Time for some pampering!

We decided to give Olivia a haircut today! Anything to make her feel special =)

So far so good!

It's been 3 days after Chemo treatment started. We're so happy to hear some good news from the doctor today! Olivia gets blood tests done 3 times a day. So far we are seeing some positive results! The doctor said that her blood counts are looking good and it seems that she is responding well to the chemo. Thank you God! We are still monitoring her blood pressure since it is still higher than her normal.

With the chemo kicking in comes the moodiness associated with it. We understand that's part of the side effects and we are being extra patient with her. She does have her moments and so every time I see her smile, I try my best to capture it!

Here is Olivia watching some YouTube videos. She found out there's a Queen Elsa version of her baby dolls. (She has baby Cinderella and baby Snow White in her current collection from Lola). This brought the biggest smile on her face today!

Olivia loves chocolates, and appreciates the cookies Auntie Patty made for her! She was nibbling only on the chocolate chip and not the actual cookie =)

Family day

It was a big day for us today! First time in a while since we were complete! We were finally able to bring Kuya Gabe to visit baby sister. We went to target first to get some essentials and Gabe looked for a present for Livi. He was so excited to see Livi that he wanted to wrap the present himself. He also made her a nice card. He helped me cook Mac n Cheese to bring to our 'Picnic' too!

Kuya and Livi with playing with their Ipads

We had a nice family lunch (yummy Beef Stew and White Sauce Spaghetti..thanks to our sponsors!hehe)

Gabe learned about Olivia's portacath and even experimented how it is accessed! He did a great job and had a lot of good questions. Watch his video learning all about the portacath.

Click here to watch -> Big Bro learning about the portacath

We asked if he understood everything. He said yes, the white blood cells kill the bad blood cells, just like wolverine. Lol!

Learning about Chemo Duck

We might not be on our family room couch, but I'm glad we made this happen - a nice family day on Sunday.

Livi's Visitors

This is our first weekend not being at home. Weekend mornings are usually spent having breakfast at the family room while watching TV or kuya playing his lego game on the computer. Though this weekend was not our usual routine, we tried to make it a memorable one.

Olivia had her first visitors this weekend, starting off with Ninang Lara and Uncle Craig. They got Livi her favorite Sofia The First doll and sticker book. It took a few minutes to warm up to Ninang until she decided Ninang is actually cool to play stickers with. She might have been bribed with the pizza Ninang ordered.

Tito Claro and Tita Cecille Pulmano visited also on Saturday night (was not able to take a picture..sorry!)

Missing Kuya

Olivia has been asking to see her Kuya Gabe. She always mentions his name. Hopefully Gabe can get to visit her soon! Gabe is so smart for his age. We explained to him what is going on with Olivia and he understands. They both miss each other. Gabe decided to use one of his old costumes for trick-or-treating yesterday, his ironman costume. I would like to think he wants to support Livi by showing his own version of his "ironman power" on his chest.

This morning when Livi was watching cartoons, she made a song about kuya and his lego's. Enjoy the song!
                                  
                                                              Click on this link --> Livi missing Kuya Gabe

Good morning after first Chemo!

She woke up happy today! Thank God! She asked to play so I gave her lego blocks. She had her first chemo last night before midnight and so far so good.

The only thing that worries me is her high blood pressure she started showing before chemo. It was up to 130/74 last night at 6pm (she was sleeping when it was taken). It came down to 97/55 later that night which helped me get better sleep. This morning it was 110/72. It is not that high, but still higher than her usual. I am waiting to talk to the doctor to get some answers.

Olivia is expecting her first visitors today! Will post pictures later.

Day 4 in the Hospital

Started the day with her 3rd blood transfusion at 1am, this time it was for her platelets. Normal platelet count should be at least about 150,000. When she was admitted, she had 17,000. Platelet transfusion was successful and brought her count to 145,000. She needed her platelet count to be high for her surgery. She had a portacath installed beneath her skin on her chest. This is where all her chemo and majority of medication will be administered, as well as where blood will be drawn (yes! no more poking needles and bruised arms!). We told Gabe that it is just like what Iron Man has! She was given a chemo duck that she can play with who also has the same portacath.

She also had a spinal tap procedure to find out if there are leukemia cells in her spinal fluid. That determines if she is low risk or high risk. The surgery and spinal tap went on for about 1 1/2 hours and we got the results shortly thereafter. She did not have leukemia cells in her spinal fluid which then considers her standard or low risk. We were told though that it is still possible that she can develop leukemia cells in her spinal fluid down the road, but probability should be low. More spinal tap procedures are to be done throughout the entire treatment.

The rest of the day, Olivia was either sleeping or playing with Ipad. Unfortunately she wasn't at her best today. Her favorite line today was "Stop talking!". She didn't eat anything today, probably because she is just too exhausted and feels sore from her surgery. Doctor advised that when she regains her appetite to feed her anything she wants. If there's one thing that we need to strictly enforce, it's the medication intake. We have to choose our battles I guess. Let her eat what she wants. =) We brought in her Halloween costume but she was not able to join in the fun with other kids here at the hostpital. Maybe tomorrow when she's in the mood we can let her wear her costume.

Later tonight she is expecting to receive her first chemo. I will keep you updated in the next few days. Praying and hoping tomorrow is a better day for her.