pm and that’s when the sun goes down right now.
5 weeks old.
Alexa is 5 weeks today. Sometimes I still can’t believe that she is here. She is growing, stronger and changing everyday. She is getting cuter and more adorable too. She is smiling more and she started holding her head up. She is so amazing. I am so thankful to have her in my life. She is a blessing. I am going to have a really hard time to go back to work. She is a full time job but I wouldn’t change a thing. Parenthood has been an amazing journey for me. She thought me so much stuff already. I learned so much from Alexa already.
1 month old.
Wow… Alexa is actually 1 month old today. We went to the doctor for her one month check up. She is doing really well. She wasn’t too happy about the shot though. She got her 2nd hepatitis B shot today. Alexa is 9 lbs 5 oz (50%), 21.5″ (50-75%) and her head circumference is 15″ (75%). She is growing and she is becoming stronger and stronger. Amazing to see how she changes everyday. Neal and I cannot imagine our lives without her. This is an amazing journey.
3 weeks old and meet the grandparents.
Alexa is 3 weeks old today. Neal and I are adjusting well to being parents. She is getting cuter and more more adorable everyday. We are falling in love with her more and more everyday. Amazing how our body adjusts to having less sleep. This has been an amazing experience for Neal and I and we wouldn’t change a thing. Alexa is truly a gift from God. She is a blessing. We are thankful to have her in our life and we can’t imagine our life without her. She is getting better at sleeping at night. I think she is starting to figure out her nights and days which is good for mommy and daddy.
Neal’s parents were here this past weekend (Nov 1-Nov 6). They fell in love with Alexa instantly. Alexa had a busy weekend again. Daddy got to celebrate his 28th birthday with grandma and grandpa and Alexa which was a great for daddy. Alexa got to go to Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse on Saturday and on Friday we all (grandma, grandpa, oma, Alexa, mommy and daddy) went to Amicalola Falls. Two big weekends in a row for Alexa. Alexa loves riding in the car too.
Big weekend for Alexa.
It was a big weekend for Alexa. Auntie Novie and uncle Vivek came to visit from Dallas, TX (Oct 27-Oct 30). We took Alexa to Longhorn Steakhouse on Friday night. Then, on Saturday night we took Alexa out to Antica Pasta in Buckhead. The waiter wasn’t too nice there. When I asked for hot water, they gave me warm water. Then, they added water to the breastmilk. Safe to say, Alexa wasn’t too happy that night. She was starving. She sucked my finger really hard. On Sunday, we went to Chateau Elan for the winery tour which wasn’t too impressive. We also went to 57th Fighter Group Restaurant for their Sunday brunch. The brunch was great. Alexa did really well the whole weekend. I was really impressed.
2 weeks appointment.
Took Alexa for her two weeks appointment. She is doing really well. She weighs 8 lbs 3 oz and 21″ now. She is also sleeping a little bit better at night which is good for Neal and I.
Almost 2 weeks old.
Alexa is almost two weeks old. Can’t believe that. Neal and I are still trying to get used to the “sleepless” nights. Neal pretty much live from coffee. Alexa sleeps very good during the day but not at night. Doctor told us that’s common and it takes a while for baby to change that. We took her to the first doctor’s appointment on Oct 20 and everything is looking good. She is a healthy baby. We wouldn’t change a thing. She is so adorable and cute and such a blessing. I never thought something so small would take so much energy out of me though. First two nights were really tough for Neal and I. I think we are going to wait a while before we decide to have another one.
First bath.
Alexa had her first bath. Hmm she didn’t like being wet. I am sure in time, she will enjoy bath time.
I think she's coming!
It was the longest 3 1/2 hours in my life. The labor came very fast. I started feeling it on Monday 10/16/06 at 1 am but it was immediately at 3-4 minutes apart. Never felt anything like that before in my life I guess Alexa decided that she didn’t want to get induced. My two thyroid surgeries was nothing and I figured it out why. It’s because they put me under. Anyway, by the time we got to the hospital, they told us the baby wasn’t going to be born probably until mid-day and I was only 4 cm dilated. They were so wrong. I can’t believe they made me sign a bunch of forms even though I was in pain. They couldn’t give me the epidural until my blood work came back and it took forever because it was in the middle of the night. By the time it came back, they told me no epidural for me because my platelets counts were low. So, they took my blood to do another counts. Right after that, they told me I was fully dilated already and epidural was too late. So, I did it the natural natural way since I had no choice. Yes, worst pain in my life and longest 3 1/2 hours in my life. She came at 4:18 am. after 15 minutes pushing. She is such a blessing though. She is so beautiful. It’s worth every pain even though epidural would be great Neal was trying to touch my hand and comfort me and I told him not to touch me He got lucky and he got off easy.
Might need to get induce.
The weekend is almost over and no baby yet. Went for a walk at the mall to see if it would help. But, no sign of Alexa. Guess I am just going to go in for my exam on Monday and choose a date to get induced.
40 weeks appointment.
I had my 40th week check up today. No baby yet. They did another ultrasound to make sure everything is ok before the weekend. They also stripped my membrane. The doctor wanted to let me go through the weekend to see if Alexa would decide to come by herself. Neal and I are so ready for her to come out. If she doesn’t come by Monday, Oct 16, 2006, the doctor wants to induce me.
39 weeks appointment.
Went for my 39th week check up. Still nothing. The doctor said she could feel the baby’s head. Guess that’s a good sign. I am ready but I just have to be patient.
Still waiting.
Went for my checkup…. Still nothing. I am not in labor. It looks like she decided to take her time and just hang out. I am so ready but I guess I just need to be patient. She will come whenever she wants to. Maybe she is as stubborn as Neal and I which means we are in trouble. I am trying to be patient and just enjoy this last couple weeks.
Hasn't dropped yet.
Had my doctor’s appointment. They told me that baby Alexa is head down now but she hasn’t dropped yet. They also told me that with first time mom who has healthy pregnancy, the baby usually comes late. She is probably very comfortable and taking her time now. My doctor told me to take it easy and enjoy it. I do have to say “I am ready” but I just have to be patient. She will come whenever she wants to.
Shopping for baby.
We went to Babies “R” Us and Target and did our last minute shopping. Think we pretty much have everything now for the baby. Just need to finish packing my labor bag. Hope she knows not to come until I am done doing that 
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Last baby shower!
I had my last baby shower today. The people at work threw me a baby shower. It went really well. They were all so sweet. I had fun and we got lots of nice and cute stuff. Kami made the cake. All I can say about Kami is she is very talented. The cake was awesome and delicious. We have been blessed to have all these people in our life. We’ll be sad when we have to move because we really feel that Georgia is our home now.
36 weeks appointment.
Had my appointment today. 36 weeks now. I am still trying to get my brain wrap around it. The baby could come anytime now. We are finally done with the nursery now. The doctor said everything is looking good and I just need to sit back and relax and enjoy it.
34 weeks appointment
Had my appointment today. Wow 34 weeks …. It’s getting closer. The doctor told me that everything is looking really good and I need to take it easy this last few weeks. Neal and I are planning to paint the nursery this weekend since it’s a 3 days weekend. We picked up the paint last week. It’s been decided, we are going with purple. I can feel it that she is getting bigger and more active. We are getting really excited. My mom is coming the end of this month to help with the baby. Next appointment is in 2 weeks for my 36 weeks.
32 weeks appointment
Had my appointment today.I cannot believe that I am at my 32nd week now. Crazy ………. 8 more to go. It will be here before I know it. She is getting bigger and more active everyday. The doctor said everything is looking normal and looking very good. Next thing we need to do now is paint the room and get the nursery ready . We are so excited about everything. Neal and I decided that it’s time to focus on the her now. I am sure she will need lots of attentions from us when she comes out. You just never thought that you could ever love somebody that you’ve never seen this much. It’s an amazing feeling.
Baby shower.
We had our baby shower today. Kurt and Hong threw us the shower. It was great. We had a great time. Rina made the cake. I have to say that the cake was delicious. Kimberly organized the shower with Hong. I have to say that we are very lucky to have such great friends down here even though Neal and I do not have any family in Atlanta. We do need to start painting the room. Neal and I decided on purple. We are getting very excited. She is getting very very active. It’s been a great pregnancy.
30 weeks appointment.
I had my appointment today. The doctor said my test from last time (glucose test) came back normal. My TSH is also normal. She is getting so active with the kicking. Neal and I are getting really excited. We are entering our 30th week. 10 more to go Unbelievable. She will be here before I know it. Neal talks to her every night. I am getting bigger and bigger everyday. The doctor said I am right on target as far as gaining weight. Oh well, I guess that’s part of being pregnant. I’ve been so lucky because I have such a great pregnancy so far.
Another appointment.
I had my appointment today. They did the glucose testing and listened to the heartbeat. She is getting bigger and stronger everyday. I can feel her moving a lot more and more everyday. Wow… 14 more weeks to go. That will be here before we know it. Neal and I really like one name so if we can’t find anything else that we like before the baby comes. We really like Alexa. That would probably be the name we go with. We finished our baby registry at Target. We have lots of stuff to do before the baby comes. We bought the crib, changing table and bedding. We chose a theme for the nursery: Winnie The Pooh since I always love Winnie The Pooh.
Ultrasound day.
Half way there.
I can’t believe it. We are entering our 21st week now. It’s so amazing. I am half way through. I have a little belly now I can tell the baby is getting bigger and it has been more active. I can feel the baby moving around now. It’s a a great feeling. Four more days (5/31/06), and we are having our first ultrasound. We are getting really excited for the ultrasound to see him/her for the first time. People asked if we want a girl or a boy and we told them that we really don’t care as long as the baby is healthy. Neal and I decided that we want to know the sex of the baby that way we can start getting ready for the baby. We’ll know what color we should paint the room 
and we can start choosing the name.
3rd appointment.
It’s our 3rd appointment. Neal didn’t come with me this time. It was a really quick appointment. I got to listen to the baby’s heartbeat. The baby’s heartbeat was getting stronger. I was very glad. Everything’s looking great.
2nd appointment.
We had our second appointment. Neal came with me. They told us that all the test results came back normal which we were so glad to hear. We also got to hear the baby’s heartbeat for the first time. That was an amazing feeling. It hit me that there’s a human being growing inside me. It’s a miracle of God.
1st appointment.
Today we had our first doctor’s appointment. I was really nervous. They gave Neal and I a lot of information and they took my blood to do lots of different testings. According to the doctor, everything looked great. We were so happy They told us that they would let us know the results at the next appointment.
. Her back was facing us when the ultrasound was done. They were having trouble trying to get her to turn. Stubborn just like daddy 
