Reminder of my thankfulness ...

As we're getting closer to Olivia's transplant I find myself reading more & more about her condition. I know that GOD makes everything happen for a reason... But I'm human & find myself sometimes still looking for answers. Why has this happened to my baby, how could I/we have prevented it, how can I fix it all... Uuuufffff As I was reading more about her condition this morning (5:00 am to be exact) I came across the article explaining her kidney dysplasia condition that said... Quote: "A child with kidney dysplasia affecting both kidneys may not survive outside the womb. If the child does survive birth, early dialysis and kidney transplant will be needed. http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/kidneydysplasia/ Reading that line is what helps Peter & I to forget about what Olivia has & concentrate to what we're blessed with. Her chances of survival were low to none & once she survived birth the doctors gave her 2 yrs tops before the transplant but GOD, our Heavenly Father was the one calling the shots right there next to us, not the dr., not us. He had a plan and still does and all I need is sometimes to be reminded that GOD is in Controll. What a peaceful thought that is to me... That thought gives me the extra breath I need to take when my emotions take over, when my heart feels like it's being stomped on when I hear/see Livi's struggles to just be a normal kid, my GOD is the extra breath I need to take when I'm needed to be strong & be my husband's support... Olivia is so amazing, so strong, so brave, full of love & life and that's what I need to be ThANFUL for and enjoy every second like it's the last one cuz GOD has blessed us with her. I need to stop searching for answers cuz Olivia is GOD's gift and I/ we did nothing to deserve her. GOD loves us so much that HE decided to bless us with the most precious gift in the world... Our Olivia Grace 💝

Fun at the children's museum :)

Mackinaw trip !

Capture moments... (From 4-th bday party to fishing in July)

A full year of updates ...

In the beginning of this year, Olivia & Peter started the transplant journey. It took months of bi-weekly blood drawing but at least we have some great results to start with. They are both a MATCH. Olivia's blood didn't reject Peter's and also so far she tested with zero antibodies which is Amazing news. ( on a normal child you want them to have antibodies to fight viruses, bacteria etc so they built a strong immune system but on a transplant patient any antibody will make it that much harder for the body to accept a new organ( foreign ) without fighting it) Another important test that still needs to be done is the MANO one. Olivia is negative but if Peter tests positive than will give her a 60% higher risk of cancer :- [ { it's all a side effect of the anti rejection meds that she has to take for the rest of her life) Until last month Livi was scheduled to have the surgery this Sept but the past two months have been pretty stable which is encouraging us to postpone the surgery until spring. No date has been set yet due to all of the testing & clearance that both Peter & Livi has to get before surgery ( Cardiologist, urologist, opthomologist, infection dr. , psychologist,2 of the surgeons, nephrologist ... all i remember for now) It is a lot of doctor appointments that takes time from our already busy schedule. Olivia is still on daily growth hormone shots which have been a blessing that shows in her height (39" now from 31" that she started last June) and also she has been getting bi-weekly hemoglobin buster shots to help her make red blood cell which are killed by the enormous toxin amount that her body has due to her kidney failure. She continues to be monitored monthly by her dr. visits & labs. Again this past 2 months have been pretty stable which makes us so thankful to be able to use all this diff meds to help her condition & prolong the surgery time to where she is a bit bigger & stronger to handle it all. The new kidney will be placed in her abdominal area. Her dr. and us have decided to wait on the nephroctomy ( removal of native kidney) surgery until after the transplant. They will wait 2 weeks to see if the old kidney will continue to produce urine than they would have to remove it to protect the new one from drying out & failing. Unless they do the secondary surgery ( adds 2 months hospital recovery) Livi should be out in 4-6 weeks. Afterwords she has to be seen for blood draw (labs)3 x weekly for three months & 2-1 times for another 6 months. She isn't allowed to be around people for 6 months ( beside @ the hospital for labs) due to her immune system & antibodies. Soooo. Beside all the hurt and trauma if everything goes well and she takes care of her new kidney we're looking at abt 15-18 yrs :) She still has to make sure to intake a LOT of fluid which will decide on her g-tube button removal & kidney's life. The dr. said that her patients sometimes can't do it until teenagers when they realize the importance of the water intake for the kidney life-span but I believe in Olivia cuz she is so smart & understands already the severity of her situation. She is my little hero 💛💛💛.

Artprize 2012

This was Livi's first time at the artprize & she really enjoy

ed all the people & balloons :) We sure love our daddy & copy everything he does :)...

Summer 2012

This was a great summer... Our neighbors were so nice to give us some free tickets to the whitecaps last month so Livi had her first basketball game. It was a blast

Livi's friend Noah

... this picture cracks me up cuz they look like a couple after an argument...alreadyyyy hahaha

Locks of Love ...

We have been waiting since Olivia was born to donate her hair but has been challenging to sit her down & actually cut the 11" needed until this July. One day after my haircut appointment Olivia came to me & said:- Mama i am ready to give my hair to the kids that need'em...will make them feel better...sight. Appointment was set in the next hour :)and it was even more special cuz her cousin Briana actually wanted to do it with her & had been waiting for a couple of months just to give Livi the extra support( this was Briana's 2-nd time) It was an awesome experience to see how exited they both were to give their hair to children in need...sooo proud of them...

First time...

First haircut for Locks of Love, first time in the adult pool, first 4-th of July at the new house, first time in her kiddy pool :)

First Times...

First time rolling the dough, first time "hand-writting" her "letters haha, first time getting fake nails (stick on), first time getting her hair done curley by mamma...

Finally back again

After so many months without a computer and not being able to update we're back :). There have been so many changes... good changes during this year. I'll just sum it up shortly. Olivia is now three and a half, 32lb and almost 36 inch long. About 3 months ago Livi started her pre-op transplant road which was put on hold due to her short stature concern. She was still not on the chart for her age which was going to make her growth even harder after the transplant since they couldn’t give her any of the growth hormones after the surgery due to antibody rejections. At that point Peter & I took it upon ourselves to start giving her the shots nightly, hoping we could get some good results on without speeding the transplant procedure... Three months later, I'm grateful to report that Livi has grown almost 2 inches and is finally on the chart (4%tile). She is learning to eat more table food to where 1 yr ago she was still only on baby formula. As for the kidney we're still where we were but we call it "stable" as long as her body can handle all these changes. GOD is good...

Time...

Happy 3-rd birthday Olivia Grace.

Saturday Jan. 31st... 2:47 pm... A feeling of relief ... A cry... Two little hands grabbing on to the dr.'s pointer fingers... Announcement...She is here...ALIVE...

- Finally a deep breath...We'll name her Olivia Grace ...

A squeeze of hands,tears of joy, a kiss in the forehead and prayers.... Lots of prayers as we saw our little angel being taken away to NICU to start her unknown journey ...

- a journey of Miracles ...


I don't even know from when to start my thankfullnes ...

Thank you God for:

- keeping our minds sane during the pregnancy when we discovered every week a new diagnose & why our baby wasn't gonna be born alive
- for assigning wonderful doctors & nurses to take care of our Livi
- for wonderful family & friends that were always there and prayed (& still do) with us everyday.

-and above all, for making her a walking testimony...

Somebody told me once that she is here to bring people smiles on their faces... - No matter how bad your day is once you meet or see Olivia you can't stop but smiling. She has a way to bring happiness to your day...

Thank you GOD for our Olivia Grace

Happy birthday our little miracle. Mommy & daddy loves you UNCONDITIONALY.

First time playing with the snow :)))

:)

Michigan fun

Making Christmas cookies with Briana!!!

Briana always makes sure to make Livi feel special...