Make-A-Wish

February 26, 2010

Alisha was so looking forward to her dedicated Hawaiian-themed party, which the Make-A-Wish Foundation had arranged to honor her Wish. We almost had called to cancel the party due to Alisha's sudden onset of slight fever. This past week has been a terrible week for her and she spent most of the day on the sofa trying to regain some strength while falling in and out of sleep.

Weeks ago, Alisha's Wish Coordinator, Rebecca and called to set up a dinner party at Tommy Bahama in Newport Beach. Originally, we thought the party would be at Downtown Disney due to Alisha alluding to Disneyland and Legos as some of her favorite things during the wish interview. We were all so pleasantly surprised as we arrived at Tommy Bahama where Rebecca and another volunteer greeted us with beautiful leis made out of fresh orchids. Alisha slowly dragged herself to the corner of the restaurant where the party was set up for her and she all of a sudden lit up when she saw a massive display of a SpongeBob Squarepants stuffed animal, balloons, Hawaiian decorations, paintings, lovely table setting and of course, a two-layer SpongeBob cake with edible cartoon characters and lego pieces. The girls oogled over the cake and Alisha could not resist in tasting an edible lego brick.

The fabulous dishes, which composed of crab cakes, flat bread with goat cheese, scallops & shrimp with coconut rice, halibut, gnocchi, ahi tuna, salmon, etc. were absolutely delicious! We were able to bag the leftovers and Alisha enjoyed every last bite of it and asked to return to the restaurant soon. We had no idea that dinner included an entertaining show put up by volunteers from Le Polynesia. These three hula girls were so quick with their movements. The girls were mesmerized by their fancy costumes and wondered how these girls could dance so well. After the dinner shows, Alisha was presented with her Wish.

Underneath the big display with the SpongeBob Squarepants stuffed animal were 14 sets of legos all wrapped with Spongebob wrapping papers. Our jaws just dropped when we starred at the number of boxes purchased for Alisha. Some of the legos included: Taj Mahal, Eiffel Tower, movable ferris wheel, hotel, houses, grocery stores, architectural buildings, SpongeBob, etc. Ashley was also given some presents, so she did not feel left out. Alisha had only opened three boxes of legos before she started complaining of her stomach pain. We had her lay down and the Manager at Tommy Bahama help cut and serve the cake.

After 15 minutes, Alisha propped herself up for a few remaining gifts. Make-A-Wish had commissioned a lego-design artist to build a gray dolphin exclusively for Alisha. The dolphin made out of legos stretched about four feet long and the work was so meticulous and perfect. Alisha love her own lego dolphin (it took the artist 3 weeks to complete) since part of her wish was to swim with the dolphins. Her other major gift was from Captain Dave in Dana Point. The gift was an excursion for her and the family to go on a whale / dolphin safari for 2-1/2 hours when Alisha gets better. The special high-tech catamaran is constructed, so we could better spot the whales and dolphins.

All in all, Alisha was very surprised and happy with her Wish despite feeling horrible. There are many generous people out there who we are very grateful to in order for Alisha's Wish to become possible. We are deeply touched and thankful for their philanthropic display of kindness. THANK YOU!

Rollercoaster

February 22 - 28, 2010

Alisha's demeanor this week was definitely a rollercoaster ride. On Monday, her blood counts were very low, which explained the constant lethargic disposition accompanied by the pale complexion. The discomfort in her stomach has grown from dull to endless sharp pains. On top of tummy ache, she experienced bouts of vomiting every time food or liquid was ingested. We were all very worried that she was withering away into nothing. Alisha spent most of the week either in bed, on the sofa or in the restroom. She glutched her tummy most of the time and her weight dropped dramatically from not being able to keep food down.

After visiting three medical professionals, we were given the grim news that she will probably not make it if treatment was continued as scheduled. Our hearts sank and hopelessness loomed over us. We tried everything possible. The steroids that were suppose to increase her appetite ten-fold as before did nothing! Her fever came and went for about a week and we feared the worst. Alisha fought hard and our prayers were answered on Saturday when we were introduced to this amazing acupuncturist. Within a matter of hours, she transformed from being almost lifeless to a normal, energetic six-year-old child.

She built Legos for hours and did not complain once of stomach pain. Her appetite quickly picked up and all of us couldn't be happier to see her eat and hold her food down.

Chemo Angels

February 15 - 21, 2010

We can't say enough great things about Alisha's Chemo Angels! You all are phenomenal and so wonderful to the girls and myself. We are truly blessed by all of your weekly wishes, cards, gifts, photos, etc. during this time and look forward to opening the next cards and gifts from you.

Alisha isn't doing well this week. She has not been able to hold food down and is losing weight rapidly. It has been a struggle, but she's staying positive and preventing herself from thinking about the negatives by watching the Winter Olympics. Tummy ache is taking over and nothing sounds appetizing to her.... PLEASE PRAY FOR HER!!!

Balding

February 8 - 14, 2010

The inevitable has slowly become a reality. Although about four months delayed, the massive hair loss has started. The saving grace is that the balding will not last as she enters the Maintenance phase of her treatment early April.

Alisha's taking her balding into great strides and she's slowly warming up to the idea of wearing wigs. Here are a couple of pictures for reference. Valentine's Day was extra special and Alisha received cards from the principal, her teacher and her classmates that she has never met before. She was thrilled to read each of her cards and could not wait to show me the prizes that came along with the card.

We celebrated Chinese New Year at home with game playing and enjoyed the Winter Olympics. Alisha is looking forward to all the figure skating events.

Weight Gain

February 1 - 7, 2010

Alisha was recommended a fortified protein formula two weeks ago to assist with her absorption of nutrients and weight gain. Fortunately, she scored in both aspects. She quickly gained about 5 pounds in 2 weeks, which caused the nurse to ask whether Alisha was put on steroids. After Tuesday's lumbar puncture with chemo injected, she still has 14 more of the horrific procedures under sedation to complete prior to December 2011. We cannot wait until this trauma-causing nightmare is over and pray that mild to severe long-term side effects will not exist at all.

This first of the 56-day phase was dramatic where one of her chemotherapy drugs causes her to have pinkish orange urine that is toxic to the touch. The side effects of nausea and vomiting commenced the day after the first treatment. As for the intramuscular shots on the legs, Alisha was very courageous and did not drop a single tear again.

Resting

January 25 - 31, 2010

Alisha took this week resting and playing. Both she and Ashley were expressing their creative sides to keep themselves entertained. They used different props to design a stage with spotlights and Alisha performing on her recorder with a trophy on the award stand. Then, they announced that they were the can-can girls, singing and dancing to the famous classical music while shoulder-to-shoulder lifting their legs. The games went on to fetch of various toys and horsie.

The week included art projects of penguine sliding down the large sheet of ice, diving into the fridget water or floating in on a big balloon. It was all laughs and very nice to see Alisha more lively and energetic than ever since her illness; however, the chemo will continue next Tuesday for two grueling months.

Alisha continues to show her interest in cooking and does not get bored of the Food Network. She also cheered on for both Roger Federer and Andy Murray while watching the Australian Open. Her goal as she recovers is to start tennis lessons.

Mouth Sores

January 18 - 24, 2010

One of the many common side effects of the chemotherapy drug, methotrexate is mouth sores. With an increase of 50 mg every 10 days for 5 weeks, Alisha has not shown any signs of mouth sores (knock on wood). Both of the oncologists who attended to her this week were amazed she has gone through this phase of the treatment, unscathed! We still think it's a miracle that Alisha has endured so much and look the way she does.

This is; however, the calm before the storm where all sorts of heavy chemotherapy drugs will be administered the next two months. Sometimes, you wonder if all these drugs are necessary and how you would cope with the long-term side effects including developmental delays, cognitive set backs and physical handicaps that go hand-in-hand with chemotherapy.

Surveys have concluded that if oncologists and/or their loved ones were diagnosed with cancer, would they go through "conventional" protocols? Ironically, at least 80% of the oncologist surveyed responded no, they would not receive conventional cancer treatment. One begins to wonder how much faith one should put in the current medical system. Is it profit driven? I'm sure the truth is loud and clear (check out the article below)!

http://alternativecancer.us/conventional.htm

Snow Day

January 11 - 17, 2010

Snow Day at the community has been an annual event since 2005. The girls love to play in snow although they do not have adequate snow gears to assist with the snow ball and snowman building process. Nonetheless, they still find ways to take advantage of the temporary snow made possible by the sponsors in the community.

Alisha's new found passion is playing with the games on her pink Nintendo DS. Her very first game is "Cooking Mama", which confirms her interest in all aspects of the culinary world. She's so glued to her only game on the Nintendo DS that she would readily agree to do anything necessary to continue with her food preparation electronically.

Christmas Toys

January 4 - 10, 2010

Happy New Year to everyone! Alisha couldn't wait to finish building her SpongBob Squarepants Legos. She loved all the little, different and intricate pieces which allow movements to the characters and Bikini Bottom.

School resumed and Alisha started reading about Leonardo Da Vinci's inventions, drawings, scientific discoveries, etc. She is amazed at all of his accomplishments! Additionally, she was able to use her Christmas present, a globe, as a study aide for school. Alisha enjoys talking about all the different cities, states and countries in the world. She points out destinations of interest such as the Eiffel Tower in France, Big Ben in England, leaning tower of Pisa in Italy, Great Wall of China in Xi'an, etc. Her fascination with the Food Network (Channel 56) continues and she often comments about her wish to taste the foods prepared and presented by the chefs.

Her Day 29 procedure this Thursday went well although the sharp stomach pains sometimes wakes her up at night.

Day 21 - Interim Maintenance

December 28, 2009 to January 3, 2010

Alisha made count with flying colors, so she was able to receive her scheduled chemotherapy on Monday and Peg-Asparaginase (two intramuscular shots on the thighs) on Tuesday. Her white blood cell count is slowly headed towards the normal range and no blood tranfusion was needed, which was a blessing!

Alisha constantly asks if her white blood cell count is back to the normal range, can she play at the park without her mask on? It was explained that both her white blood cell count and ANC will need to be in an acceptable range before her mask comes off. She's been a real trooper wearing the mask if she's outside and sanitizing her hands over a dozen times a day. She realizes that it pays to be super paranoid at this time in order to avoid catching germs.