Jada peed in the potty today!


Rock on, girl! Jada peed in the potty for the first time today! Officially 19 months + 2 days, Jada enjoyed a nice little "pee pee parade" from Jorge, Joli and me after it was all done. Jada woke up with an entirely dry diaper, so I stuck her on the toilet, gave her a cup of water to drink, and the joyous sound of tinkles soon filled the air ... followed by the rowdy noise of the "PEE PEE PARADE". Needless to say, Jada giggled with glee...!

Hurray for Jada!

Cancer and our Family
Of the 4 people in this picture:
2 have been diagnosed with and treated for cancer (Mari and Joli)
1 has pre-cancerous cells and is having a double mastectomy (Grace)
and I am at a very high risk of developing it within the next few years

My sister Grace
It's two weeks until Grace's surgery, and I can't help but feel both sad and proud of her at the same time. For those of you who don't know Grace personally, you certainly know her through this blog. Other than Jorge and me, Grace has been the most stable and constant force in Joli's life. Joli is a free spirit because of Grace. She is creative because of Grace. She is aware of feelings, emotions, love, joy, pain, and sheer freedom because of Grace. Why? Because Grace models the purest form of love I have ever seen. No matter who you are, Grace is your friend. No matter who you are, Grace is your biggest cheerleader. No matter who you are, Grace loves you.

Grace and I didn't grow up the best of friends. In fact, my memories of Grace are of me being horribly mean to her. After every mean thing I would do as a little sister, Grace would leave me a note on my bed or go so far as to drive her 16-year old self to a card store and buy me a card that says, "I know you hate me. But, I'm your sister and I love you." I still have that card somewhere.

When I had Joli and went through a tough transition time, Grace received the brunt of my exhaustion. And, yet, she still loved me and Joli more than I could ever imagine. On days when I couldn't take another trip to the hospital, Grace would stay by Joli's bedside so that I could have a break. Aside from Jorge and me, Grace was the ONLY one who went to the hospital each and every time Joli did. In fact, when Joli had her surgery, Grace was the only one who thought to bring food to help us stay nourished during the 15 hour ordeal. And, she not only brought "food", she bought the most gourmet treats we could ever have imagined!

I would actually argue that Grace has, at times, spent more time with Joli than I have. Prior to this year, Grace brought Joli to weekly music lessons, weekends at the Children's Museum, and lots of explorations to places I never would have gone - a pet sanctuary, a blueberry farm. Grace is responsible for allowing the girls to color on the walls, get soaking wet in puddles in the middle of winter, and ruined their clothing in paint. And, while I probably said things like "How could let them do that!", I should have said, "Thank you for letting them be children."

So, this is in honor of Grace -- a long over due tribute to how much I love you, how much I appreciate you, and how little I often tell you. Grace, you are a strong, brave, beautiful woman, and we are praying for your successful operation and quick recovery. I admire everything you do, everything you have done, and everything you are destined to do. I am proud to call you my sister.


Grace on Joli's 2nd birthday - just before diagnosis. Yes, she is sitting in a swimming pool fully clothed.. a typical "grace move"Grace with food on the day of Joli's surgery, Aug 2005

Grace at Joli's first chemotherapy stay, Sept 2005
Grace with Joli on the Toys R Us ferris wheel in NYC. Grace often put her life on hold and selflessly came with me for a week each year - for 2 years - so that I wouldn't be alone.

Mother's Day, 2007 - while Grace isn't a mom, she is typically found surrounded by all the nieces and nephew. It's because of her love of children that we named Jada after Grace.

Jorge is sweet.....
So, I had to google myself (yes, narcissitic, I know, but really it's just good professional practice to see what people are saying on the web about you), to find this post written by a certain Jorge Vega:
Friday, October 5, 2007

Liza's Testing
So, some folks already know this about me and mine but we've had the house guest from hell set up residence in our family guest room. Cancer. It started with my mom's breast cancer years ago (leading to a lumpectomy), then my daughter's bout with retinoblastoma (leading to the removal of her right eye), my sister-in-law's double mastectomy last year and my other sister-in-law's mastectomy (scheduled in two weeks).Well, the hits keep on coming... my wife, seeing all that's gone on, decided to take a proactive approach and went in for genetic testing a few months ago. Not surprisingly, she tested positive for the BCRA1 gene. Statistically speaking this gives her a greater than 80% chance of developing breast cancer in the next few years. This afternoon she begins a battery of test that will continue for several weeks, to determine the presence of even minute cancerous cells in her body. It's the ultimate early warning attack. My sister-in-law, Grace, did the same thing months ago and it alerted her to the presence of the danger cells in her body, leading to her decision to have surgery.Liza is walking into this with her eyes wide open. Our fam's got a long history of laying the smack down on cancer and, by going through with the testing, she's basically ambushing the hell out of it (cancer will never see her coming). So, if it sounds like we're being kind of casual about it... we're not. These next few weeks are going to be hard on her. The tests are uncomfortable, downright painful, and the results may lead to difficult decisions.But here's the thing about my wife... she doesn't mess around.Cancer. Has. No. Chance.I love you, babe.
Labels: cancer, family
posted by Jorge Vega at 9:17 AM

Visit to the Oncologist

This time it was Joli's turn to go to the oncologist. She had not been seen by Dr. Grabowski since April 2006 (right when Jada was born), and I was thinking it was time to go and see him. He scheduled her MRI (last week) and the results were free and clear! It was interesting to go back to the oncologist with Joli -- I mean, she was still only 2 years old the last time she was there. It's so weird to think that way!

Joli, of course, remembered absolutely everything about the clinic. She ran into the waiting room and yelled, "MOM! It's my friends... Nemo and the Puffer Fish!!" Gosh, those were the only 2 things that helped her feel good when we went to clinic. Joli did great with Dr. Grabowski and he was amazed how much she has grown. She was having a fun time... until Dr. G said, "Okay, we have to draw blood." "GULP!" I said. Uh oh, the last time Joli had a blood draw in her arm, she was barely 2 years old and was restrained by 3 nurses -- that was a few days after her enucleation. What was going to happen now???

Well, Dr. G recommended that we put some Emla cream, but I had to get back to work and didn't have 30 minutes extra to just hang out and wait for the cream to take effect. So, I told Joli she just had to be brave and do it. Yikes.

Joli was a trooper, though! She did cry, and I watched the needle painfully wriggle around in her arm (poor thing!!). She was very upset WITH ME after it was done. Her exact words were, "Mommy!! I am SOO mad at you. You upset me. Even GOD is mad at you, MOM!" Great....

The good news is that Joli was the only patient in the waiting room when we left, and the music therapist was just coming in. So, rather than rush out in tears, and with Joli screaming about how much God is mad at me, I let her hang out with the music lady. Thankfully, she got her laughing and singing, and we left in good terms. Until... the elevator.... where Joli turned to me and said, "MOMMY. Just because I look happy does not mean that I am not upset at you. Oh, and God is upset at you, too." Nice.

Anyways, Dr. G wants to see Joli again in April because of my testing positive for BRCA1. There is a weak association between Rb and BRCA1, so he wants to see her whenever she sees Dr. Mukai.

By the end of the day, Joli said, "Mommy, I'm sorry I was so upset with you. God loves you Mom. God loves you."

Bless her little heart.

Joli's first day of chemo: September 20, 2005

Last day of chemo: February 14, 2006

MY KIDS DEFINE "SINGING IN THE TUB"
Jada's new favorite song is "No One". Notice her rock star facial expressions as she sings. She even blows kisses to her adoring fans! Joli is her interpretive dancer...

When Jada wants us to play it, she says, "Mooommmy. I want "No One" please."

Joli did great yesterday!

Joli did very well yesterday at her MRI. We left the house early and made it to radiology with plenty of time (I mention that because we are usually horribly late!). Joli was very relaxed and was very social with the nurses and doctors. Once again, Joli walked herself to the room and was very cooperative. She even put on her OWN mask (which, in the past, we had to restrain her to put it on) and inhaled dee-e-e-e-e-ply and fell asleep. Even at recovery, Joli kept trying to be independent and sit up (only to fall back down from the anesthesia still in effect). Overall, we were at the hospital for 7 hours. We have an appointment with her oncologist next week, and then we need to schedule a visit with the ocularist in December. Oh, joy.On a different note, here's a cute picture that Aunt Marie sent me of the gals. Too cute!

Joli's MRI today

It's 5:30am and we're getting ready to go the hospital soon. Joli has an MRI - her first since April 2006. Don't worry, she got plenty of Hannah Montana treats to make her happy before going to the hospital.

It'll be interesting to see how she reacts. She's now a year and a half older since the last time she went under anesthesia, but she's also "out of the routine" of the whole anesthesia experience, too. I know she remembers all of the details -- the smell of her mask, the order of tests blood pressure/heart/lungs/etc, putting on the operating room pajamas. But, it's been a while since we've actually had to do it.

I'll sure I'll have stories for you when we get back. Pray for Joli!

If there was any question..

If there was any question whether or not Jorge and Joli were related, here you go:






She was in her room and said, "MOOOMM! Don't look at me! I have a surprise for you!!" And, then she ran into the kitchen, put her hands on her hips and said, "Ohh, yeeeahh. I AM UNDERWEAR GIRL!!"

Yeah, apple doesn't fall far from that tree....