We're all alive! =)

Sorry to not have updated in a while - we're all doing fine!! Just the typical busy days. I did, however, add pictures to my facebook album of Mia's birthday party from February 13th! To those of you who came, thank you so much!! It was nice to see everybody - and even have several meet Mia for the very first time!! =) You can view those pictures here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=153138&id=614762171&l=2ddf62981c (They will look like all the same pictures since it's the same album I've been showing, but just go to the next pages and you'll see the new ones.) =)

I haven't really mentioned myself lately - I've been doing great, but you'll see in the pictures that's I've chopped my hair off!! While Mercedes and I were in Sacramento last, we took a drive up to Chico so I could get my hair done and it was a great excuse for Mercedes to spend time with her Grandma at her house for a change, and also to see her Great-Grandpa!

I also saw another allergist about a month ago (I hadn't been tested since being in Vegas about 2 years ago.). This testing wasn't so great - they pricked my back around 96 times, then weren't sure about 8 of them, then used needles to do 8 further testings on my arm. The back testing was only itchy, didn't hurt, though. The arm testing was a tad painful because they had to use needles. Turns out I'm allergic to quite a bit of things - just very mildly. Aside from trees, grasses, weeds, molds, dust, etc, that I knew I was allergic to, I'm allergic to dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, hamsters and cockroaches. I'm soo bummed I can't have a pet cockroach now!! ;-) I knew I was allergic to cats when I got my Willow, but I didn't care. =) I figured I was miserable anyway, what was another allergy going to add? =)

I began allergy shots 4 weeks ago and different allergy and asthma meds (now I have only 1 inhaler that I forget to take instead of 2. haha) I've actually been better at remembering to take the medicine and I'm not sure why, but even a few days before I saw the allergist, I was finally able to smell things again! The majority of the last 5 years I haven't been able to smell - I could smell during the pregnancies, then right after my sinus surgeries, but then it'd go away for usually like 8 months at a time. I was able to smell for about 2 months, then I got a cold in November and it went away again. I'm so glad I can smell again!! I hope it keeps up - although it is a blessing and a curse at times!! There are a a LOT of bad smells in this world, but it's great to be able to smell sweet things - like when I'm cuddling with my girls and they're so nice and clean and Mia just smells beautiful like Mia and Mercedes smells wonderful like Mercedes!! =)

Another thing that I'd love prayer for is an upcoming surgery. I need to have an umbilical hernia repaired. I knew I had one - I noticed it when I was about 6 months pregnant with Mia. As you know, I got HUGE with Mia, but thankfully, the hernia didn't grow too much. The doctor says it will be a quick 30 minute surgery and it won't require any mesh. He says the repair shouldn't tear with any other pregnancies, if that time comes. My surgery date is March 25th.

Mia is doing pretty good - they're weaning her vent settings down a little bit. Her Co2 is a little higher than is typical for her, but it's still considered in the normal range. She's been really sleepy lately, so I don't know if maybe it could be the weather, or maybe it's just that the Co2 is a bit higher. Continue to pray for her!

I need to get ready to see my baby now. =)

If you know you're on the guest list to visit Mia (as of last summer), you're able to visit again! Mia can have two visitors (+ Mommy and Daddy), so come visit! I think visiting hours are basically from about 11am until 8pm. Let me know ahead of time - I'd love to visit with you, too!! =)

God bless you all,
Rachael <3

Update from Mia's ear surgery...

Hi Everybody,

Thank you so much for praying!! =)

It was a great 1st birthday for Mia surrounded by family and our dear friend Victoria (whose daughter is also at CRC) praying for Mia at 1:02pm. =) Thank you for joining us from where you were!

This is a short update because I have to leave in a few minutes for Mia's appointment with the Blind Babies teacher. No, she's not blind. =) Her vision is perfect, actually! But this teacher is to help Mia strengthen her eyes, as well as develop her other senses. =) Mariah is wonderful! =)

Mia's surgery was a little different than we expected. We got to Lucile S. Packard Children's Hospital (at Stanford) a tad late, but she was good to go in for surgery on time - or so we thought. The patients' surgeries before Mia took longer than expected, then there was an emergency surgery when Mia was supposed to go in, so instead of going in at 11am, she finally got wheeled away at 3:45pm. I didn't mind the waiting, but I felt terrible for my baby because she hadn't eaten anything since around 5 or 6am!! =(

We found out that Mia couldn't get the hearing test done after all because of a new policy that went into effect a month or two ago. The only way the audiologist will do it is when patients are off of trachs.

The surgery was super short - only about 45 minutes! The doctor came in to tell us how she did and what his findings were when he looked down her trach and during the Bronchoscopy and also looked down her throat with another scope. The good news is that there was a great deal of fluid in Mia's ears, but the tubes went in smoothly and everything is draining. The not so good news is that during the Bronch, it was noted that Mia will need the trach (as it looks right now). Something wrong with her airway - I can't remember exactly. It'll all kind of a blur. =) Mia's vocal cords are also paralyzed, which was sad to hear. Of course, this doesn't mean she's going to stay that way! We just need to be faithful and pray!!

Another bit of sad news is that it appears that Mia's jaw joints are fused shut. The ENT says that he highly recommends Mia seeing a Neurologist and getting an MRI (which I just mentioned to Dr. Silva last week regarding both). The ENT thinks it'd be good to know what would be expected of Mia of she'll need to open her mouth, because if not, then it wouldn't be worth putting her through that torture of multiple jaw surgeries. And surgeries won't even be considered until Mia is about 4 years old anyway.

In the meantime, we are going to continue massaging Mia's jaw and face, and pray, and we'll see what God will do!! =)

Please keep praying for this amazing little girl - she's so precious!!!

I actually added pictures from Mia's birthday and surgery - can you believe it???

Mia's 1st Birthday/Surgery Photo Album

Pray for Cedes, Willow and I as we drive up to Sacramento for the week - we come back on Friday evening. =)

Enjoy,
Rachael <3

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY TO MIA!! Specific prayer requests...

Happy 1st birthday to our precious little Mia Amore!!

I can't believe how big she is.... Mom and I measured her yesterday and she's grown almost 10 inches and has gained about 12 pounds since birth!!

She's developing great and it's so cute to see her pray with her little Seahorse, her Slinky and her little Beanie Baby skunk called Skunkers. When I lean over her when she's in bed, she loves getting her fingers caught in my bangs - it's so cute!! I'm keeping my bangs long so she can do that!! She's really reaching for things now - toys hanging from her toy bar, people's faces, she loves admiring her hands and grabbing her nose. =)

Mia kept losing weight, so last week they increased her calorie intake and she STILL lost weight!! She's getting so much more active, so I think she's burning her calories quickly - which is wonderful! Hopefully they'll increase her calories again.

Normally, when she gets her blood drawn (which is on average 3 -5 times a month) she just lays there. One of the charge nurses who is a pro at getting Mia's vein without having to poke around to find it was telling me the other day that Mia is now kicking her legs pretty hard fighting because of the discomfort and pain!!! With any other child, it's not a big deal because they do that anyway, but with Mia, we are SOOO happy that she's strong enough to fight now!!

Everybody has noticed (even Dr. Silva!!) that Mia is so much more active, which is making her so much stronger! All of her moves are no longer just floppy movements - they are so precise and purposeful. Everything she touches is for a reason; whenever she moves her head, it's for a reason - I love it!!

I'll need to add a TON of pictures both on a blog and on Facebook because I am soo behind and there are so many cute pictures and videos!! I really wish they had an internet connection at CRC that families could use - I could probably blog at least every other day give all the amazing updates for Mia!

God is good, though this is very challenging, He never fails us!

Please keep Mia in your prayers, as always, but especially today at 1:02pm as we will be praying over her.


Here are some specific prayer requests for Mia:

1. Healing of/from: brain abnormalities
2. Low muscle tone
3. Strength in her lungs
4. Seizures (seems like she's having some small ones again)
5. Tight jaw
6. Not being able to swallow consistently at all

Some others are:

1. Her physical therapy/occupational therapy/developmental therapy
2. Beginning to taste other things (She tasted her first Gummy Worm!)

Thank you so much for praying for us!

We love you all dearly - thank you so much for your support!

In His love,
Rachael for Robert, Mercedes and Mia

Can't believe it...

I'm still in shock that it's been almost been a whole year since our precious Mia was born!! Her birthday is next Thursday, February 4th!

You'd think I'd have somewhat of a schedule or something organized in my life... it's crazy that I hardly have time to come online to update the blog!! Then, whenever I do blog (like today), none of the pictures of videos I want to put on here are on the computer yet. Today's post will most likely be another picture-less blog. Sorry!! I haven't even posted pictures to Facebook since August, I think! I've been terrible in that area. So much for good intentions! =)

Everything is going great - our Cortez family grew! Last Wednesday, my brother Robert and sister in law Jen and nieces Arianna (4) and Caitlin (2 1/2) welcomed little Elijah Benjamin into the world! They had another planned home birth, but this time Jen wanted a water birth - which went beautifully! I missed Arianna's birth by around 3 days and Mercedes and I missed Caitlin's birth by 4 hours because I had to fly out from Las Vegas for both. I was SO excited to be in the area this time to witness Elijah's birth!! He was also a surprise (they've never known the gender of their babies until they were born). He is the first boy in my side of the family, so we are ALL thrilled and still can't believe it! We're so used to girls!! =) It's a fun change! He was born just before midnight and weighed 6lbs 5 oz and was 19'' long! So tiny, but still bigger than Mia was at birth!

Mia is doing great as well! She got her first hair cut on Sunday!! I just trimmed her bangs - she looks even cuter - if that's possible!! =) She's so much more interactive now and LOVES her Slinky!! =) It's too cute!

Be praying for Mia - her surgery for getting the tubes inserted in her ears will be on Friday, February 5th at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital (by Stanford). It should be a short procedure, but they'll also be doing a few other things as well as a hearing test since she'll be out anyway. Robert and I will be hanging out waiting during the surgery, but then she'll be taken back to CRC later that day. I'm sure family will be visiting her then. =)

Oh, that is another new thing! They finally semi-lifted the visiting restrictions! Now 2 people can visit Mia at a time AND just last week, they're now allowing siblings to visit! Mercedes is SO excited to FINALLY go in Mia's room again!! Every time I'd take her to see Mia through the window, she'd always say "I want to go in Mia's room. I'm not sick." She's very happy to be there - and the staff is glad to see Cedes again! =)

One request I do have is that you'd join us in prayer for Mia on her birthday (like we did when she was 2 weeks old).
Pray for Mia's health, healing, life, etc on Thursday, February 4th @ 1:02pm PST

Thank you!

I'll add pictures, etc SOON!! =)

Rachael <3

Two new cute videos of Mia from Sunday night!

Hi Everybody,

Thought you'd enjoy seeing our almost 1-year-old Mia Amore!! =) She is too cute! =)

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I moved Mia from her stroller to her bed to check her diaper, and she just started talking and talking!!!



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Mia's first time getting her teeth brushed!! My first time doing it for her. The CNA's always brush her teeth with a sponge thing, but I decided I'd give a real toothbrush and paste a try. Check it out!



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For those of you who are seeing this in an e-mail, go to the blog website to view the videos.

www.theadamisfamily.blogspot.com


Enjoy!

Rachael <3

Long time to not update... =)

Hi Everyone,

Not all of you knew (unless you saw my post on Facebook) that Mia was sick while we were in Sacramento.

A few of the kids (about 5 out of the 25) in the front group at CRC got some sort of virus. They all had diarrhea. Most of them have had a surgery so they can't throw up (so they don't aspirate with their trach), so we're not sure if their stomachs were hurting, but those who were sick had to go on lockdow (can't leave their rooms). Everybody had to gown up, wear gloves and a mask) and it seemed to work, because once everybody started doing that, it didn't spread to any of the other kids, which is wonderful! =)

Mia started with her sickness on January 5th and was on full strength Pedialyte. When she'd start getting better, they'd switch to to 50%/50% formula and Pedialyte. Her diapers looked better, then they'd get bad again, so she went back and forth 50/50 to full strength Pedialyte for a while. I finally saw Mia after my side of the family celebrated our Christmas with my siblings and my brother's family on the 9th. I must have gotten a little too close at some point even though I was gowned up and everything (or else I just got it from somewhere else), because I was sick from Sunday until almost totally better by Wednesday evening.

She finally came out of her lockdown yesterday!!! We are so happy and I bet she is soo happy to finally get out of her bedroom! =) It's great not having to gown up anymore, too. =)

I'm off to visit her right now, but I'm going to leave you with a picture my Mom took with her cell phone the other night when she was visiting. I can't believe how long Mia's hair is!! =)

Continue to pray for Mia's healing... I'll write another detailed update with Mia's improvements soon. Life is so crazy busy.... I had to MAKE myself write this right now! =)

Rachael <3

Happy 2010!

Hi Everybody,

I feel like it's been forever since I last wrote an update. We are all well. Mia is doing really well, too! Her c02 has been great - mostly in the mid 20's - mid 30's, but Jay is still being very cautious in her weaning. She's now at a breath rate of 29 and her pressure control and support are less than they were 4 weeks ago when she was starting to get sick. So that's good news! =) She's at a .5 to 1 liter of oxygen and she's satting perfectly fine. =) She's still not quite ready for room air just yet, but I know she will get there again soon!

Today is Robert's official day back to work and it was great having him in San Jose for the past 2 1/2 - 3 weeks!! Robert, Mercedes and I (and Willow, too) all drove up to Sacramento yesterday and, as long as Mia stays in stable health, we will all be going back down to San Jose on Friday afternoon.

We're hoping to have the house a little more in order so it actually feels like home, but it's definitely going to take a lot of work!! Mercedes loves her bedroom and being in Sacramento! Willow loves exploring in the house, too! It's funny watching him run around and to see where he goes. I couldn't find him last night for about 20 minutes and I was just hoping he wasn't outside or stuck in the garage somewhere! Turns out our bathroom door shut on him and he was stuck in there all alone in the dark! It was kind of funny. hehe =)

I think my allergies are worse here in Sacramento which isn't fun!! As hard as it is, I'm trying to overlook sneezing and being congested all the time. =) Other than that, I'm doing great! Hopefully I can get the kitchen set up the way I want it. We basically just unpacked and put things in the cabinets, but now I'm seeing how the kitchen will function better, so I'm looking forward to making those little changes. =)

Robert just found out that he'll be able to take the remaining week off from work so we can help each other get the house together and work on some wood working projects! That'll be fun. He's been collecting a ton of great wood working and power tools that he hasn't really been able to use yet, so he's excited about finally using some of them! =)

Continue to lift our family up in prayer. Mia is getting so much stronger and doing things I've never seen her do before!! You know how when you're about to fall asleep and your body sometimes jolts? Well, Mia did that the other day, but when she jolted, the corners of her mouth went down! I have never seen her face make an expression at all (which is one reason why they think she has Mobius syndrome)!

Another new thing she is doing now is when she bats at toys, she's now starting to grab onto them!!

One HUGE new thing I saw yesterday is that when she's sitting on my lap, reclined on my chest, she is now bringing herself into a sitting position (using her abs/trunk). She was going to TOWN moving like crazy yesterday - it was so cute!!! She was soo wobbly, but she kept bringing her head to midline, which was wonderful! Another thing I saw her do yesterday for about 10 minutes was opening and closing her mouth while kind of smacking her tongue - as if she were eating. I've NEVER seen her do that motion even two times together! She was doing it probably every two seconds on and off for about 10 minutes. I was so proud of her!! =)

Mercedes and I are going to try to remember how to get to Target and Costco now, so I will post pictures in a day or two (if we find our way back home. hehe) It's fun exploring and getting "lost" and finding your way back!! I usually remember where I am anyway, but the challenge is still fun! =)

God's blessings to you all,
Rachael <3