Christopher has a donor!

Just as I was getting the kids to bed after a long Monday, Jason handed me the phone.  It was Dr. Ascher.  I wonder why she’s calling?  What came next was blah blah blah…donor…come to the hospital…surgery in the morning.  It seemed so surreal.  I was speechless.  She asked if I had any questions and I couldn’t take it all in so I asked for her number just in case I did have questions.

First thought that crossed my mind: dammit, we’re gonna miss Halloween again!  Second thought: thank you Lord I don’t have to go under!  It’s a miracle!

I clarified with Jason (who looked like he seen the dead) and I ran up and down the house telling my mom, dad, sister, and Auntie Wilda.  Nate overheard my telephone conversation and he started crying.  He missed his mom and he missed me.  I gave him a hug and went off packing our bags.  So much to do but I figured I’d take our time – what else would we do overnight?  You can’t fool me.  The only thing they’d do is stick him with an IV, make him starve and hydrate him.  No rush!

I took a shower, cleaned up a bit, made some phone calls, and got the kids into their Halloween costumes.  I can’t believe it!  Second year in a row we’d miss it.  Oh well.  We took pictures of the boys 2 days earlier – they’d never know.

We finally packed up the car, said good-bye, kissed my other two boys, and we were off.  The trip to UCSF was the longest ride ever and Christopher seemed a bit sullen.  Did he know?  I couldn’t help but think it.  My poor, brave Christopher.

We got to the ER and checked in.  Everyone was a bit confused as we were supposed to come in Tuesday morning.  Oh mann, the miscommunication begins!  We waited in the ER for 6Long to prepare our bed.  After awhile we got upstairs and 6Long was all too familiar.  After all, we were admitted five times already.  It was like an old friend.  The peds came in and asked lots of questions and the nurse took his vitals.  My brave boy did what he had to do without a peep and now he’s sleeping.  I hope I get some rest – tomorrow will be a rough, rough day for us.

Before I was a Mom

I found this online and really liked it! Enjoy!

Before I was a Mom

I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.

I didn’t worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom -

I had never been puked on.

Pooped on.

Chewed on.

Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom

I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.

Or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom

I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn’t want to put
him down.

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn’t
stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so small could affect my life so
much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom -

I didn’t know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.

I didn’t know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.

I didn’t know that bond between a mother and her child.

I didn’t know that something so small could make me feel so
important and happy.

Before I was a Mom -

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes
to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,

the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn’t know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a
Mom.

Scam!

As you read my blogs, I feel that I have some sort of power or responsibility to make you aware of what’s going on out there.

As you know, we had lots of stuff left over from Christopher’s yard sale.  Mom, as usual, posted the items on craigslist and a man responded that he was interested in buying the baby items and helping Christopher.  He’d pay $300 for it and have his “shipping agent” pick it up.  I wasn’t too involved with what Mom was doing until I got a phone call from a person who mediates for the deaf.  Supposedly, he, the buyer, was deaf but needed my info.  So, here I am taking the call not really hearing or understanding the process.  Then, he said “money order” – “return back to me via Western Union” – blah, blah, blah…Those words caught my attention immediately as I remembered watching Dateline’s exposure of overseas scams.  Before I knew it, he had my address where to mail the money order.  Ok, let’s see if he sends it.

Low and behold, Monday morning, I get an overnight package from the Buyer.  Enclosed are two money orders in the amount of $850 each.  Then I get a call.  Its the shipper telling me he’ll email me instructions.  He emails instructions to cash the checks and wire the rest to someone in PA who is his shipper.

Funny, the money orders don’t have a watermark, are dated almost a month before the yard sale, and are from WA state.  Dad contacts CVS, the money order issuer.  Me being me, I email the Buyer that the items aren’t for sale and politely ask what he wants me to do with the money orders.

I get an email saying, “No problem.”  Cash the checks and wire the money to the shipper.  WTH?  I’m not dumb or your secretary!

Then I get an email today basically saying that I’m being shady and that he doesn’t want to take it to extreme measures.  Oh no, you did not!  What to do?  To sweeten the story, CVS responds back to my Dad saying that they do NOT issue money orders over $500 – anything over is fraudulent.

Mom emails him something polite but not me.  I call him out on his scam!  Story to be continued.

It breaks my heart to think that everyone is trying to help us but this bad apple is trying to take advantage.

“Tom,” at least take advantage of someone who’s best friend isn’t Google.

Our Weekend…

I must say this weekend has been one of the best weekends I’ve had in awhile.  To start, we didn’t have to fundraise!  Don’t take it in the wrong way – last month was beyond tiring and I’m glad I have my weekends back.

It started with SAIC’s Ice Cream Social for Christopher on Friday.  The weather was perfect – perfect day to have ice cream.  Jason and I brought the boys to Nate’s school and we watched as the lil kids bought ice cream and toppings to raise funds for Christopher.  Thank you Sr. Carolyn and to the parents who organized the event!

The school got to meet Christopher and Evan and the boys became celebrities!  We got to meet the 6th graders who made those sweet, get well cards for Christopher.  We met and talked with some of the parents.  The SAIC community welcomed us with open arms and them being there has made our experience all the better.

Friday night, my parents gave us the best gift ever: a hotel stay in Half Moon Bay – away from the kids, the stress, etc.  It was just going to be Jason and I; and man oh man, was it sorely needed!  The books weren’t joking how tired you’d be with twins!  I would finally get uninterrupted sleep!  And I could sleep in!  What more could I ask for?!?!

Jason and I jetted outta the City when Dad came home.  We decided to have dinner and we found sushi!  I indulged a bit but still kept the calories light.  Jas and I talked about work, the kids, our fears about the surgery, etc.  It was weird being without our boys and we didn’t know what to do with ourselves.  We got back to the hotel, watched some TV and with the grueling work week on my shoulders, I fell asleep at 9p!  Oh the freedom!  Hahaha…

I ended up waking up at 7:30a on Saturday, the time the twins wake up, and I was mad because I didn’t even know HOW to sleep in anymore.  Go figure.  Jas was up too.  We decided we missed the boys too much and we were outta there.  Jas and I went for breakfast at Stacks in Burlingame and it was heavenly!  We finished up, raced home and came home to the biggest smiles and hugs!  I missed all of them terribly but hey, I’d probably get away again in a heartbeat!  Thanks Mom and Dad!  The rest of Saturday, Jason and I enjoyed QT with the boys.  We played, watched movies, etc.  It was fun just being the 5 of us….

On Sunday, we got up early, got ready and filed the boys into the car – all before 12p!  That was a milestone!  We headed towards Pier 39 to watch the Blue Angels.  Another gorgeous day!  We grabbed some food and set up on the grass.  It wasn’t the best grass and we were dodging doggy doo-doo the whole time so we moved towards the back of the pier.  Just as the Blue Angels arrived, the twins fell asleep!  They gotta be my kids if they could sleep through all the noise!  Nate enjoyed himself and was all smiles.  We got him a Blue Angels fighter plane to commemorate the outing.  We headed back to the car, sat in a little bit of traffic, and drove to Baskin Robbins in Westlake to end the day with ice cream!

Yes, this weekend was just what we ALL needed.  Some sort of normalcy before the craziness and chaos begins.

Thank you for supporting Chris’ Yard Sale!

It’s been awhile since I blogged and so much has happened…

First and foremost, I am The candidate to be Christopher’s living donor.  Jason and I talked with Dr. Roberts two weeks ago and a sigh of relief was heard all around the world!  Since Christopher is doing so well, we have some time in which I can continue to lose weight.  How ironic:  I have to lose weight and Christopher has to gain weight.  Go figure!

It turns out that I have a fatty liver just like Jason and they want to biopsy it but they might as well poke me when I have a leaner liver.  I’ve been trying my best to be good and shed the pounds - I’m on a strict 1,500 calorie diet (that is difficult to follow with the good Filipino food in my house), work out with a trainer 3x a week, cardio for days, and Pilates to stretch out the soreness.  Time is not on our side so I might as well do it right the first time, right?  It’s the price I pay for loving food so much!

Secondly, I wanted to thank everyone who made the Yard Sale happen and for those who shopped for a great bargain!  We made $2,400 that weekend and no, the money did not come easy.

Thank you Fr. Ramon and Sr. Martina at Corpus Christi Church for being so hospitable!  Thank you Bethony, Anna, and Lindsay for facilitating!  Thank you Mom for being you and being so proactive with everything - sorting, contacting the media, etc.!  Thank you Jen and Karen for the baked goods – they sold out!  Thank you Dad, Auntie Liz, Auntie Wilda, Auntie Cynthia, Uncle Rolly, Jason, Manuel, Jillian, Cecilia, Bern, Nina, Jamie, Justin, Ryan, Ricky, Mariza, Travis, AJ and Nate for helping out – great teamwork!  And thank you for those who donated their items – we couldn’t have done it without you too!