Home Sweet Home!

Ok so it's taken me a couple days to get this post written, but thankfully baby Katea was able to be discharged from the hospital the day after I wrote the last post....we were in there for 4 days.  I'm not really sure if they were planning on letting us go home, or if they even wanted us to....but I asked them if I could take her home.  I just figured that they're not really doing anything more for her than I was already doing at home....and we'd both much rather be at home....she's been on oxygen her whole life (with the exception of the last few weeks)....I already give her her flow vent twice a day everyday....I already give her albuterol when she needs it......they weren't suctioning her because she wasn't really congested, the few times they did suction her, they didn't really get anything....so they stopped doing it.  The only thing different was that she was put on an antibiotic for her ear infection.  Other than that, we were sitting in the hospital having them do for her everything I was already doing at home.

I kept thinking about how Tea brought my kids to come visit baby one of the days we were at the hopsital and it broke my heart how much baby Katea's eyes lit up when she saw them.  She went immediately from being sad, lathargic, whiny and out-of-it.....to smiles and bright eyes when she saw her brothers and sister.  On top of her being sick, she really missed her siblings......so why were we at the hospital????

We spent all day there on Sunday....baby had a better day...I wouldn't say it was a good day, but it was definitely better than any of the other days we'd been in the hospital.  She's allergic to any antibiotic, it makes her have diarrhea really bad....so she pooped all over everything....her clothes, herself, me, the bed....everything was covered and so stinky so I took her and gave her a bath.  She felt better after that and we pretty much just watched the olympics and slept all day long.

At shift change for the staff at the hospital, I asked the doctor if we could go home.  He was a little surprised that I was asking, considering she was still on oxygen.  I explained that I didn't feel like she needed to be in there anymore....everything they were doing for her, I could do or have been doing for her at home.  He asked me if I was comfortable with her going home on oxygen (at a higher level than she's ever needed to be on at home....1/2 liter) I told him yes, I'm comfortable....she's almost one and has needed oxygen almost her whole life.  He told me he'd go and talk it over with the other doctor that was coming on and they'd let me know....he was gone for about half hour and then he came back in and said "if you're sure you feel comfortable, I'll go get your discharge papers ready....but you'll have to go fill all her prescriptions for her on your way home"  Yay!  That was totally fine with me....and we would finally get to go home!  :)

The pharmacy at that hospital is closed on Sunday so I had to take all her prescriptions to the Walgreens pharmacy.....this is what we came home with:

An inhaler and chamber mask for her steriod flow vent, she gets 2 puffs twice daily
An inhaler and chamber mask for her albuterol
Saline to help her clear the flem from the back of her throat
Her antibiotic for her ear infection
Tylenol to keep her fevel under control
And more oxygen because she's now on 1/2 liter :(

Lots of stuff for my little miracle to try and help her little lungs get strong again.  She's a fighter and I have no doubt that as soon as this bug that she has passes, she'll get herself off the oxygen....but for now, she needs it.

Today is Thursday so we've been home for a few days.  The first couple days were so sad, she was obviously still really sick.  We stayed on top of her medications and yesterday and today she's more like herself....she's still got a little cough, but she's back to her smiley self and she wants to play with her toys and in her bouncer....she didn't really want to eat anything for the first little while, and when we'd try to put anything in her mouth (even her medicine) she's close her lips really tight and not open her mouth....so we put some orajel on the teeth that were breaking through and that seemed to solve the problem lol.  It was actually so cute!  Today was a lot better and there were times she was able to go for short periods of time without oxygen.  She needs it when she's eating or sleeping....but she's getting there....and we've got her back down to the 1/8 liter that she was on when we got dischared from the NICU....at least that's progress!

Thanks for all the calls, texts, fb messages and all the love and prayers for my little Katea.  We have such a wonderful support system and we are so grateful!  We love you all!

This picture was taken a few weeks ago, but I wanted to post a picture of my chubby, happy, oxygen free miracle child!  We'll get back to this in no time at all!  I love you my baby Katea! 

Hospital again :(

So baby Katea and I are posted back in the hospital.  :(  We've been here since Thursday night, and it's Sunday now.  Poor baby girl.  Lautala has had a cough and runny nose for a few days, and we've been trying to keep her away from baby Katea.....but yeah right!  Anyone who has little kids, specifically a 2 year old, mama-wanna-be, know it all....knows that that is NOT possible.  Lautala just loves her baby sister....LOVES her!  She's constantly hugging and kissing on her....so to tell her to stop was a big yeah right!  I walked into the living room on Wednesday and saw baby Katea laying on the floor playing with her toys....gramma Tea was sleeping on the couch and Lautala was on top of baby, strattling her kissing her on the mouth.  As soon as I saw that I yelled "get away from her".....Lautala looked at me scared, jumped off her and ran away crying.  I felt bad, because that was a pretty harsh sudden reaction....I mean, Lautala is two years old, she doesn't understand that she's getting baby sick, she only knows she loves her sister and she was giving her loves.  I called Lautala back and told her I was sorry for yelling at her and I explained that she can't kiss baby right now because she was sick and if she kissed baby, she would get her sick and baby would have to go to the hospital.  Tala kept saying "sorry baby" with the saddest little voice and facial expression.  Sad.

By that night baby already had a cough.  It wasn't too bad, and her breathing didn't seem to be affected, so I was hoping it would just pass.  No such luck.  She slept through the night just fine, and even on Thursday during the day she seemed fine....she would cough a little here and there, but she was still her happy self.  Then Thursday night came and her cough started getting worse.  She didn't have a fever, but she looked like she was working really hard to breathe....I gave her the flow vent that she gets everyday, along with a couple puffs of albuterol in hopes that she wouldn't have to work so hard to breathe.....usually those two things make a huge difference and help her so much,  but they didn't seem to be working.  I still have all her oxygen tanks, and the monitor from when she was on oxygen.  She hasn't needed to use them for almost 2 months now, but her pediatrician suggested I keep them around just in case.  Well, I didn't have any foot sensors for the monitor....I had used them all and didn't order any more because she hasn't needed them.  It was driving me crazy that I had the monitor right there, but couldn't use it.......and I even tore up my whole room hoping to find one hidden somewhere with no luck.  Ova and I watched her for a little while and she just seemed to be getting worse.  She was so tired, but couldn't sleep....so she was in that out-of-it stage and she was moaning.  It was so sad.  I decided to bring her in to make sure she was ok.

I just brought her to the Riverton ER, and it was a good thing I did.  As soon as they put the monitor on her, she was satting in the 70's, so they hurried and put oxygen on her....and turned it up to 1 liter.  They checked her vitals, got her weight and measurements, had the on-call pediatrician come in and ask me a million questions about her medical history and then decided right then that they were going to admit her.  I was bummed, but honestly I knew that was coming.  She's just an extra fragile case, especially with her lung disease....so with the need for oxygen, I knew they were gonna make her stay.  I was thinking it would only be for 24 hours though, not several days.  Thankfully the Riverton hospital has its own branch of Primary Children's hospital....so they admitted her here.  I wish I would have known that back in February when we went to Primarys....cause I would have just brought her here.  Private rooms, not as crowded, newer, cleaner.......at least I know from now on :)  They swabbed her mouth so they could test to see if she had RSV or any of the other viruses out there....and it came back negative for all the viruses they test for, but the doctor told me that even though it came back negative, she knows baby has a virus.  She wanted to just keep us overnight to make sure baby didn't get any worse, and if she didn't then we could have went home the next morning.  Good thing we stayed because baby got SO MUCH WORSE!  She got a fever, which she didn't have before....she started to sound congested, and she didn't before....she would throw-up from coughing because of all the flem in her throat.....sad, sad, sad.  They came in to do their exam on her and we found out that she's breaking 3 teeth on the top....and she has a mild ear infection in her left ear.  So everything was hitting her at once....poor girl :(

She was so tired, but she wouldn't let herself sleep....she would just lay there all lathargic and cry/moan.  She just wanted me to hold her....so I did, all night.  I was so tired too because I hadn't slept yet, so everytime she'd fall asleep in my arms....I would try to lay her in her crib and she would wake right up crying...that continued pretty much all night....she'd only sleep in 5-10 minute intervals....all night long.  She only stopped crying when I would hold her.  Finally they just took the crib out and brought a hospital bed in our room so I could sleep with her.  That was the best idea ever!  She was happy that I was right by her, and was finally able to let herself sleep....and I was able to sleep too and we both slept all night! 

The next morning was her worst day.  Added on to everything that was going on with her before, she now had diarrhea from the antibiotics (she's allergic) and a completely raw little bum.  Thankfully they kept up on her tylenol and ibuprofen and so she didn't fever too bad, so she pretty much slept all day long.  They would come wake her up to suction her and give her albuterol treatments....and then she'd go right back to sleep.  Her breathing was horrible...she was breathing really fast, like 72 breaths a minute...and she was retracting...even after the albuterol treatments, so they ended up turning her oxygen up to 3 liters...and even with the 3 liters, she was satting 89-91.  I cried about that because that was a HUGE step backwards.  They had to go and get the water to humidify the oxygen because the flow was so high that without it, it would have dried out her little nose.  I just couldn't get over the 3 liters, she hasn't needed that much help since she was back in the NICU.  They slowly tried to wein the flow down throughout the day, but she didn't really tolerate it very well.  Right now she's on 1/2 liter of oxygen and she's satting in the high 80's.  She needed over 1 liter for almost 24 hours.  :(

I had a breakdown...and a little pity-me session while baby was sleeping.  I was just feeling really overwhelmed with everything we've been faced with lately, and feeling really lonely.  Ova can't move...he's in pain constantly...nobody knows what's wrong with him and he's been bed ridden for going on 3 months now.  I'm clingy and I need him....but he can't be there for me.  That, and the reality that I was going to be living in the hospital again for who knows how long, just got to me.  I cried for a long time to myself.  Just wondering why.  But then I realized that it's not always going to be like this.  Baby is going to grow and get stronger....she already has, so much.....and hopefully we're going to find out what's wrong with Ova, and fix it.  I guess I need these little trials in my life to keep me grounded and to help me realize how blessed I really am.  I have beautiful children, a loving husband....my miracle baby who comes out stronger with everything she's had to go through....a loving family.....a guardian angel......and so much more.  The good always outweighs the bad if I just take time to look for it.  I am blessed.  I am grateful.

Baby started feeling a little better today so I gave her a bath and cleaned her up....look how cute she looks in her hospital gown!  :)  That's my little miracle!

Fingers crossed we can go home tomorrow!

My favorite times

constist of this: 

late nights.....all the kids in our room, on our bed.....Ova has one of his instruments and is playing some OG Tongan songs.....my boys are singing in Tongan at the top of their lungs....Tala is either clapping or dancing.....and me and baby Katea are watching and listening!

Fun times with our little family that I will always cherish and hopefully my kids will always remember!

So glad my kids picked up on Ova's love for music!

Pool Party

Makai turned 9 years old on July 16th......my goodness, I can't believe I have a 9 year old.  My kids are growing up way too fast!   I asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday, and all he wanted to do was to go swimming with all his cousins......ALL his cousins is A LOT of people....so I had to find a place where we would all fit. LOL. I called the Kearns Rec (because let's face it, they have the best pools in town) and rented it out on the night of his birthday.  The price was reasonable, we could have a lot of people, and it was private....score, score score!  :)  I whipped up these invites, sent them out to all the family and we were ready to celebrate Makai's birthday....

His birthday fell on a Monday, and we were able to rent it out on his actual birthday.....but unfortunately, that day was pretty overcast and stormy all day long.....we were hoping it would pass before the party actually started, but no such luck. I was at Sam's Club picking up his birthday cake and got a call from the rec coordinator. She was telling me that the forcast showed thunder storms and high winds up to 70 mph. They had to close the pool because of the forcast....so they were calling to ask us which day we could reschedule it....the next day, Tuesday was available, so we set it for that day and started to call and text everyone. Makai was so bummed, worried that people wouldn't come.....but Tuesday came and it was a huge hit! We had tons of family there....I'd say over 200 people....we bought pizza and drinks....and Jr brought his dj equipment and we had music going....we rented the pool with the kids playground and the diving board pool...and everyone was swimming and having tons of fun! Ova has been bed ridden since Mother's day, and that was the first day he was actually left the house, in a wheelchair, to celebrate Makai's birthday. He was in a lot of pain and it took a lot out of him, but he was there and Makai was so happy! :) A swimming party seems like the best kind of party because you don't really have to plan anything....everyone just swims and has fun. We rented the pool until 11pm and we all stayed until the very last minute. What a Happy Birthday for my handsome Makai, and such a wonderful way to spend quality time with our families.....afterall, family time is the best time. :)

(Get ready for lots of fun pictures!)

After the party, we went home to open presents.....Makai is showing his battle wound from getting pushed into the pool. LOL

Happy 9th Birthday son, we love you so much!

QT with my kiddos

Life gets crazy busy sometimes and if we don't stop sometimes to enjoy it, it passes us right by.  I know I can see it in my kids, they are growing up way too fast.  I don't know where the time has gone, it flew right by....I look at them and they're all mature and grown up.  I'm so blessed with them, with ALL of them.  Sometimes I look at them and just smile because they are mine, and they are so beautiful.  This past year has been a super crazy year and I've needed to spend a lot of time at the hosptial with baby Katea.  That has aged me, and my poor children.  I love them with all my heart, they are my biggest blessings.....along with their dad!  :)  I try to make time to spend with them every once in a while....just a family day, taking my kids on a date.  We can do whatever we want and we always have fun!  Today I took them to lunch at our favorite spot, Leatherby's.  Usually these dates include Ova too, but he wasn't able to make it with us this time.

Lunch!  Yummy!

And dessert!  Yummy!

Filimone Matakaiongo, Makai Semisi Folau, Ilaisaane Lautala & Kalolaine Katea.....I LOVE YOU!!!

The miracles are turning ONE!!

Can't believe it's been almost a year already since our NICU ride began.....we sure went through a whole lot of stuff, and continue to go through things.....but thankfully, it's pretty much a distant memory that I will never ever forget...and an experience that through all the heartache and tears and amazingly proud mommy moments, has made me a better, stronger and more grateful person!

Baby Katea will be one year old next month, on September 26th.....I can hardly believe it.  A lot of her NICU buddies are already turning one.  It's a real blessing to be able to celebrate such a HUGE milestone with all these little miracles.

The First NICU buddy birthday party we were invited to was for Mr. Callen VanHise.....he was born @ 24 weeks gestation just like baby Katea....and he's amazing!  He was only 1 pound when he was born....and just like baby Katea, his parents didn't know if he was going to make it.  The NICU ride was rough, but like I said, he's amazing and he did!  He was off oxygen before he even left the NICU, which was amazing in itself.....and he's eating and growing and smiling and interacting just like he should be.  He's such a cutie pie!  He was actually Katea's neighbor in the NICU for his last couple weeks before he got to go home....that was back in December, and now he's ONE!!  He turned 1 in July and had a little pool party birthday party.  I was so glad they invited us, we wouldn't have missed it for the world!  :)

Katea & Callen....NICU buddies.....24 week miracles

We got to see Laura, one of Callen's primary nurses....who took care of baby Katea a few times too :)

Little Miss Charly Bella was the second NICU buddy miracle who turned one.  I just love little Charly, and her mama Angie......she's just something extra special.  Charly was also born at 24 weeks, weighing only 1 pound at birth.....and she actually spent the first 5 months of her life in the hospital.  She faced a lot of challenges and struggles, but if you look at her beautiful little face....she's such a miracle.  She's so beautiful and so strong.  Her story is amazing, and you can find it on her mom's blog right HERE!  Charly and Katea never actually met in the NICU....Charly was born a couple months before Katea, and even though she was born at the same hospital, she was transferred up to Primary Children's NICU before Katea was born.....I fell upon her mom's blog while Katea was still in the NICU and spent one whole night while I was visiting baby in the NICU to read her whole entire blog from the beginning to the end.  I found so much strength in the words that were jumping off that page at me, and I felt like I needed to contact her to let her know.  She contacted me right back and we've been really good friends ever since.  We shared somewhat of the same experiences with our little miracles, but even more than that.....I just love Angie.  She's the perfect example of faith strength and unconditional love....and there's absolutely nothing she won't do for her little Charly.  She inspires me, she's such a wonderful person!

She had a pool party for Charly's first birthday, they rented out the Kearns Rec outdoor pool.  I took all my kids and that was the first time that Katea and Charly got to meet.  It was the sweetest thing, because as we sat them togther to take a picture, they were holding hands.  I'm a crybaby and was trying to hold back my tears....it was just a really special moment for me, and I couldn't help but think that these two little miracles were good friends in heaven and they knew they were going to come into this world like they did...and they were going to fight hard...and make it....and meet and be best friends :) 

Katea & Charly Bella......"Besties".......24 week miracles

With their NNP (Neonatal Nurse Practicioner) Joanna Johnson that took care of both of them in the NICU

Happy Happy Birthday Callen & Charly Bella....one year down....many many more to come!  :)

Slow Down!!!

I got a text from my little sister, it was a picture mail of her baby boy Tani all cut up with a fat lip...and she said Grampa and Tani got into an accident on the four-wheeler and they were on the way to the ER.

I called around to see what happened, but nobody was answering their phones.  Finally I got a hold of my older sister to see if she had heard anything, and she had talked to my mom for a few minutes before they went into the hospital and that my dad was cut up pretty badly and so was my nephew Tani.  We decided we were going to drive down to the Provo hospital to see if they were ok.

I met my sister in Lehi and we headed down to Utah county....not knowing what really happened, or what to expect.  When we got to the hospital, they took us back to the room where they were at and this is what we saw when we first walked in

My dad and Tani both got to share a room and my mom, my little sister and her husband, my Uncle Taniela and his daughter were all there....along with the nurses.  My dad and little Tani were pretty out of it, but the rest of the family in the room explained what happened.

My dad was letting the kids take turns riding on the 4-wheeler, and it was Tani's turn to ride.  They were just going down the street in front of their house and my dad noticed a car speeding up behind them and the car wasn't slowing down at all.  In a panic, my dad went off the side of the road so the car wouldn't hit them, but they hit a pothole and went flying off the 4-wheeler.  My dad's fatherly/grandfatherly instincts kicked in and immediately he went into survival mode and only thought of protecting little Tani.  They were going fast enough when they hit the pothole that they were flown off the 4-wheeler straight towards a barbed wire fence.  My dad cradeled Tani in his arm and took the full impact of the barbed wire on his arms.  Once he hit the fence, with the fence spikes in his arms, he threw his arms out so Tani wouldn't get hit.  The spikes from the fence tore my dad's arms from one side to the other.  The strength of my dad's arms broke the fence and the end came flying back and hit little Tani in the face brusing his cheek, cutting up his face and neck...slicing his lip wide open and knocking out his front tooth.  It was pretty traumatic.....and the thing that made it even worse was that the stupid car who caused this accident saw it happen but didn't even stop to see if they were ok, they just kept speeding on. >:-[

My little sister Marie (Tani's mom) was outside jumping on the trampoline with my other sister Leka and they kind of saw what happened, but not really.  All they saw was a car speeding by and my dad and Tani flying in the air.....they thought the car had hit them.  When Marie walked up to them she saw a lot of blood and screamed for someone to call 911.  They did and the ambulance came and picked them up and took them to the hospital.

My dad had to get several running stitches down both of his arms because the cuts were just so deep.  He kindof blacked out when it happened so they did x-rays and tests to make sure he was ok.  The x-rays showed that there was significant bruising on his muscles, just from trying so hard to protect Tani. 

Tani had to get several stitches in his upper lip and he lost his front tooth.

And they both were really really sore.

My dad is a hero!  I have no doubt that he saved Tani's life that day.  And he would do it again in a heartbeat for any of his grandkids.  Seeing how deep and big the cuts are on my dad's arms, and imagining if those were on Tani's little body....things could have turned out so much worse if my dad didn't do what he did to protect him.

What a scary night for our whole family....but also a blessed night that they are ok.

To the car that was speeding and didn't even stop to see if the people you ran off the road were ok......we forgive you for what you did.....my dad was in a lot of pain for a long time, and you scared our whole entire family, but they are ok.  Please SLOW DOWN and pay attention....we all got lucky this time, but if there's a next time, we may not be so lucky!

Thank you to all who have shown concern and prayed for them.....my dad is a tough man and he's ok.  We appreciate all the love and prayers on his behalf!

Football Camps

We are pretty lucky to live in a place where there are so many up and rising athletes.....who start out with nothing, but with a lot of dedication, hard work, education and talent.....they've made it to the NFL.  We have several family members and close family friends who have made it professional, and the nice thing about that is that even with all their fame and fortune, they still remember where they came from and they are always giving back.  Our kids are so lucky to have the opportunities that are given to them through these professional football players.

Sione Po'uha - New York Jets
Ma'ake Kemoeatu - Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, Washington Redskins, now Baltimore Ravens again
Chris Kemoeatu - formerly a Pittsburg Steeler....3 superbowls and 2 rings, now a free agent
Naufahu Tahi - formerly a Minnesota Viking
Reno Mahe - formerly a Philadelphia Eagle

and those are just the ones we know personally......there are so many other boys from the polynesian community who I haven't mentioned, who also give back the the community.

Every year these players get together during their off season and put together football camps for our young polynesian boys....the camp is run by polynesian NFL players, but they put it on for anyone and everyone who is 8-17 years old.  There are two camps every summer, and all the players get together and help each other.  The first camp is run by Fahu Tahi and Reno Mahe and it's called the G.I.F.T.E.D camp.....that stands for Grid Iron Football Training & EDucation. 

The first day was for the younger elementary aged boys......they focused on the younger kids and spent a few hours with them running drills and teaching them different plays....then they would take a break and have a few of the NFL players come and give little motivational speeches.  These guys are like heros to these little kids....and it's so nice to see them come back to their hometown and give hope to these little kids that if they work hard, they can go places too!  I love that in their speeches they didn't only talk about football stuff, but they emphasized to the kids that they need to listen to their parents and go to school!  As if the camp wasn't enough for the kids, they also all got t-shirts and lunch.  This is the second camp my boys have been to, and I will make sure to take them every year from now on!  :)  What a great thing!

After the camp, my boys and their cousins took a picture with their uncle and NFL player Fahu Tahi

The weekend after the G.I.F.T.E.D camp, Sione Po'uha and the Kemoeatu brothers put on the DREAM BIG camp.  That was another opportunity for the kids to learn the game of football and to run some drills.....but more importantly to get hope and motivation from the NFL players.  The DREAM BIG camp's main focus is teaching the kids that it's ok to dream big.....and that if they work hard and get good grades and listen to their parents, their dreams can come true!  The DREAM BIG camp was 2 days long for the little kids and besides the opportunity to work with the players, they also got lunch on both days and a t-shirt.

Running drills with Jr Salt....a current UofU football player

Matt Asiata....a former UofU football star (my boys are his biggest fans!)

Deuce Lutui of the Seattle Seahawks

Uncle Ma'ake Kemoeatu of the Baltimore Ravens

Uncle Sione Po'uha of the New York Jets

Thank you all for taking time out of your schedules to spend time with our kids....and for always giving back!  My boys loved it!

And of course, a shot of my Tala girl....she was my sidekick in the bleachers holding my umbrella while the boys were on the field :)