Andrew Aidan, Our Fighting Warrior!

Andrew Aidan and his dog Beemer have been the pride and joy of their parents, Michelle & Roi ever since they were born. AA loved to take walks outside, play with his best friend Beemer and his Thomas the Tank Engine set of toys along with any other plane, helicopter, car, truck toy he can get his hand on. For those that have met him, they saw the soul of a mature adult in the body of a sweet, loving boy with a beautiful smile. He bravely battled an aggressive, inoperable, rare form of brain tumor called Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumor or AT/RT that spread to his spine as well. This type of cancer effects less than 50 children a year in this country. He has been an inspiration to us and we are sure he will be a vessel of motivation to those in similar situations. Thank you God for protecting our boy!

Thank You!
Andrew Aidan (R.I.P.) , Michelle (Mother), Roi (Dad) & Beemer

Friday, March 2, 2012

Andrew's Overture


The great gift of family life is to be intimately acquainted with people you might never introduce yourself to, had not life done it for you. –Kendall Hailey

The days are all but a blur in the present. It feels like we are living one very long day at a time. It reminds me of a theory described in Quantum Physics known as the Time Continuum. The Time Continuum is the concept of Space, Time and Energy weaving themselves together. Each has its own properties and behaviours but one cannot exist without the others. Theoretically, each of them has no beginning and no end, and they are all one entity but are changeable, depending on different phases of energetic matter in which they appear and decay together (http://www.grandunifiedtheory.org.il/Book6/html/Time_continuum.htm). Our Space, is a magnanimous sphere of hope that hosts the wonderful ballet that is performed by our souls on a daily basis as we saute (French for "jump" & also a common ballet move) into the beautiful moments of our Time. Our Time is best described by the wonderful memories that we have with AA. Memories that form a living collage of laughter, happiness, sorrow, fear, peace and endless questions that are ever present and never ending. An infinite catalogue of vivid experiences that stream through our very veins and nerves at light speed and builds into our Energy, our love for Andrew Aidan. An amazing love that has been inspired by his purpose in life. A love that we always envisioned and are lucky enough to have experienced. Our boy is amazing and we have seen how wonderful he is through the symbiotic (a similar relationship between interdependent persons or groups) relationship we have with him, but also through the impact that he has had on so many of you, AA's friends, family and new friends acquired during this journey. It is a true testament to the glorious impact he has had while on this planet and on so many people. 
Our Warrior had a good day today, we were fortunate enough to have him spend a good amount of time awake today. He watched his cartoons, ate some more mashed potatoes and drank water. He even did some of his signature dance moves while watching his shows. We were also happy to have him interact with us as well. Dada even had the chance to take a nice 2 hour nap with AA. A ritual we have mastered so well since he was young. Those naps are always the best. There is nothing like waking to the sight, touch and smell of one that is so intimately connected to your soul. He even asked Dada to pray before he went to bed, something we taught him in December. A tool I am sure will suit him well in Heaven.  We also had the honor of having some friends and family come and visit him. It sure did help us to distract our minds and it was great to see the love that exists for AA. Not to mention he did not feel bothered by the different people. 
We would like to invite anyone that would like to see AA to come by the hospital and do so, but there are some conditions that need to be followed. The hospital has been very gracious in allowing us to have many visitors come see AA because he is very much loved here, but we have to consider the other critical patients that are on this floor. 1) If, your or any one you know has been sick in the last couple of days, you should not come because it is a serious risk to the other families fighting cancer. 2) The hospital is a place for recuperation and regeneration, we ask that you please act accordingly and be as subtle as possible to our fellow patients and cancer fighters. 3) We ask that you notify us of when you would like to come in order to coordinate the flow of people accordingly. We can not have 20 people at a time here because there is no waiting room on this floor, groups of 2-4 people is the most that we can have at any given time. As a result, we would love to have you see him but just be patient. Write us a text message if you have our cell phone numbers telling us when you would like to come by. Or you can just shoot us an e-mail (r.legar@gmail.com or m.legar@gmail.com) with the same info and we would do our best to make it happen. We are staying in room 937 at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center located at 1275 York Avenue (Between 68th & 67th Streets) NY, NY 
We love you all very much and look forward to seeing you soon. God Bless!


Roi & Michelle

Thursday, March 1, 2012

New You Tube Videos Posted..

Hello everyone...
We just wanted to let you know that we have uploaded some more videos to Andrew Aidan's YouTube Channel.. There are some cute ones there.  Please check them out when you have a chance...We will be continually posting new videos as the days go on..And please spread and share the word on his channel..
www.youtube.com/user/musicforandrew
Roi

Mommy & Me

"Mama. Ahmm"

Did you ever wonder how a child ended up with a specific mother?
According to Sufi mysticism, the soul of the child looks down at the world
And sees every soul that resides in every woman.
When he finds the one that will be able to help him fulfill his life’s purpose, he makes his choice.
The relationship between the mother and child is no accident.
At times the child may reject his mother and wish he had a different one.
Remember your soul made the choice for a reason. This woman can help you live your purpose.


Michelle had a very touching wake up call today…at around 5:30am she felt something touching her face and when she opened her eyes it was her “baby” caressing her face and blowing her kisses. He told his mama that he wanted to eat and mama and baby ate croissants together and watched Bob the Builder for about half an hour until they both fell asleep. A pretty awesome experience for them both to share. I was glad they had it…
Today…Well today was another day in this tough journey. I feel like we are still in a state of shock regarding our warrior. We took some time early this morning to go with my aunt Linda to see the children’s section where AA will lie in peace shortly which I had not seen. We decided on the final design for his headstone, while getting him his beautiful and angelic white suit. He will be arriving to Heaven in style. We got him a beautiful white three button suit with a white vest, shirt and bow tie. It is something we never thought we would have to do and I broke down when I gave Michelle the money to pay the bill. A very hard thing to do. We also had to go to the funeral home to drop off AA’s suit and some toys that he will be taking with him to Heaven. We decided to have AA’s viewing as a one night function and he will be remembered through pictures as we observe him in a closed casket. We were happy that my mom and our hospice RN Kristi were able to help us this morning and watch AA while he is in fairly stable condition in order for us to perform these duties.  He overall had a good day and was up speaking and ate a bit more. He watched Bob and Chuggington as well. He also had a “moment” with his Child Life Specialist Alyson when he threw her a kiss. Persistence pays off Alyson! J  He also had a plaster mold done of his cute hands and he actually did not fuss about it. For us, we actually had our first counseling session. It is something that we will be using in order to help us cope with such an event and to help us stay together. Modern day statistics state that 50% of marriages end up in divorce and 95% of parents of children with cancer end up in divorce. Obviously, we want to do everything we can to stay together and we were both happy that we did it. It was productive and we were on the same page for so many things. We did this because we want to be proactive and work on our feelings, not because we are having issues. We are pretty amazed at how well we have been handling this whole experience as a team….
Roi & Michelle.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Our Final Admission

Hello everyone...
It is with extreme sadness that we have to tell you that today we have been admitted for the very last time during AA's battle with cancer. We have decided to stay because AA has been on a very rapid rate of decline and the doctors all believe that his time to move on with the Lord will be coming very soon. Last night he was vomitting quite a bit and we had to come in to the hospital this morning to get him some fluids he was in need of. We are preparing him now for his promotion to the position of Angel/Saint in Heaven which can happen at any time. He has been a remarkable man through out and He is now needed for much bigger work in Heaven. In these upcoming days as we near his transition to his new and pain free life I would like to invite any and all to send him a brief note via email in order for us to read it to him as encouragement for his wonderful new life. May God grant us peace and strength.
Michelle and Roi

Monday, February 27, 2012

Heading Home

Just want to let everyone know that we are going home in a couple of minutes. Thanks for the support and well wishes. AA is doing better thankfully.
have a good night. Love you all.
Roi & Michelle

Time

" A grain, a second...A memory...a lifetime..."

What do you do when when the grains of time slowly slip through the worn cracks of your hands? Or the sad winds of loss call to you like a haunting memory? The voyage through the desert is a long one that many do not last but grateful are those that do...We have been on our caravan through this horrible desert for quite a while now and as we finish this spiritual safari we are preparing for our next trip in the next desert. The desert of loneliness as one our team members, AA prepares for a new and wonderful journey as one of God's Angel and Saints. We have to be happy for him because he will finally have some peace in terms of his health. He will be able to protect us from heaven as we continue to honor his time with us through our lives. He always was the reason why we lived and will continue to be as he goes on to the next phase of life, because we hope to be with him one day as we all see the sun set in the desert dunes together.

This weekend  sure has been an eventful one. I am going to start with Sunday's events...AA has been doing better at home...He has been eating and drinking while speaking a lot more. He said some new words such as, "no More", "Blue", "Orange Juice"...So happy to see him have some progress and he even stood up...Amazing given that his body is really taking a beating from this horrible monster called AT/RT...We wanted to thank Fr. Jack from Our Lady of Fatima Roman Catholic Church for coming by and giving us all a special blessing. AA was happy to see Beemer too. Beemer was very overprotective of him and laid right by his feet as he protected his buddy. AA sat up on his high chair this weekend for at least four hours which was the longest he has ever sat up in months. 

Although we are in hospice care right now we still feel like we are still at Sloan because Dr. Lightner calls every other day to see how we are. He has been in pain at times, we have had to give him pain meds that work well for him...at this point he doesn't need hard core pain meds yet so we are happy that Dilaudid works well for him....We also want to thank Michelle's parents for really helping us out with breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday...it has really taken a load off of our pockets and time...we are able to spend all day with AA as a result... We were also hoping to take AA out more being that he is not neutropenic. As we were heading out to take him on a walk he started to shake his hands and head slightly. We decided to bring him in and put him on the bed and Michelle thought that he might be having a seizure and then his mouth started to twitch, she was right. She gave him two doses of anti seizure medicine but that didn't work.  As a result we had to call 911 and the FDNY and EMS came to our house and helped break AA's seizure with some Valium. We then rushed to Sloan. We were surprised how calm Michelle was during this because she gave him the appropriate medicine and stabilized him.  Unfortunately, two dosages of Ativan did not work. We want to give a special thanks to Dr. Lightner (and her husband Chris) again who left her family to come see how AA was and ordered all the appropriate tests. She then went to have dinner with her family and then came back to spend time and observe him. After his seizure his right side was very weak (similar to stroke patients) but it resolved in hours as opposed to days, quicker than the Doctors thought. I am telling you, AA has made almost everyone in this hospital earn their salaries. All the doctors were surprised how quickly he got better.  AA was really scared for the first time  when the seizure started. He asked Mama and Dada to stay by his side because he knew something was going on. That really broke our hearts. To put more salt on our wound, the CT scan given to him last night showed that the brain was not bleeding but that the cancer has really spread like wild fire...given how bad the disease has spread the Doctors and we are totally amazed at how well he looks given the situation. They marvel at his willingness to fight.  This warrior was even given a high dose med for seizures that should of knocked him out but it didn't.  That dosage was equal to one pint of vodka for an adult and he was wide awake until 6am while we were falling asleep. On top of that, the dvd player in the room didn't work and that made matters worse.. All he did was slap us silly in the face and tell us to wake up to put the Chugginton dvd on. He obviously didn't understand that it was broken...Yesterday was the second time, I had to just walk away for a couple of minutes..I was so mad at this whole crappy situation for our boy, but never at him he is the light of our lives and souls. 
The docs were also nice enough to let us stay last night and gave us the option to stay for another day but we want to get home ASAP... Our hospice nurse Kristi is amazing. She rushed to our home once we called about the seizure and flew by our side as we went through this ordeal. She went with us to the hospital and left the hospital at almost 11:30. She really has been a great emotional and medical help. We also wanted to thank Michelle's parents, sister, my aunt Linda, Uncle Mario and my mom for coming by our side yesterday. Thanks for the support. Until next time!!!
AA, Roi & Michelle 







Sunday, February 26, 2012

AA's First Seizure.

Had to be rushed to Sloan because AA had his first seizure a short while ago. Not a bad one but it will be something that can be happening more frequently as he gets worse. Will stay they night at the hospital for observation. More updates to come.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Thank You For 10,000 Blog Visits

We truly wanted to thank everyone for helping us promote AA's blog and the greatness of his story and the way he has touched the lives of soo many people around the world. 10,000 views in almost 8 months is amazing. I promise you I did not look at the page that many times. Thanks again and thanks be to God and his many angels and saints for coming to our side during this experience. You have all been magnificent. Thank you.
AA, Michelle & Roi

Thank You All for Your Support

Over the last two weeks we have seen the amazing ability of humans to pull together during extreme circumstances such as the battle we are currently in to save our son's life. We have had people from across the globe come to our site and view AA's story. Such as been the response that some have felt compelled to help us in this battle. We appreciate the fact that many are spreading the word about AA's story as we prepare for the next phase of life. Thank you very much!

AA, Michelle & Roi

Friday, February 24, 2012

Food For Thought...

AA's day was pretty good today...We were at Sloan today to get his mediport lines changed and to get some blood work done. Gotta say he did pretty good. He ate a good amount of food today and was in pretty good spirits. He has been sleeping for a bit and here I am thinking...thinking I was very happy for him and was glad to see him show off his million dollar smile again on a number of ocassions. He has been a true champ throughout this whole process. Loved he is, beyond measure.
Thinking...about how I wished all of this could have been different. I only hope that God has a miracle up his sleeve. Well I came across this quote that rang true to me and just wanted to share it with you. Have a great evening everyone and we will keep the updates coming. Stay true to yourself, appreciate those who are strong enough to stay by your side and enjoy every single moment as much as you can....
Roi

" Solitude is the profoundest fact of the human condition. Man is the the only being who knows he is alone and the only one who seeks...To realize himself in another ".

Octavio Paz (1914-1998)
The Labyrinth of Solitude

Cartoons & Bread With AA @ 3am...Priceless

12 midnight IV changed done..spending time eating bread and watching Chuggington at 3am with AA my cancer warrior...Priceless. Dada Roi.

AA's You Tube Channel, More To Come...Spread the word....

www.youtube.com/user/musicforandrew

Just wanted to thank everyone for seeing "AA's Videos" via the You Tube video viewer on the left hand side of our blog. If you would like to see his full You Tube Channel with all of his videos please view the web page below. Thank you for honoring our little man's spirit and life by viewing his videos. We will be putting up videos from past and present. We are also trying to raise funds by having many, many people view these videos, so if you may spread the word to all of your friends and family we would greatly appreciate it. Hopefully the positive vibes these videos create will reach Heaven and God could perform his miracle of keeping him alive.
Thank you all!

Roi & Michelle



Guess Who Is On Twitter...Andrew Aidan Is...Follow us!

@Andrew_LeGar








Hi Everyone.....
Andrew Aidan is now on twitter....We look forward to spreading the word on the amazing story of AA and of the belief in Love, Hope & Miracles.  We look forward to the support and ask that you follow us if you are on twitter. Please spread the word....Thanks!
Roi

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

A Special Thank You To My Family From Puerto Rico That Came To Visit

I wanted to say a special thank you to some very special people that were kind enough to fly from Puerto Rico & Orlando to visit Michelle, AA & myself during a very difficult time this past week, Carlos, Vivian & Raul. All three are very beautiful people that have been in my life for a very long time and have shown how special they are. We love all three of you very much. ¡Muchas gracías a los trés! Los queremos mucho!
AA, Michelle y Roi

Looking Ahead


Well, we are enjoying our time at home very much. We were discharged yesterday and got some good news from AA's eye doctor at Sloan. His eyes are in perfect working order. Everything was great and the issues he has been having with his vision is due to the cancer growing. At this point in the game we will take all the victories we can get. This helps us out also because one of the few things that keeps AA entertained is his  love of his favorite cartoons. At least he can continue to see them and have fun.
As always we were very happy to have a nice send off from our friends at Sloan. Dr. Gilheeney, Dr. Lightner, Dr. DeBraganca, Cynthia (la Nutritionista), Alyson (Child Life), Daniel, and Juliana all came by to say bye to us. We thought it was cool and it always helps us out in coping with this situation.
We started the next phase of AA's care last night which is hospice care. We had a great admission RN come visit us, Kristi. She was amazing in her ability to understand our situation and the varied emotions and feelings that we have felt and feel. We wish all RNs were like her.
We are also feeling sleep deprived today because of AA's medication which is administered every six hours via IV. This is the antibiotic for his port infection. We both woke up to help each other but that doesn't make sense. As a result, the infusion nurse came by today and both she and Michelle showed me how to work the new pump and be able to administer the IV meds. Please that was easy, I am a pro already after almost 9 months of this battle. The good thing is that Michelle and I will do the day shift together, then I will do the midnight shift and go to bed and she will do the 6am shift and I can stay sleeping. Lord knows we need as much rest as we can get.
Yesterday and today have been pretty good days. AA is still eating very well. He ate croissants, mozzarella sticks and even had some of his grandma Alicia's rice and meat sauce which he loves. He only ate a bit of that because he was already stuffed from the bread he ate. He also had a bowel movement which was awesome. He also was smiling a lot and chuckling to some of his cartoons and I even caught him singing to some songs as well, especially the Shakira song, "Loba" which he loves.  He also loved seeing Beemer again...
Another thing that surprised us was that he was not scared of all the visitors he had yesterday in the hospital  or from the nursing services. So far today seems pretty good and will keep you all updated later on again today...
Roi & Michelle

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Heading Home...Discharged

It's always great when you get to go home like we are today.
Roi

Another Day

AA & His Buddy Bob The Builder Say "Good Night"


AA was supposed to have two procedures (mediport removal & central line placement) today but he did not. This morning we were told by Dr. G that the infection was being controlled by the antibiotics and it had not grown back since the 18th, so no surgery is needed for now.
Last night AA had a procedure called a Shunt Tap. This is a procedure performed by the neuro-surgery department to see if his shunt is working. It was done because there was a concern that he may be having increased pressure in his brain. Michelle had to leave the room because she could not take hearing AA’s cries, I don’t blame her.  The neuro-surge team put a needle into AA’s shunt which is access through his head. He was not happy and his screams were heard on the other side of the floor. I had to stay to help him be as calm as possible and get the procedure done without him causing the Dr. to injure him since it was not done under anesthesia. After all was done, his inter-cranial pressure was within norm for his age. They took three samples of his CSF (Cerebral Spinal Fluid) and we are still awaiting those results.
Seeing our once vibrant boy starting to wilt away is totally gut wrenching. It is living a tortured existence.  He is having his eyes roll back possibly caused by nerve damage due to the cancer growth in his brain and has not had a bowel movement since last Tuesday. We did give him some Miralax yesterday and some today, hopefully it starts to work soon.
Got some bad news today as well. Yesterday's CT scan showed that the cancer is growing further in his brain. This is the first time that a CT scan has shown growth. We are worried and scared because we do not want our AA to be in any pain or discomfort if this is the route that God wants AA to take.
AA also had a blood transfusion today and some potassium and magnesium given yesterday. Things seem to get worse day by day but we have faith that God is watching over us all. In regards to his eating he has been eating everything in sight. He basically is eating nonstop, everything from croissants, mozzarella sticks, quesadillas, chicken broth, chicken, chicken nuggets, french fries...We are now told that we are going home tomorrow and we will have to administer antibiotics at home. We hope that is the case as we are all ready to get out of here. We will give more updates as we get them.
On the positive side of life, we were notified that the genetic testing performed on AA determined that his cancer was a matter of “Bad Luck” and not the case of Michelle or I giving him this disease. This also means that we do not have the gene for this cancer and are free to give AA as many brothers and sisters as we can handle without worrying that we can cause any of our future children to experience what AA has gone/is going through. Finally, some good news!
Roi & Michelle

Monday, February 20, 2012

Visit AA's Channel on You Tube



Just wanted to thank everyone for seeing "AA's Videos" via the You Tube video viewer on the left hand side of our blog. If you would like to see his full You Tube Channel with all of his videos please view the web page below. Thank you for honoring our little man's spirit and life by viewing his videos. We will be putting up videos from past and present. We are also trying to raise funds by having many, many people view these videos, so if you may spread the word to all of your friends and family we would greatly appreciate it. Hopefully the positive vibes these videos create will reach Heaven and God could perform his miracle of keeping him alive.
Thank you all!

Roi & Michelle

http://www.youtube.com/user/musicforandrew



Sunday, February 19, 2012

AA's Story On Another Web Site

Just wanted to share this pretty cool news that AA's story is being posted on the website for Inspiration Through Art. Inspiration Through Art is an organization that allows families with children with serious illnesses the opportunity to have free photo sessions in order to prevserve family memories. He will also be featured in an upcoming book called "100 Reasons-The Book"..
Check out their website...
http://www.inspirationthroughart.org/

Roi







Sunday Update

Central Line AA will get on Monday


Happy Saturday everyone...
One thing that I can say from our experience with AA during this war with cancer is that it has always kept us on our toes. AA has a continued infection in his port and will need to have his mediport removed on Monday. He will then have a central venous catheter (see above) placed in his chest. He has had a rough weekend. On Friday he threw up four times, Saturday 1 times and today once...The neuro-surgery team will be coming in today to see him and he will also have a CT done today...They want to make sure that the VP Shunt he got recently is still working properly. That's it for now and will keep you updated as we get more info. Thanks...
Roi

Friday, February 17, 2012

Friday Morning Update

Just a brief update every one.
AA is doing much better now. The port infection is being controlled with an anti-biotic called Vancomycin. Thankfully he has not had any more fevers. He has been eating a great deal of food as well. Wednesday he had four meals and yesterday three big meals.Yesterday it felt like he was eating for basically all of the day. He ate mashed potatoes, sausages, bananas and bread. We were very happy to see that. He has been more like himself lately. We hope that this is the beginning of God's miracle. We would like to ask everyone one favor today. We would greatly appreciate it if you could please share our blog address with all of your friends and family from all over the world. Getting AA's story out to the world is very important to us and it is a great way to honor his amazing strength. We would especially appreciate sending the flyer with the request for help. Please see the flyer and his blog address below. Thanks!

http://www.andrewlegar.blogspot.com/

Roi

Thursday, February 16, 2012

A Helping Hand During Difficult Times. We Could Sure Use Your Help!

Please Lend A Helping Hand!
As you all well know, in July 2011 we learned that Andrew Aidan was diagnosed with a rare inoperable malignant brain tumor, called Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumor. AA has endured multiple brain procedures, extensive chemo & radiation therapy and now has multiple tumors on his spine. The doctors say that there is nothing more they can do for AA and that his days with us are numbered from weeks to months. We now hope for a miracle from above. It is due to the reality of not having our son with us for much longer that Michelle was forced to take a personal leave from work and together with me, focus on helping our son enjoy what's left of his life with us. We would greatly appreciate any financial help you can provide us during this very difficult moment in our lives. Thank you.    
Michelle & Roi         

Make Secure Online Payments With Credit Cards & Even  Checking/Saving Accounts

You could donate on our blog on the upper right hand corner via the PayPal "Donate Now" Secure Payment System or mail a check to:


Roi & Michelle LeGar
21-19 77th Street Apt: D1
East Elmhurst, NY 11370          

If you would like to spread the word and need a copy of the flyer, just e-mail Roi at the following e-mail address and I will get you a PDF version right away.

Roi's E-Mail Address: r.legar@gmail.com
   
Have a great day!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Getting Admitted

Definitely want to let everyone know we are getting admitted. The team is still not sure if the port is going to be removed. They want to try to avoid removing it just in case AA may need to get some pain medicine down the road.
The team is trying very hard to see if they can start his anti-biotics here then have us continue the cycle at home.
Roi

Infected Mediport & It Will Be Removed Soon

Morning....
Here is the latest update. AA's mediport, the medium that is used to withdraw blood, give IV or give chemo is infected. This is the second infection it has gotten. It will be removed. It is a good time to remove it given that AA will not be receiving chemo or any type of IV anymore. If they ever need to get blood or give IV they can do it the old fashioned way. We will be heading to Sloan today where they will probably treat him with anti-biotics until he is well enough to have surgery sometime this week. This infection will explain the fevers he had again last night. The good thing is that after this is taken out he will not have any further infections caused by the mediport. I guess this is God's way of making sure we trust in him and not go back to the failed ways of medicine. We hope that the Master Repairman has a fix for this repair. As always we will keep you all updated through here.
Roi

Broken Heart | Broken Day

Broken Heart | Broken Day
Today was a rough day for a number of reasons, but I will get to that in a minute. Some of you may be asking how is AA? What is his current state? Well, to tell you the truth, surprisingly well overall. He has been improving on a daily basis in regards to his eating and behavior. Behavior wise: He has been more animated than he has been in a while and was actually up laughing the night away last night until 11pm watching some of his favorite cartoons such as Chuggington and Mickey Mouse.  You could definitely see he loves being home. Meal wise: He has been eating more and more each day. Yesterday, he ate two meals and today he ate three times. We are definitely happy about that. We hope that this improvement could aid him in being happier and who knows, maybe God has a trick or two up his sleeve. At this point, I would really love for God to prove all the nay sayers wrong.
How was today a rough day? Well here goes.
AA:
1) Since we have been home on Saturday, AA has been on IV supplements called TPN. TPN contains various nutritional items to help him stay up to date with his nutritional intake. Well TPN can cause some people to have either very high or very low sugar levels in their blood and this could be very dangerous. It seems that this caused AA to have a blood sugar level of 27. Any of you diabetics out there know that those levels are extremely dangerous. The nursing service had another RN come out to do a blood retake and again his sugar level was a bit higher at 40 but still very low. At this point, Michelle and I were extremely worried and addressed this to the MD team. They believe that the TPN could be the problem because AA has never had this problem. They decided to send us a new IV pump that will control the flow of IV TPN to AA a bit differently than the previous pump. This should help they say.
2) After having this happen, I noticed AA was slightly hot after waking up and let him wake up a bit before taking a temperature. Thankfully I did, because he had a 100.4 F reading, for pediatric cancer patients that is a fever. Well, I got AA ready ASAP and rushed to Sloan to make sure that he can be seen. His temperature went down on it's own. They checked his blood levels, All was okay there. They performed bacterial cultures on his mediport to see if he has an infection, results are not back yet (takes about a week for full results). He also had a throat swab to make sure he doesn't have a throat infection, results are not in yet either. He was given an anti-biotic as a precaution and was given some fluids. They also did a urine analysis which came back negative (negative in this case is a good thing). We should have some more results back tomorrow given that we are going back for a second dose of anti-biotics and will also get some fluids as well. Now he is stable and is sleeping and had a much better night at home.
Now For Michelle:
It actually has been an ongoing struggle for her, given that she has had to go back to work numerous times in order to help provide health insurance for AA and the house for us due to me leaving work and school to care for AA.  Then with the recent news we received last week of the long term prognosis for AA and his battle with cancer it got worse. Yesterday, she had to go prepare all of AA's bereavement arrangements, funeral home, cemetery plot, church mass. That's a lot for any parent to have to bear. This morning started with AA's sugar level scare, then on her way to work, she got off the bus four stops before her stop and was then disoriented as to where she was. The stress and worry has been obviously bothering her. Well, when I called her that I was going to Sloan with AA she finally decided she had enough worry, stress and anxiety. She approached her HR Dept about taking a personal leave of absence due to the over whelming emotions related to what the doctors say will happen with AA within weeks to months. They approved her request for the next month and we will have to see what happens after that. It will be a leave without pay BUT her company was nice enough to let her keep the health insurance for AA's treatment. At this point what is more important, a couple extra dollars or irreplaceable time with AA. I believe I do not have to answer that question for you. You see, medical professionals may not do physically demanding work, but mentally they receive a beating everyday. It is definitely a mentally draining job. She can not afford to have an off day, because that off day can cause her to lose everything she has worked so hard for while also damaging the reputation of her company. What are we going to do to get by? Who knows? Some how God will get us by...
As for me:
Nothing major happened to me thankfully, except for what appears to be a broken crown on one of my teeth. There is now a nice space over a portion of my tooth that was not there before.

We hope for a miracle from above and for health and peace for our lives for all three of us and Beemer of course. Have a good evening!
Roi

Monday, February 13, 2012

Angel of Miracles

Lord God,
Today Monday we come to you once again to praise your name. You are good in good times and bad times. We ask that you forgive us of any wrong doing we have committed and ask that you continue to watch over your angel AA. The doctors of science, medicine and logic say that there is no possible way that AA can last much longer than a couple of weeks to months. We disagree. You have always walked by our sides even though we felt alone and always had your angels surrounding us from much greater harm. We ask you Father to please perform a miracle of restoring AA's health for no one else's glory but your own. Miracles are far and few between today but that does not mean that your abilities have diminished. You are the awesome God who is capable of great and wonderous things. I believe that you are capable of doing this. Please send your miracle angels to deliver into AA your wonderous healing powers and spirit.
We love you. In Jesus name we pray.
Roi

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Going Home

Heading home.....
Roi

Snowflakes Salute The Warrior On His Way Home

As I sit by the window of our room in Memorial Sloan Kettering I can't help but truly appreciate the moment. A moment in which I get to see my wonderful and unique son rest as I see the individual snow flakes fall in the background. I listen to one of the most beautiful quartets in opera as Addio dolce svegliare alla mattina! – "Goodbye, sweet awakening in the morning!") from the third act of Puccini's La Boheme fills my heart and soul with the knowing that this next phase is only temporary. We are as beautiful and pure as snowflakes while falling to the ground in order to fuel the growth of the upcoming spring. My son you will always be my snowflake, you will always be my only AA, you will always be my fuel to live. Each and every tear or smile I ever have for you will be as original and unique as our memories together. I promise you my boy, my friend that we will roll in the grass again and laugh till it hurts again. Thank you for teaching me what is true love. I love you and I am forever grateful of your gift to us. Now let's enjoy our time together gordo.  Mama & Dada love you Gordo. Springtime is just around the corner.
Roi



The Sun Always Shines Above The Clouds

> When the sky turns dark,
> Does it mean the sun is gone?
> When the clouds are grey,
> Has the Sun's radiant flame come to an end?
> The eternal sunshine of the Sun is ever present over our planet and over our souls. Although, the enormomity of our situation has yet to even begin, we are glad to have the support of many beautiful people in and out of the hospital. Today is our last full day in the hospital during AA's current state of health and during the course of the day we had so many people come see us. Dr. Lightner (we truly love you, see you in Kentucky soon), Dr. Gilheeney (watch out for the Purell), Mary (you are an awesome NP but shhhh don't tell Dr. Lyden), Juliana (hospital dinner is on us next time), Alyson (don't take it personally sweety, AA plays hard to get with all the ladies), Keri (hope you texted Leah that you saw us), Leah (hope that you texted Keri about your secret trick with AA), Carmen (good friends are forever), Jennifer (Friends of Karen are lucky to have you, you are great), Raul (gracias por venir de Puerto Rico a estar con nosotros amigo y hermano del alma), Dr. Forlenza (thanks for looking out for us) and last but not least, all of the awesome nurses who took care of us including Elayne (we love you patient advocate), Julia (your munchkin sends you a besito), Dana (mail merge, mail merge), Larissa (get well soon), Dorothy (Corona time), Jennifer P (go towson), Lisa (smarter than most residents), Courtney (How's Jackson?), Daniel (we gotta get together to see Chuggington again), Jackie (good luck in the night shift) and all the other great and helpful RN's.
> We also wanted to thank the nursing assistants, Jenna (good luck in school), Keisha (Kashmir is lucky), Connie (thanks for the stories), Sherryl (fashionista), Kate (dive in the bag), Katy (thanks for helping me with the bed), Cherry and Michelle. Food services reps Branden (thanks for the wheat crackers,lol), Andrea and Judy. Houskeeping: Sara (please clean the windows, from the outside), Sandra (¡Gracías!), Karen (thanks for the candy), James and Frank & the Candy Crew (thanks for the Sweet Tarts). I now feel like one of those artists that fill half of their CD inserts thanking half of the world. Go figure but these wonderful people took excellent care of us. Thank you all soo much.
> Having all of these wonderful people and more reach out to us today and over the last couple of days has really helped us realize that all three of us touched so many lives. AA (with his mean corner of the eyes look and his besitos, all done and bye-bye gestures), Michelle (with her countless RN/NP stories) and myself (and my super human Super Dada strength, lol just kidding of couse). It has helped the whole process slightly easier in knowing that we have the support of soo many more people that we can't even begin to mention.
> The reality is that our lives will never be the same. It will be entirely different but we will take the happiness and love of our AA as our main source of Strength in our march forward in life. Each day will be a day closer to being with him again. Till we meet again!
> Roi

Thursday, February 9, 2012

An Introduction, A Dream & My Son

Good morning everyone,
Please take a moment to read an article I was lucky enough to write for a stay-at-home-dad-group that I am a member of. They gave me a shot to share AA's story, our story. Enjoy the read and please support the group.
Thanks!
Roi

http://www.nycdadsgroup.com/2012/02/introduction-dream-my-son.html?m=0

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Judging God

Judging God
For my whole life I have yearned to know more. More than the simple human life we all live. Are our lives so mundane that we are basically a bunch of Sim characters to God. Being told what to do and how to do it in the most subliminal way, but we are taught that we have free will and choice. How can we have free will and choice if there is predestination or the book of life is already written for us. Isn't that contradictory? We are being judged for something that we did but God knew we were going to do it anyway. Our whole spiritual existence depends on our actions that were permitted by God to begin with. You see, herein lies my problem with God and I think that as he judges us according to our actions that he already knew we were going to take that we should be able to tell him what we feel and how we think he could of helped us do better. Or how he could have done a better job. Why not? Why did he permit certain things to happen? Like my son getting cancer and pain. What's the purpose of him suffering? If there is a purpose or plan why not share it with us so we can feel more comfortable with the situation and then decide if we want that. That is free will! Not the illusion that we are spoon fed or the puppet show we are a part of. Come on, he made the perfect machine in human beings and you are telling me he can't fix us. Of course he can, but he does not want to. We have to roll the dice on prayer. We just can't go to a high priced repair shop and fix the issue. Trust me, we just did and that had not worked. Instead, we have to torture our souls to try to hope for a miracle and that is still not a guarantee. Some of us even bargin with Mephestophiles (The Devil) for another chance. You will be surprised what a person is willing to sacrifice for Love. You know, I did nothing personally to bring the jerk of the Devil to this planet yet we all have to pay the consequences for his actions and the actions of Adam and Eve. God could just kill the devil. The devil is one useless disgruntled angel who did not like his job and decided to give it up. He is the one that went "postal". That should be his problem not ours but he gets to continue to do what he is good at and we get the raw end of the deal. Jesus said that he is the way and the light, I like Jesus he gave him self up for me. I can relate to that because I would do that for AA but why did God have to throw his son under the bus when he could have just stopped the madness from the beginning. God has a sadistic and destructive side, a side that we also posses because we are molded in his image. I feel that we are pawns in a personality disorder that God has with himself. God could be both the Devil and God. He is bi-polar. For whom did Lucifer come from, God. Listen, I do not doubt God, I believe in him. I just don't agree with him. I only believe that if I do have suppossed free will, I can tell him how I feel. If I can tell my mother, my father and all my other family members how i feel why not my spiritual father.
Today...well how can I put it...as parents we received the worst news ever imaginable....our Big Man AA is on limited time with us...we are trying to get home ASAP in order to get him nice and fat and get him back to some of his old habits and comfort zones....this way we could celebrate the wonderful joy that he has been in our lives. The amount of strength, courage, love and happiness he has demonstrated is amazing and everyday we are soo happy to have had him for this time. Obviously, we are extreme dissapointed with this but as parents and friends to AA we had to make the tough decision of going this comfortable way for his sake than to try and throw more salt on his already wounded body. It was the hardest decision to make but we had to make it for him and his welfare. We always wanted him to be happy and loved. We are lucky because we will now have our personal guardian angel watch over us as we continue on this journey together and hopefully give him a couple more little brothers or sisters to look after. He will be waiting for us in heaven with open arms one day and hopefully pulling God's ear for putting him through this. We love you AA and we know you love us baby. You are the best!
Roi

Change

Medically, all we are waiting for to leave the hospital is for AA to start eating and drinking and we are free to go. He is still very weak and fragile and just wants to be with us all the time. I don't blame him we are some cool parents. Just kidding.

The last two days have been some of the hardest ever for Michelle and I. We have started to understand that we need to let go of this horrible situation and let God do his work. This is something that has caused me extreme anger and disappointment with God. He knows it I have told him. Today I am letting go of the anger and hate. I am sorry for doubting his plan. It's just hard to do when you see your little boy getting ready for the next phase of his spiritual journey. One concept I always believed in, is what I call Spiritual Continuity. Something I came up with when I was younger after probably having one too many cups of red wine. I always thought that our Spirit/Soul was and is the true essence of who and what we are and that we have a definite cosmic purpose in achieving our goal. Our Andrew Aidan has been amazing to us and he will always be with us. He has taught us the beauty of love, understanding, sacrifice, joy, happiness, pride, wonder and soo much more. I guess it is his time to get his mama and dada ready for the next phase of life, whenever that may be for us. I am done being angry with God. I am making up with him because if I don't, guess what I will never be able to see my AA again in Heaven. We will see him again. We have tried almost everything possible with science and now let God be the one in charge from here. Only his miracle or willingness to keep him around will fix AA now. We are understanding that and are working on accepting that everyday. As I lay here next to him as he sleeps I marvel at the beauty of this little boy at the power he has to bring soo many together in one thought in one song of prayer. We love you AA and through your loving actions over the last 26 months I know you love us too. We still hope and pray for God to make you healthy again and to restore your health to full strength.
Roi

Monday, February 6, 2012

Letter To My Son

Andrew Aidan,
This is Dada. I just wanted to tell you a story that means soo much to me. It's a story of you and me. You are everything I ever wanted in life. This is how the story goes. Your mama and I always wanted a beautiful amazing son like you and everytime we dreamed of you we really did see you the way you are today. You see on March 21, 2009 I was turning 33 years old. We only had a couple of family members over because it was a weekday and I have never been one for big parties. Basically, all I wished for that evening as I blew out the birthday cake was you. You were what I asked God for as a birthday gift. I wanted someone special that I could share a part of me with. Someone that was part of me. Guess what, God granted me that wish. Little did we think of it but that very night God made you through our love. The doctors confirmed it when we went to find out you were growing in your mama's belly. Amazing no? I love you so much. It was a great feeling to come home everyday and speak, sing and read to you every night after work while you were in your mama's belly. It was wonderful. I know you enjoyed it as well. I can never ever imagine my life without you. You have been my buddy since you were born. I was even the first person to hold you. It was the most amazing moment of my life. You and I have been attached to the hip sver since. Spending almost every single hour of everyday together. An amazing blessing. Now I need your help, God wants to take you back to heaven with him. Why does he want to do that? Why does he want to break our hearts and souls? I need you to speak to him Gordo. I need you to tell him that we are good and decent people that love you more than life it'self. Just like he loved his son. All we want to do is fill you with the love we have for you. Please tell him you do not want to leave. Please stay my baby. The doctors are saying that the chemo is not working and want to give you treatment to extend your life not save it. Please my son you are our pride and joy. Please ask him for a miracle because I do not know if hears us anymore but I am sure he hears you. My gordo there is so much we still have to do. I love speaking with you in bed, I love taking walks with you and hearing that crazy laugh of yours We must fight together. We must live and love together, please stay, please tell God to let you stay. Please God, we love him and we love you. Please, I will do want ever you want. Please. I love you always my son. Please speak to God okay. Get some rest.
Love eternally,
Your Dada

Wars Are Not Won In A Day

Hey guys....
Apparently our prayers, positive energy, countless tears, AA's constant pain, suffering, weight loss is not enough yet for God to perform his miracle. His results were not good at all. 1) The original tumor in the pineal region (center of the brain) has grown more. 2) The tumors on the spine have also grown. Right now we have to focus on getting AA healthy enough to leave the hospital and start eating again. We are waiting for Wednesday's tumor board meeting at Sloan before we know the next step. The tumor board is a group of cancer professional at the hospital that help decide the appropriate treatment for a patient if things need amending. Chemo for Friday is oficially off the table

Meanwhile, we are totally numb. What else can I say? We are running low on so much of the spiritual fuel we need and keep coming up against soo many bumps in the road. Our front line in this war is taking a huge beating and it really does suck that we have no re-enforcements to call in and help us fight the battle. No secret cure, no miracle drug. Just faith. I hope God hears this because sometimes it feels like he doesn't because try explaining the concept of Faith to a tumor, they just don't get it.
We continue to have faith that God will help us through this and that God helps us keep our promise to AA that "everything is going to be alright baby, God is with us". Everything is going to be alright. I sure hope so.
Roi

Waiting Game

AA is up from the MRI....I am waiting for him to come out from recovery now. I am literally outside the door waiting. Can't wait to see our boy...after this we have to wait and see the positive results the doctors will be reviewing and bringing our way. Wait.... Here he comes...got him...daddy has him. ...
Roi

AA Is In The MRI.....

Good morning....
AA went into the MRI 10 minutes ago.... Please send out those prayers and positive energy that we see some positive results today. They will be looking for 1) that his shunt procedure is working well and that 2) his tumors have gone down and that there is no other tumor anywhere else on the brain and spine. Lord God please hear our prayer for your little boy and angel and please continue to guide him out of this valley of shadows that he is in and help him get to the green pastures already. We love you. Amen. Thank you.
Roi

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Super Sunday Update

Hi everyone,
Happy Sunday. Hope you are all enjoying today either by spending time at church, with family or relaxing. We are still in the hospital but getting better thankfully. AA has been acting less drowsy and less irritable and has been awake alot more. His body swelling has gone down as well but not fully. He hasn't had anything to drink or eat yet but was put on IV nutrition last night. It is called Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN), it is feeding a person intravenously, bypassing the usual process of eating and digestion. The person receives nutritional formula that contains nutrients such as glucose, amino acids, lipids and added vitamins and dietary minerals. The reason he is getting this is because he is not eating or drinking and he still has mouth sores. We are also getting ready for the next cycle of chemo which starts on Friday. He needs to be as strong as possible. The doctors said we might go home soon because his counts are getting better but they usually will not send us home if he is not eating or drinking. While they just put him on TPN last evening and are already going to take him off it? He will not start eating on his own until later in the week and by then he will be on chemo again. Doctor Modak trully confuses us when he says AA can come off the TPN and be sent home tomorrow. At least our primary Dr. Lightner has spoken to the M9 fellow Dr. Forlenza about making sure the M9 team maintains continuity when taking care of AA while taking in to consideration what Andrew's Primary Doctors thinks he needs. Now we feel better because Dr. Forlenza has already written Dr. Lightner about what they would like to do with AA's next phase of treatment without making any immediate adjustments.

Today he is a bit cranky once again because he has not slept well. Last evening he was fussy when sleeping and this morning too. Something is keeping him from sleeping. We also had an EKG yesterday which was following up a previous EKG and it showed that the result was still slightly abnormal and they will keep observing him. Finally, we ask for tou prayers because tomorrow we will an ultra important MRI of his brain and spine. This scan will let us know if all of this chemo treatment is working in shrinking the tumors and id it is safe to continue on this plan.
Roi

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Friday Evening Update

Hello All,
Another tough day at the hospital. AA has been a trooper through this week and we just want to tell him how much we admire and respect him for his strength and will power. He has been really swollen for the last three days throughout his face, belly, knees, legs, ankles and feet. He hasn't eaten in a week but looks like he ate a horse. Obviously something is wrong. Well after countless doctors listening to his belly and telling us that he is ok and that all he needs is to take a poop. Well after giving him countless medicine to go to the bathroom he finally did. He sure was backed up. We got an echo-cardiogram because we were worried that he was having some heart issues due to some readings seen in last week's echo-cardiogram. Thankfully after review by the doctors they saw that his heart is doing well. There are no issues and the irregularities were caused by one of his chemo meds. They will give him a pre-med for the next round to help protect his heart. This has been a frustrating week in part due to the lack of communication within the hospital and it's different departments. We understand it is a big institution with many patients and staff but they really need to take an extra minute or two to make sure that all a patients information is properly in the system and that it is readily available. We are also very appreciative of our Primary Nurse Elayne. She has been soo awesome in taking care of and knowing Andrew while also being a wonderful patient advocate. Dr. Lightner has also been wonderful in helping us advocate for AA as well as helping continue on AA's treatment plan. Found out he will might be getting some chemo tomorrow. Then an MRI on Monday and we will be starting the next round of chemo next Friday. This will be another long stay at the hospital.
Roi

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Wednesday Update

Today was a tough day for AA. He has been very uncomfortable due to the following reasons:
• Surgery Recuperation
• Mucositis Mouth Sores
• Body Swelling
• Bad Rash On Lower Stomach
• Constipation
• & For The First Time He Has Caught A Fever.

Catching a fever officially makes our stay here a very long one. They have to make sure they give him a wide range of blood tests while making sure his body is functioning properly. He is now on anti-biotics due to the fever and the possible infection he has. Fevers usually = an infection.
His morning X-Ray went well and there was nothing causing him issues in his belly while his kidneys and bladder are working properly as well. We missed his hearing test because he was very cranky. He got so upset at me when I took away his water just before the test. We will have the hearing test tomoorow now. He still has not eaten but at least drank 6 oz of water with Miralax in order to help him go to the bathroom. He has not done number 2 since Friday morning. We did find out that the Echo Cardiogram which was done on Friday showed that he has some slight abnormal findings for the first time. They say it is caused by the chemo and will be watching it closely.
Hope you guys are having a good day.
Roi

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

AA Tuesday Update

Hi everyone,
Hope you all are doing great. We are doing as well as can be given the situation. AA over the last couple of days has had the chemo therapy induced sores come out really bad in his mouth. For the first time yesterday we saw blood in his mouth but he is still hungry asking for food but obviously unable to eat or drink. He also is unable to nurse with mommy which usually means he has it really bad. Poor thing. He has also gotten a very large amount of blood and platelet tranfusions since the surgery due to his natural defenses being low due to the chemo he had 2 weeks ago. He was also placed on some round the clock pain medicine to help him cope with the pain he appears to be in. We do not know how much longer we will be here but it does not matter as long as we get him healthy. So far he seems good from the surgery. We will have a hearing and kidney test tomorrow in order to see how he is there. Thanks.
Roi

Sunday, January 29, 2012

48 Hour Update After Surgery

Sundays! I remember when Sundays were simple days. They were great for church going, eating at diners, going to my little league games or getting ready for the upcoming week.  In my modern and present reality, Sundays are just like every other day, they are days that I pray, wish, implore, beg God and the universe to totally cure my junior co-pilot in life, my buddy, my son, my AA. My wife will tell you and even I admit it in my ripe old age of 35 years, I have always gone after what I wanted, and usually in a rather selfish way, sometimes sacrificing things that I shouldn't have, but all of that changed when I became the first person to hold Andrew Aidan.  Now I feel like everyday is not Sunday but Sonday (the day of my son).  I am sure that most parents can agree with that sentiment.  
Today, Sunday, AA is doing better he is more alert. Still cranky or not eating or drinking.  Thankfully he has not had any fevers while at Sloan eventhough we were a bit worried when we saw his eyes moving in a weird manner. The doctors, neurosurgeons came by and assured as that they are fairly certain that this type of behavior is common after brain procedures and should go away soon.  One of his primary physicians, Dr. Gilheeney even came by and spent some time making us laugh and being as positive as he can without promising anything. You learn rather quickly that Dr.'s cant really promise the world because let's face it they would probably be sued left and right.  We were happy to have him come by and feel lucky to have some really thoughtful, caring and talented M.D's by our side.  AA just finished getting some platelets in order to help him stay healthy and continues to be a wonderful example of resiliency and strength.  We love you AA and so do so many more people.  I leave you with one final thought before I sign off tonight: 
""When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.""
Paulo Coelho
Thank you Lord and good night. 
Roi






Saturday, January 28, 2012

Back At Sloan

Well, it sure has been a hectic 24 hours for us with all that AA has been through. Thankfully he is looking so much better today. We actually have to say a BIG thank you to the Neurosurgical team at New York Presbyterian-Cornell especially Dr. Mark M. Souweidane, MD, Andrews Neurosurgeon. He did a wonderful job
re-assuring us that this procedure was the best for his current medical condition and for his long term survival. We also appreciate the PICU nurses, Anesthesiologists and PICU Doctors for watching over our boy.
Meanwhile, arriving back at Sloan feels like returning to your old neighborhood, where every face has a name and a story, a place where we really do not have to explain much because they know us, they know Andrew Aidan. It feels good and thankfully we got our old bed back, good old 926-A. It's the best. Even AA felt comfortable as soon as we walked in he seemed more relaxed while across the street at Cornell he seemed upset at everyone and everything. Over here he has had a bit more to drink and seems to be a bit more settled. We will work on getting some nice pics of him tomorrow and posting them for you. Lastly, I feel inclined to remind people of the sensitive nature of the VP Shunt AA had placed. He had this because there are issues with flow of CSF (Cerebral Spinal Fluid) through his spine and brain. The importance of CSF is amazing for the following reason. This fluid that flows up and down our brain and spine serves many functions, but one function that it serves is to cushion these two living organs from the rigors of being alive inside a human body. Good night.
Roi

Saturday Morning Post-Op Update

Good morning everyone....
Just wanted to let everyone know that considering all things AA is doing pretty well. Neuro-Surgery is happy with his progress up to the moment and all was well with his 8am Cat-Scan this morning. The scan went well enough that they will be discharging us from New York Presbryterian and letting us go back to Sloan to recover further. He had a slight fever last night but after an operation that is very common to have within the first 24 hours. His temperature has now gone down and is more stable. He has now been approved to drink clear fluids like water and apple juice. He so far has had 1/2 an ounce of water which is great and we will try apple juice once he wakes up from his nap. He has already watched his Thomas the Train show and his other train cartoon Chuggington while being pretty alert to his suroundings. We also wanted to thank one of AA's doctors, Dr. Lightner for coming to see us on her day off. She came to visit us and see how Mr. AA was doing. We truly appreciate the gesture because we were able to spend an hour with her and it was amazing because she sacrificied an hour away from her husband & son in order to see how AA was doing. Not too many Doctors do that any more. Thank you soo much Dr. Lightner. We love you. We will keep you all updated as we get more info.
Roi

AA Is "All Done" With The Procedure

Everyone,
AA just got out of the procedure and is looking very good. So far waiting for the surgeon to come up to brief us but the anesthesia doctors said that all went well. They were amazed that as soon as he awoke and they removed the intubation tube that the first thing he said was "All Done". We now hope that we all are "All Done" with anything else for a while as we get a step closer to getting AA CANCER FREE. Thank you all for the prayers and faith we love you all.
Roi. ��