Dec 31, 2008

Adrian is lucky to have Aunt S who dropped by after work to play with him the whole afternoon. He later welcomed uncle home and spent sometime playing with the Mexican hat that uncle brought home. It was nice to spend the evening home as we suppose the streets will be packed with people celebrating the New Year.

2008 has been a better year for us (at least better than 2007) and we sincerely hope that the year 2009 would bring even better luck for all of us. The stats counter on this website indicated there's well over 10K visits from 58 countries/territories during this whole year 2008. We can't tell you how thankful we are to have so many people watching over us. Happy New Year!!!



Dec 29, 2008

We have been debating whether to go to Disney today given the overcast weather in the morning and finally we gave it a go! Arrived the park at 11am and didn't leave until 21:30. Adrian was awake the whole time and he enjoyed it very much. We've tried most games/rides in the Fantasy Garden, took the Jungle River Cruise at the Adventureland and tried out Autopia in Tomorrow Land; however, leaving several unchecked on our list... Then we were off to see the parade and the special Christmas Show later in the evening. We were lucky that the show was still on despite the rain in the afternoon. Adrian was so fascinated to see both the show and the fireworks before closing. We had so much fun that we decided to upgrade our tickets to an annual pass and will probably go again on Jan 2nd!

We are very impressed with the whole HK Disney experience that the staff are extremely helpful and kid-friendly. Too bad that we didn't have any pictures taken with the cartoon characters (except Mickey) and will definitely hunt them out on our next visit!

Dec 26, 2008

Instead of gifts opening on Boxing Day, we had Adrian's FIRST studio pictures done this morning. Mama has been longing to get studio pictures for Adrian for a long long time and finally she put it in action. The pictures not only met our expectations and they truly capture the essence of the moments. It's the best Christmas present we could ever ask for. They will be kept in a beautiful album for Adrian to treasure for years to come.

Adrian's studio pix

Dec 24, 2008

Papa returned to work leaving only Mama & Adrian home. It's an ordinary day until everyone is off work late in the afternoon and off we hit the Mall - Mega Box for a stroll and our Christmas Eve dinner. We finally bought the tickets to HK Disneyland and are planning to go before the New Year.

Dec 23, 2008

We have a small gathering with a few of Mama's prenatal class friends who happened to be in Hong Kong and their kids. The last time we had such gathering in Dec 2006 when Adrian was 8 months old and since then the kids have all grown up to be toddlers running around the house. Adrian was a bit shy (as always) at the beginning and it's until later he started to mingle with the other kids. The kids are all similar in size and they are all very much conversant with the exception of Adrian. We finished off the day by checking out a new playroom nearby, quoted as "Hong Kong's largest candy themed indoor play centre". The place is quite big with mazes, slides, shooting balls and Jumping castle etc.. Adrian totally loved it there and refused to go even after an intensive 2 hours playing there. Will definitely go and visit again later.

Dec 22, 2008

Last day of school in 2008 and we are supposed to prepare some holidays food to bring to school for party & potluck. Mama didn't make anything and instead bought some cookies and popcorn for the kids. Adrian seemed to know that it's party time that he's all happy as soon as we arrived the school in the morning. He brought home the Christmas gift - a bag of goodies, prepared by the teacher the end of day; however, he didn't have much interests in them (not interested in eating snacks as always).

Papa started his 2-day holidays and so we decided to bring Adrian to visit the "Thomas & Friends" being showcased in Discovery Park, Tsuen Wan after school. It's our first time to this medium sized mall and Adrian was all excited when he saw the trains. Other than the Train Engines being displayed, there's also some games related to Thomas & Friends where kids can play upon spending over $200 at the mall. Adrian played all games and had a very fun afternoon there that he only napped maybe 30 mins on our ride home. Will upload some pictures later.

Dec 17, 2008

Adrian loves "cooking" these days. He likes to use the toy knife and cut up the veggies, fish and fruit. Just out of surprise, Papa got a brand new set of play kitchen from his co-worker who happened to have a few toy samples from a friend. Adrian was so happy when he saw it the first time after school and can't wait to play with it. It's like a dream come true...

Dec 14, 2008

Probably the last Christmas Party to go this year for Adrian. We all headed to QMH, not because Adrian was sick but to the Christmas Party specially held for kids who have once stayed in K8N. Adrian dressed up like a clown (very girly) and he was daydreaming during the first half of the party. It's only on the second half of the party where he actively participated in the games and singing. Again, Adrian got a full bag of toys - mainly cars!!!

Santa thought Adrian was a girl...


Ms Tam Yuk Ying was one of the MCs from TVB


Group picture with Santa

Dec 13, 2008

Adrian has been busy going to parties. He met with Great Grandpa for lunch and then headed to another Christmas Party hosted by the CCF. Adrian had so much fun playing the games, not to mention getting gifts and a Polaroid picture with Santa.

Dec 12, 2008

Adrian had his first Christmas Party to go this year and it's Kids' Christmas Party held at Papa's workplace. It was a short hour and a half party where Adrian got a gift/picture with Santa, balloons and entertained by a clown with some refreshments. We all had a good time!



Dec 10, 2008

Papa took a day off on this very special day - Today marked the 1st anniversary of Adrian's BMT (AMBT on Dec 10, 2007).

We kicked off the day by attending Adrian's first School Christmas Show at the community centre nearby. It was only a short 3 minutes dancing and singing part and Adrian did a good job on it. He's not afraid being on the stage and managed to dance through the whole song. We are so proud of him!!! We had a quick lunch shortly after the show then we rushed to QMH for Adrian's first post BMT vaccination. Adrian had a total of 3 shots this time and according to the schedule, we'll be back again for more shots on Jan 7, 2009.

Getting ready...




Adrian is at the far right...


Posing after the show.

Dec 8, 2008

PBMT - Day 362

Adrian was given a small project from school last week - a potted plant (the length of an index finger)!! We are supposed to take good care of it and grow it big by February, bring it back and the school will give them away to the Elderly Home. We have been procastinating and finally Papa "transplanted" the little plant into a proper pot for growing today. It'll be both Mama & Adrian's responsibility to water it and watch it grow daily.

Dec 7, 2008

PBMT - Day 361

We checked out the Christmas decorations in the city after having dinner with a group of girlfriends from university. It was a nice catch up with the girls before the holidays and it's also the first time for some of them to meet up with Adrian.





Dec 6, 2008

PBMT - Day 360

Waking up early for Adrian's TCM appointment then headed to the school for the first Parents & Teacher Interview!!! There were no surprises since there's constant communication daily at drop off/pick up. Both the teacher and us noticed Adrian has big improvements since the beginning of the school year. He is more verbal (not yet conversant though) and disciplined than before. He can take instructions most of the times but still can't quite communicate on what he wants. At least we are happy that Adrian loves school and enjoys it very much.

Dec 5, 2008

PBMT - Day 359

Adrian finally master the art of "blowing" these days. Though he didn't do it quite properly but at least he can position his mouth/lips so there's air coming out. According to the ST, this is a good exercise to strengthen his oral muscle.

Adrian in winter uniform...

Dec 3, 2008

PBMT - Day 357

Though Adrian still has a very mild cold symptoms (mild cough at night and runny nose at times), he has been feeling happy the entire week that even the teacher noticed that he's in a good mood lately. There's going to be a kids' Christmas show at school next week and everyone incl Adrian got a chance to perform on stage. Instead of a regular school day today, all the students have to go for a rehearsal at the community centre - and that's where the show will be held.

Nov 30, 2008

PBMT - Day 354

We have been hanging out in the Hong Kong Garden on weekends. Adrian enjoys the kids playground there very much.

Nov 24, 2008

PBMT - Day 348

Took a day off from school and headed to QMH for Adrian's regular 8-weeks appointment. First, Adrian had the blood test (actually it was US who requested the blood test just to make sure everything is ok before the vaccination on Dec 10th) and then we were assigned to see Dr. Ha! There he told us the last CT Scan result on Nov 4th was CLEAR and the last VMA/HVA were good within the normal range as well. Adrian was meant to have the flu shot there but since he caught a cold/flu, we've rescheduled it on Dec 29th for the first dose and Jan 19th for the second dose.

Nov 23, 2008

PBMT - Day 347

Adrian's runny nose has come back for days and now Mama got sick with a cold as well. We all stayed home and took some rest. Again, Adrian started his VMA/HVA free diet today in preparation for the urine collection first thing tomorrow morning for our appointment at QMH.

Nov 22, 2008

PBMT - Day 346

We were still puzzling whether we should join in with the other families to the Ocean Park today... Luckily, the red bumps on Adrian's face subsided and leaving behind only the red dots. So we gave it a shot and packed light for our Ocean Park day event organized by the CCF. It's fortunate enough that we got the tickets as we were on the waiting list since a couple of other registered families didn't show up. Adrian got to spend a day full of fun with his best buddy in K8N. It took the whole morning for Adrian to get fully warmed up and he showed his first smile when he was riding the Merry-Go-Round. We then checked out the Panda, rode on the cable car, saw the show at the Ocean Theatre. Adrian loves fish and he was so fascinated when we were touring the Atoll Reef and the Jelly Fish Acquarium. Here are some of the highlights.





Nov 21, 2008

PBMT - Day 345

Adrian woke up this morning with a puffy left eye... We didn't pay too much attention to it until Mama came to pick him up from school and noticed a few more red patches on his forehead. Again, we thought they were allergies or possible mosquito bites... then fast forward to a few hours of napping after our weekly physio and OT session, Adrian woke up with a swollen head around 21:00! Both his left eye bag area and his forehead appeared to have "swollen" red bumps and some were even on his arms. We had no idea what's going on and we ended up bringing him to A&E at QMH. Having spent half an hour at A&E (priorty given to Adrian who had undergone ABMT less than a year ago), the doctor told us the red bumps were not mosquito bites but probably caused by insect bites! It could be bed bugs or some other bugs.... Unfortunately we have no ideas what causes it and poor Adrian was given some ointment to put on the affected area for temporary relief.

Nov 20, 2008

PBMT - Day 344

Mama was so scared to find out if Adrian had his meals at school or not... the answer is YES! This piece of news is good enough to make her day!

Nov 19, 2008

PBMT - Day 343

Adrian has been having lunch at school for almost a month (well, a day short of a month) and not only does he snack regularly, he finishes all his lunch everyday.... EXCEPT today!!! When Mama came to pick up Adrian today, the teacher told her that Adrian refused to eat at snack time AND lunch! He only drank the soup and that was it. Not sure why as Adrian didn't eat as he's had this dish before. Hoping that he's not getting tired of the school lunch meals, as he does with Mama's.

Nov 16, 2008

PBMT - Day 340

Adrian doesn't feel like eating (as always) and Mama has run out of ideas what to make him for meals. So tonight when we hanged out at the mall, we let Adrian try out the "street" food instead of bringing our own. He officially passed and he had a bowl of vermicelli with tofu puffs & some meat.

Nov 15, 2008

PBMT - Day 339

The "suspected rash" on Adrian's face seemed to have gone and the more we look at it, the more we think they are in fact mosquito bites. Let's hope they are REALLY mosquito bites and nothing serious.

Nov 14, 2008

PBMT - Day 338

Adrian goes to school this morning as usual as the fever seemed to have gone and his rash is less apparent. However, we've cancelled the weekly fine motor skills training this afternoon and booked him for a doctor's appointment. Adrian spent more than an hour playing on his bed instead of napping. So Mama decided to bring Adrian for a haircut before the doc appointment. It was Adrian's second haircut and again, he sat still for the entire cut. It's until the rinsing part that he cried out loud as he's not used to lying down for a hair wash.

Overall, Adrian behaved very well... even at the doc clinic after the haircut & shopping with Mama before our appointment time. He was very patient with the doctor who closely examined his mouth, chest, bum and even foot (doc wanted to make sure he didn't get hand, foot & mouth disease). Luckily the doc ruled out the possibility of hand, foot & mouth disease and he suspected Adrian got some kind of allergies by either contacting plant or insect for which we had no idea what it was all about... Apart from the allergies, we also mentioned that Adrian has been coughing since he vomitted twice on the day of his CT Scan on Nov 4th. He coughed because he choked after vomitting, not because he has a cold. And the doctor seems to have a similar finding saying that Adrian's left lung is not as clear as it should. He then sent Adrian for a quick chest x-ray just to make sure everything was ok. Again, the x-ray was fine and the fever was mainly due to aspiration of solids (via vomitting) in his left lung. Adrian got prescribed some meds including antibiotics to bring home and hopefully he'll feel better.

Adrian was so tired, without napping. He needed to be carried and fussed half way til we got home. He skipped dinner as expected and only had milk then headed to his dreamland.

Nov 13, 2008

PBMT - Day 337

Nothing has happened in the past week with Adrian enjoying school life up until this evening when Adrian developed some low grade fever (37.9C - 38.1C). He also had some mild rash, like mosquito bites, on his face & finger. We weren't sure if the rash and the fever are related but we may have to bring him go see the doctor tomorrow.

Nov 4, 2008

PBMT - Day 328

Adrian didn't go to school today but to QMH for his 6-months CT Scan is due. The whole procedure went smoothly with the exception that Adrian got poked three times (because he cried and moved so much that the doctor was having a hard time finding his vein) and he threw up twice when taking the sedation meds. Adrian was so tired after the vomitting and crying that he passed out as soon as we got downstairs waiting outside the CT Scan room. We'll know the results on our next visit at the Outpatient clinic on Nov 24th.

Oct 31, 2008

PBMT - Day 324

The two-week trial with Adrian having lunch at school was officially ended today with great success. We've already registered him for having lunch at school going forward.

Apart from the weekly physio session, Adrian started his first lesson of fine motor skills group training at DK this afternoon. It was an hour long session with a group of six kids (incl Adrian) doing different exercises in hopes to inprove their fine motor skills. Only three kids (incl Adrian) showed up in the first session and what a coincidence that one of whom is Adrian's classmate - they go to the same school! The therapist went through four different exercises (15 mins each) and we're proud to say, Adrian behaved the best amongst the kids that at least he followed instructions and completed each exercise as expected. We got to borrow some toys/tools at the end of the session to practice it at home as well. The experience was great overall as it was more like a kids' playgroup than a therapy session. There's 7 more sessions to go every Friday in the next two months.

Adrian dressed up as a "Cowboy" this year for Halloween.


Oct 24, 2008

PBMT - Day 317

Adrian is not the little boy Mama used to know... The teacher told us at pick up today that Adrian actually fed himself at lunch and the teacher only helped him with the last two spoonfuls!!! No ideas why he's not behaving when eating at home????!!!! Well, with such an amazing results this week, it reassured our decision of letting Adrian have lunch at school.

Oct 23, 2008

PBMT - Day 316

With no school today, Mama and Adrian did a little Arts & Crafts at home for Adrian to learn blowing. However, Adrian didn't follow instructions at all that he simply does his own thing. Mama tried to show Adrian how to blow the water colour on paper and when it's Adrian's turn, he put his face close to the piece of paper without blowing though. He enjoyed the painting nevertheless. We spent the day playing in the park, doing pretend kitchen play and lacing beads. Mama noticed a big improvements for Adrian after going to school where he can now properly hold the knife and cut up the toy food as well as lacing different beads in order.






Oct 22, 2008

PBMT - Day 315

It's hard to believe Adrian actually eats well at school but not at home or when we eat out. He finished the whole bowl of rice and soup at school but when we dined out in the evening, he only had two bites!!! Adrian kept smiling to the two ladies sitting besides our table that he just stopped eating. It's when we got home, Mama put him in his highchair and there he finished the remainder of his dinner!!!

Oct 21, 2008

PBMT - Day 314

Adrian finished the WHOLE portion of "Chinese Mushroom with Pork & Veggies in Shanghai Noodles" for lunch at school today!!! Though Adrian cried twice during lunch time and needed to be fed. Nevertheless, it's the first time he's tried Shanghai Noodles and guessed he liked it. This piece of good news is too good to be true...

Oct 20, 2008

PBMT - Day 313

Adrian had lunch at school for the first day. Mama was so anxious to know how it all went.... According to the teacher, Adrian cried when he didn't see Mama come to pick him up at the usual time when the majority of the kids have all been picked up. So the teacher brought him out to the playground to play for awhile to calm him down before bringing him back in for lunch. Next he sat on the table, finally pointed at the food and had the TA fed him. He ended up finishing half bowl of his food, drank the soup but refused the apple. Both the teacher and Mama are pleased with the result considering it's only his first day!

Oct 19, 2008

PBMT - Day 312

We took advantage of the car and explored the remote part of the city this weekend. Spent an hour in Tuen Mun Gold Coast checking out the Arts & Culture Fair and then headed to the Tuen Mun Town Plaza for dinner yesterday. Then today we went to Shatin and Adrian spent an hour playing in the Snoopy Land, following the dinner with his best buddy in K8N. It's coincidence the two kids wore the same colour top and they both look very matchy together!





Oct 17, 2008

PBMT - Day 310

Adrian has been getting fussy at mealtimes AGAIN! He loves veggies but when it comes to the main dish, he'd fuss and refused to eat until Mama surrendered and gave him a toy car to play. Knowing that it's not a good habit and so we made a DECISION! Adrian will be having lunch at school starting next week for 2 weeks as a trial. Hopefully this will give him more varieties and with peer pressure, he can learn self feeding and mealtime discipline.

Oct 16, 2008

PBMT - Day 309

Almost 2 months since Adrian bite off the straw from the cup, he is willing to "resume" using the straw cup again!!! The teacher told us Adrian drank 2 cups of water using the straw cup and finished some cupcakes at snack time. However, the thin tiny paper cup holding the cupcake disappeared after Adrian finished eating it. The teacher wasn't sure if Adrian ate it or hid it somewhere???!!!

Oct 14, 2008

PBMT - Day 307

Our quarterly ST session at DK came up today. Mama was ashamed to tell the ST how little improvements Adrian has made in this three months. Adrian still can't blow, can't utilize his lips (e.g. he'd say "us" instead of "bus") and can't juggle his tongue left or right. A good thing that the ST mentioned though, is Adrian loves reading. He actually reads out loud (in his own baby language) and sometimes follow what Mama reads to him and that's how he learns his 1 - 10. So the ST suggested we keep on doing this and continue all the blowing exercise. Really hope we can bring the ST some good news the next time we see him in Jan 2009.

Oct 13, 2008

PBMT - Day 306

Adrian will be 2.5 years old tomorrow but he is just like a baby! He knows how to address everyone in the family, knows how to count 1 to 10 in Chinese, starts pointing at things using his index finger and knows approx. only 10 vocabs! Lately we found that he expressed great interests in learning ABC and he can say A - Z roughly at 60% accuracy. Well, will mention all these to the ST (Speech Therapist) tomorrow.

Oct 11, 2008

PBMT - Day 304

While Adrian was home napping, Mama & Papa drove to the airport with two suitcases bidding farewell to the Grannies. The Grannies were kind enough to bring part of our stuff (2 suitcases) back to Toronto. After the luggages were all checked in, Mama was curious to know how many luggages can a kid like Adrian check in. Out of our expectation, kids who pay child's fare can take as many luggages as an adult i.e. 2 pieces of check-in luggages & a carry-on bag!!! So the three of us can have as many as 6 pieces of luggages & 3 carry-on bags when it's our turn next year!!!

Oct 10, 2008

PBMT - Day 303

What a coincidence that the school is closed today in preparation for the Open Day tomorrow, and Adrian is scheduled to go to the Melamine Clinic at QMH this morning. We mentioned to our doctor at our last visit that Yili UHT milk has been in his diet for over a year and we wanted to have a thorough check up on Adrian just to make sure he is free of kidney stones. Adrian was assigned patient "No. 8" shortly after we arrived QMH at 08:45am! The series of tests include collecting urine & blood samples, going for a kidney ultrasound and lastly seeing a doctor for the final checkup. Seeing that everything is so organised and all the procedures were done in a timely fashion, we were literally done before 11am and Adrian is fine with all clear results! And what's more surprising is we DID NOT end up paying a cent for all the tests performed!!!!

Oct 7, 2008

PBMT - Day 300

Following the "hiking" tradition of Chung Yeung Festival, we joined two girlfriends and had a very nice stroll in the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens. Again, it's the first time Adrian got a close look at the animals and everything seemed so fascinating to him. The two Aunties took photos of Adrian along the way and what so funny is even a bunch of Filipinos ladies who walked by got so excited seeing Adrian that they snapped a few photos together with him. We spent the last half an hour in the children playground where Adrian got to play slides, swings and Merry-Go-Round for the first time. Adrian totally enjoyed the garden & mini-zoo experience all in one, he was completed exhausted by the time we left.

Oct 6, 2008

PBMT - Day 299

It's the FIRST time Adrian waved goodbye to Mama at school. We are so happy that he's finally getting used to the routine knowing that we will come and pick him up after school.

Sept 30, 2008

PBMT - Day 293

Kids can be very unpredictable at times, especially Adrian. We have been scratching our heads to find ways to fetch him some carbs in his diet and we almost ran out of choices. So we went back to ground zero and gave him some rice... Surprisingly he took it this time around!! What a relief to see him having a more balanced diet but we have no ideas how long it's going to last...

Like many other kids in Nursery/Kindergarten, Adrian dressed up like a Chinese Doll to school on Casual Day, as well as the day before the National Day October 1st. He likes the outfit very much that he kept giggling when looking at the mirror. Here are the pictures taken from our cell phone.



Sept 29, 2008

PBMT - Day 292

We arrived the out-patient clinic at QMH around 09:30 and have only waited an hour before we see our doctor! We were lucky that it's Dr Chiang who saw us today who went through everything in so much detail. First, he looked at Adrian's weight and height (12.6 kg & 89.5 cm tall) against the graph and told us Adrian's measurement only lies between the 25th & 50th percentile. At least he's in proportion though he looks smaller when compared to other kids his age. We also talked about vaccination schedule and he was so kind to actually call up the nurses and book Adrian to go for his first shot on the first anniversary of his tranplant (this coming Dec 10th). On the other hands, results for the last VMA/HVA was normal. However, because of the recent melamine contaminated milk scandal in Hong Kong, we mentioned to Dr that Adrian (& Mama) has been drinking those UHT milk for over a year. He wrote us a referral to the clinic for a thorough check up on Adrian and it's good that it's scheduled on Oct 10th which falls on a school holiday. Our next appointment will tentatively be on Nov 24th, which will hopefully after his next 6-months CT Scan to be scheduled in November.

Sept 27, 2008

PBMT - Day 291

Adrian's hair has gotten very long and messy that we have been thinking of giving him a haircut. The question is whether we'd do it or have a professional haircutter perform the task. So today we made the decision of taking him to a stylist for a haircut! We brought along our laptop and Adrian's favorite DVDs just to keep him entertained. Amazingly, Adrian behaved VERY WELL during the entire cut that he seldom moves and we thought we could have left the laptop home!! We later went for Italian food after the cut where Adrian sampled Fettucine in cream sauce for the first time. It's also his first time trying out food that was not made by Mama (except the congee at QMH). However, he wasn't brave enough to try the Pizza though.. maybe next time!

Adrian's first experience at the salon!!!




Sept 26, 2008

PBMT - Day 290

Adrian tried "cake" for the first time at school!! (Birthday cake is served at school on the last Friday of each month to celebrate kids' birthdays that month). He is getting more used to the school life after a few days break at home. He used to still cry a minute or two (according to the teacher) when he sees me leaving every morning but he didn't anymore in this 2 days. We are seriously considering of putting him full day at school rather than half day so he can be more independent (e.g. self serving his meals etc.). Adrian will start his VMA/HVA free diet tonight for urine collection on Monday for the follow up appointment at QMH.

Sept 24, 2008

PBMT - Day 288

No school again because of the Typhoon and Adrian got an extra day staying home for rest. Adrian refused to have carbs again these couple of days. Can't imagine he could be that unpredictable... he loved penne so much last week but he totally hated it this week. Will try something different tomorrow.

Sept 23, 2008

PBMT - Day 287

It's good to see the rash on Adrian's leg is fading away meaning it's not something scary (NOT chickenpox!!!). The school teacher called us to see how Adrian's doing. We told her that Adrian got better with no more fever and the rash has almost gone. Mama was surprised to know there's no school today because Typhoon signal 3 was hoisted. So Adrian has only missed 1 day of school so far...

Sept 22, 2008

PBMT - Day 286

No more fever for Adrian but we decided to keep him home. Papa called the school this morning telling them about Adrian's situation and that he may be absent for the entire week because of the suspected rash. Adrian still has the runny nose and even has some coughs at times. He's not getting better for his cold symptoms and we have stopped giving him Chinese herbs since he has so much meds on his plate. Mama had a break this afternoon and went shopping by herself on Papa's last day of vacation. We could have gone somewhere together if Adrian was not sick...

Sept 21, 2008

PBMT - Day 285

We paid a visit to QMH after realizing Adrian developed mild fever (38 C) early this morning. Apart from the high temperature, we noticed his right leg has gotten some rash around the "HSV" site. Since Adrian still has the cold, fever and the rash, we were not allowed to go into the ward but had to wait outside to be seen by the doctor. The doctor later came out to check on Adrian and we were lucky that Dr Chan saw us on his way to the ward. Both doctors examined the suspected rash and they had no ideas what it was. It could be Chickenpox or just regular viral rash. They prescribed Adrian 5-day of Acyclovir just to play safe and we have to monitor closely how the rash develops. Adrian, on the other hand, remains cheerful and playful except he feels a bit more tiring than usual.

Sept 18, 2008

PBMT - Day 282

We decided to take Adrian to see the doctor for his cold as well as a "mosquito bite like feature" on his leg. Instead of bringing him to QMH, we brought him to see a Pediatrics doctor - the one who diagnosed the tumor inside Adrian's body in Feb 2007 and referred us to QMH. Adrian was very well behaved during the entire consultation that he didn't cry a bit when he was measured, weighted and even when the doctor examined his abdomen. We were given Piriton to control his runny nose and Acyclovir for the "mosquito like" feature on his leg which was in fact HSV I. Lucky that it's not something major and we suspect he probably got the germs from school.

Sept 17, 2008

PBMT - Day 281

Approximately a week after Adrian recovered from his cold, he developed runny nose again early this week. It's more serious this time that the teacher suggested us to keep Adrian home tomorrow so he could take some rest. Adrian, however, remains energetic and playful. Given Papa is on vacation this week - we drove to Stanley this afternoon right after Adrian's nap and had a walk there with the Grannies. Papa, who once went to school in Stanley, tagged along Adrian and toured around the area while Mama and the Grannies went shopping.

Sept 15, 2008

PBMT - Day 280

After battling with Adrian and food for weeks and we finally discovered he likes Penne - which is a good source of carbs!! Thanks to Papa who played chef and made Adrian the yummy dish of oliver oil & garlic Penne. Ever since he's tried it, he likes it more than veggies! So now his meal consists of meat (i.e. fish), veggies & pasta and we'd serve them in sequence (i.e. 3 different courses, one at a time). Now that he has a more balanced diet, he's more adventurous in trying new food these days. On the other hand, he's been snacking at school regularly since last week (i.e. the 5th week after school started). Food that he's tried recently include baby carrots and pod peas.

Sept 14, 2008

PBMT - Day 279

A big family dinner was planned and almost everyone from Adrian's maternal side of the family all gathered together for the Mid-Autumn Festival celebration. This family dinner was long overdue - it was supposed to take place over 1.5 years ago when we came here (i.e. Feb 2007) for a visit. Adrian brought along his favorite lantern to the restaurant... Not to our surprise, he was spoiled with gifts given by all his great uncles & aunts. He was the center of "attraction" all night long and everyone wanted to hold him for a picture. Adrian behaved very well as he smiled all through the night that he didn't want to leave in the end...

Sept 10, 2008

PBMT - Day 275

Managing Adrian's diet has been really stressful for Mama these days. There were times where Adrian could refuse to eat ANYTHING we offered him and yet he didn't feel hungry at all. He could go without eating for hours and not feel anything. We took advice from friends and families and gave Adrian different food to try out e.g. potatoes, pumpkin, macaroni, asparagus & radish. In fact, Mama has been mixing potatoes and pumpkin in the soft rice/congee she made for Adrian for years but Adrian didn't get to see the full picture of how these food really look like. Not to our surprise, he only showed interests on some but not all... for example, he takes macaroni (which is good as it gives him carbs) and ok with asparagus & radish.

Sept 8, 2008

PBMT - Day 273

Adrian has been refusing oatmeal as breakfast in the morning and so Mama gave him 8 oz of Pediasure instead. We think the milk is not as filling as the oatmeal and so today when Mama came to pick up Adrian from school, the teacher told us that Adrian had some biscuits at tea breaks!!! It's the FIRST time Adrian was willing to try out the snacks being offered at school - both the teacher and Mama were ecstatic!! That's the best birthday present Mama could have asked for.

Sept 7, 2008

PBMT - Day 272

We bought a new Zojirushi Stainless lunch jar and used it the first time to bring food for Adrian to eat out. It's the best purchase we've made and Adrian likes the new bento box very much. He loves self serving most of the time (by finger though) and would refuse being fed. However, we are quite worried that he's not had enough especially carbs since he totally hates rice!

Sept 6, 2008

PBMT - Day 271

Adrian finished all doses of TCM for his cold and he's finally recovered. We took him for another TCM appointment this morning. Mentioned to the doc the fact that Adrian had no interests in eating and he's picky on food. Doc convinced us that it's normal for someone who underwent chemo, not to mention for a normal toddler as well. We were given herbs that will strengthen Adrian's immune system (as usual) and will hopefully boost up his appetite at the same time.

Sept 4, 2008

PBMT - Day 269

Having gone to school for almost a month, Adrian has finally got the idea... it's the first time he didn't cry in weeks when Mama dropped him off to school. He was a little upset when Mama waved goodbye to him but soon went with the teacher and sat on his seat. On the other hand, Mama noticed some of the kids' "artwork" were on display. For one "artwork" that was showcased on top of the shelf where the school bags are, Mama saw Adrian's name on it!!! It was a "painting" using different kids' rubber stamps and Adrian utilized the concept of "Abstract Expressionism"!!!! Will ask the teacher tomorrow if we get to keep this artwork after display...

Sept 3, 2008

PBMT - Day 268

Though the cough seems to have gone, Adrian is still battling with his runny nose. It's been a challenge trying to make him eat these days (well, it's ALWAYS a challenge ever since he had NB). Last week was brutal that he even refused to have his usual congee/soft rice. We had no clue whether he was sick or he's sick of having the food that Mama made. So we decided to let him try out our meals e.g. regular steam fish, boiled veggies and rice. He's had it for a week and so far he seems to like it. At least this makes meal time more enjoyable & adventurous for both of us. But being a picky eater, he only likes fish, all kinds of veggies as long as they are GREEN (except corn) and some rice. Portion wise, he can finish 3/4 bowl of veggies easily (60%), 1/2 bowl of fish (maybe 30%) together with rice (10%). We are worried that he's not had enough so this "adult meal" trial is only applicable for his lunch and dinner remains his usual soft rice/congee. Let's hope he can be more adventurous and is willing to try out more variety of food and later transition to having all "adult food" with us!

Sept 2, 2008

PBMT - Day 267

Adrian showed significant improvement at the Physio session this afternoon at DK. He can hop on a trampoline for like 10 seconds before he stops. He repeats this a few times until he tires himself out. However, he still can't jump/hop on the ground (without the help of a trampoline) but at least this was a huge milestone for him. On the other hand, he still needs to be held (hands) each time he's walking on the kids gym parallel bars. Definitely room for improvement on his balacning techniques.

Aug 29, 2008

PBMT - Day 263

After dropping Adrian off to school, both Papa & Mama headed to QM without Adrian!!! It all started with a request we put in back in June to retrieve a list of Adrian's medical records so doctors in Canada can follow up Adrian's case when we return home. However, we received a letter from the Report Unit earlier this month asking us to pay over 10K for the records. Fortunately, they gave us the option to go in and look through the records and only pay for the ones we need and that's why Papa took the day off for this mission. We spent the whole morning sifting through over 2,000 pages of medical records and finally decided on roughly 200 pages that we truly need. We'll need to get a big binder and dividers for all these records to bring home.

Aug 28, 2008

PBMT - Day 262

Adrian was brave enough he walked up the stairs to the school, didn't cry when we entered the classroom but couldn't hold up anymore as Mama was putting his school bag into the shelf. Mama realized it's a big improvement for Adrian already. It's funny the teacher mentioned one of boys there really like to hang out with Adrian. It's true the minute we got in, the little boy already picked up Adrian's photo and handed over to him to put into the "Present" column. When we were about to put Adrian's schoolbag into the shelf, he followed us and started his "baby" talk. It's coincidence enough both of them share one word in common (i.e. 希 ) in their Chinese name.

Aug 26, 2008

PBMT - Day 260

Other than school in the morning, we had physio at DK after lunch and a last minute appointment at the TCM clinic in Central. Adrian has had the Piriton Syrup for over a week and he still has the runny nose. So Mama decided to give the TCM clinic a call and we got the last time slot of the day. We waited almost an hour before we got to see the doctor. Adrian got prescribed 10 doses of herbs to deal with his runny nose and cough. Those were to add onto the existing chinese herbs that we still have.

Below is the first artwork Adrian did at school. Obviously the teacher did most of the cutting and taping and Adrian scribbled on top of the flower!

Aug 25, 2008

PBMT - Day 259

Adrian cried the minute we entered the classroom this morning. He wouldn't want to let Mama go even though he saw his favourite cars in the toy shelf. The Teaching Assistant later carried him and Mama quietly slipped away. Fortunately he was all good after school...

Aug 24, 2008

PBMT - Day 258

We registered Adrian to join a BB Summer Party at Cyberport. Was there in May and this is our second time there. Adrian wasn't shy anymore and he's eager to play on different toys and stuff. There was a running competition for kids his age and obviously he's not the winner because he didn't follow instructions!!! It was fun afterall and the kids got a chance to play with water, sang some songs and played some games together other than the free time exploring around the playroom.

Aug 22, 2008

PBMT - Day 256

Our entire household is enjoying the day off because of Typhoon Nuri. It's the strongest typhoon of the year so far. Adrian has had the runny nose since Sunday and he's developed some mild cough lately. Hope he'll have some well deserved rest and get well soon.

Aug 21, 2008

PBMT - Day 255

Adrian wanted to be carried as we entered the school and cried when Mama wanted to drop him off this morning. Mama was surprised to see Adrian's reaction given he was all right all along. The teacher mentioned kids could behave like Adrian as the reality of going to school (meaning no Mama or Papa keep him company) began to sink in his mind. While Mama was soothing Adrian, the teacher told us how Adrian behaves in class - for example, Adrian likes to cling onto the teacher's leg (maybe to gain security??) and sometimes he would stand still staring at the shelf where his school bag is (maybe he wanted to leave??). One thing that he absolutely loves is the singing part and the teacher said if he cries so much, she'd carry him to play the piano together and he'd stop crying. Two hours passed and when Mama came to pick him up from school, he was all happy again! He'll be ready for the normal 3 hours school next week.

Aug 18, 2008

PBMT - Day 252

It's a regular school day followed by a monthly QM appointment at the day clinic. We got two pieces of good news:-
- The latest VMA/HVA levels went back to normal; And,
- The MIBG results showed that the lesion in Adrian's right liver has been resolved meaning there's no more uptake in his liver. However, mild uptake noted in his right adrenal but doc said it's nothing major and it's probably relating to normal daily activities.
We will be back again in 6 weeks' time, not 4 weeks.

Aug 17, 2008

PBMT - Day 251

We brought Adrian for a movie event, featuring Wall E, organized by CCF this morning. It was Adrian's first movie experience and we were anxious to see how he likes it. We didn't have much hope at the beginning Adrian would have the patience to sit still for the entire movie. To our surprise, he was quiet for the first half an hour "trying" to enjoy the movie and later self-entertained enjoying another movie, Teletubbies, on Mama's cellphone! Overall, the experience was good considering both Mama & Papa haven't gone for movies for years (ever since Adrian was born) AND he got to experience the BIG screen and surround sound in the movie theatre.

On the other hand, Adrian has lost his appetite these two days and he's developed a mild runny nose. Had no ideas where he got it from but guess it's inevitable to get sick after going to school...

Here are the photos from Grandpa's birthday dinner last week:-







Aug 15, 2008

PBMT - Day 249

Now that the first week of school is over - Adrian didn't cry in Mama's absence for two days. We were given a student handbook at the end of the class where the teacher marked down the theme and activities of the week and rated the kids on their participation and discipline. There's still room for Adrian to improve for sure and we are looking forward to seeing him transform into a more discipline and caring kid!!!

Aug 14, 2008

PBMT - Day 248

Adrian DID NOT cry a bit at school without Mama! Mama brought him to the class, stayed around 5 mins before class start and left while Adrian was busy choosing his toys. He probably did not realize Mama wasn't there until later. It was til the end the teacher told us Adrian did well in class, participated in games and played some toys; but again, he refused to have snacks (as expected)!!

Aug 13, 2008

PBMT - Day 247

A very tiring day with school in the morning and Physio in the afternoon. Third day of school also meant the last day Mama could accompany Adrian. He will be on his own tomorrow, though only for an hour progressing to the normal three hours starting Aug 25th. Adrian did get better today, however, he didn't follow instructions ALL THE TIME. When the teacher asked the kids to line up to wash the hands, he'd just ignore and kept playing with the toys. On the bright side, he could finally sit on his own and he seemed to enjoy the singing/dancing part of the class where he actually clap hands and stomp his feet when asked. And again, for the third consecutive day that he didn't take the snacks in class...

Aug 12, 2008

PBMT - Day 246

Adrian has been drinking from the straw cup for more than a month now and he's developed a habit of biting the silicone straw. The straw usually lasts for a few days and he'd need a new one. The other problem is he ONLY drinks from THAT particular straw cup but nothing else. Last night when he was biting the straw again, it broke into two pieces. And he refused to drink from the straw cup ever since, not to mention he's driving Mama crazy!!! Big headache for Mama!!!!

Second day of school went well with the exception that he cried because he was too scared of the Mickey Gloves the teacher worn!!! Other than that, he refused to eat again at snack time. He absolutely has no interests on food! When asked to line up to go and play in the indoor playground, he'd rather play with his favorite, cars, in the classroom!!! It's hard to explain what kids are thinking in their mind....

Aug 11, 2008

PBMT - Day 245

Today is the first day of school for little Adrian. Mama got to stay with him for the entire 1.5 hours stay there. It was more like free play in the first 30 mins of the class where kids can pick up toys from the shelf and play wherever they like. Adrian must have warmed up by then and the kids were asked to put away the toys and sat around the teacher. They drew a "cloud" on the board and played some songs followed by snack time - that's when Adrian started to get cranky. When asked to sit down for snacks, Adrian ignored the teacher and he walked towards the toy shelf. Mama went to pick him up and had him sat on his chair but Adrian being his usual self, threw tantrums and cried as if there's no tomorrow. He pushed the plate and biscuits away from the desk and refused to eat/drink. Luckily it's towards the end of the class and after calming him down (where other kids were having their snacks), we picked up his school bag and we were ready to leave. We'll see what tomorrow brings...

Aug 8, 2008

PBMT - Day 242

Papa was searching the web on the weekend and found out that Adrian was the 50th child who went through an Autologous cord blood transplant. We are so proud to have made the choice of storing Adrian's cord blood at birth though we never thought we'd use it.

Source: http://parentsguidecordblood.org/content/usa/medical/autocbt.shtml?navid=30

Aug 7, 2008

PBMT - Day 241

We went for the TCM appointment again this morning. Mentioned our concern on Adrian's slightly elevated HVA level, the doc said not to worry as Adrian was looking good based on his palm and tongue. Given that Adrian has been pretty stable lately, we've been prescribed 4 weeks' supply of TCM herbs this time. Instead of waiting our turn there to get the herbs, we had Papa go and pick up the meds for us at lunch time.

Aug 6, 2008

PBMT - Day 240

Adrian has been skipping naps lately... Wondered if it was the afternoon appointments (like the physio session the other day) that screwed his schedule, even though he looked tired, he refused to go to nap and would yell if he was put in his crib. On a day like today where he woke up around 8am, skipped nap in the afternoon and he soon fell asleep in less than 5 mins at around 20:30!

Aug 5, 2008

PBMT - Day 239

It's the first time we had the physio session in the afternoon. Adrian skipped nap and we went to DK the first time on minibus as well. Adrian enjoyed the ride on public transport these days and he'd scream whenever we had to get off. He behaved well in the first half of the session and later didn't follow instructions and wanted to do his own things. Well, it was a good workout afterall and Adrian having skipped nap, he went to bed at 20:30.

Aug 2, 2008

PBMT - Day 236

We headed to the New Territories after Adrian's nap to visit Papa's coworkers. Adrian was the only kid there and he enjoyed playing by himself in the entire play room. It's amazing he was occupied the whole time (approx. 2 - 3 hours) with the wooden train set. So, we are seriously thinking of getting him one...

*dropped off another urine sample to QM this morning for VMA/HVA retest.

Aug 1, 2008

PBMT - Day 235

Another day both Adrian and Mama had to wake up early and finish breakfast by 05:45am! We arrived QM around 09:00 for the last MIBG return scan scheduled at 09:30. The scan took a little over half an hour and we are happy that it's finally done. Now that the mission is complete, the "block" (for the IV port) in Adrian's arm can now be removed. Will probably know the result in our next QM appointment on Aug 18th.

Adrian has been living with his drumstick (i.e. block with IV port) for the entire week.


Ready for school? Adrian's trying on his uniform.

July 31, 2008

PBMT - Day 234

It's a busy morning again as we made a trip to the school to drop off some fees & photos and pick up the uniforms. Surprised to find out the school is under renovation - the staff there mentioned they undergo minor renovation EVERY YEAR before school starts.

There's a slight change in Adrian's diet recently. Ever since we found out that Adrian loves "chewing" veggies, Mama started to prepare some cooked veggies for him to eat before each meal. It seems to work fine and hopefully this will bring his oral motor skills up to speed more quickly. Adrian is just exceptional - while most kids dislikes veggies, he just loves them! And he hated the ice cream that Mama gave him to try out the other day... strange Adrian!!!

Appetizer for Adrian: cooked spinach


July 30, 2008

PBMT - Day 233

It's the second consecutive day both Mama and Adrian were up really early in the morning (i.e. 05:30 for Mama and 06:00 for Adrian). We were hoping to feed Adrian breakfast before the test as well as to tire him out so he can have a good sleep for the test. Again, the test ran smoothly and it took less time than yesterday's because only the abdomen part was scanned. However, we have to be back for the last return scan on Friday.

We were able to talk to the doctor about Adrian's recent elevated VMA/HVA readings. He didn't have any comments but mentioned we should get another urine sample and retest it again. Unlike last time where Adrian was abstained from having the vanilla flavored Pediasure, we also pulled out the TCM herbs this time just to play safe.

July 29, 2008

PBMT - Day 232

We returned to QM for the actual MIBG Scan this morning. It's the first time Adrian was placed in the second time slot (a 10:30 appointment), hence both Adrian & Mama were up early (i.e. 05:30am!) for breakfast because Adrian was required to fast 4 hours prior to the test. With both the oral sedation as well as the rocking momentum from Mama, Adrian was fast asleep and the test ran smoothly as planned. The return scan will take place tomorrow at 10am!

July 28, 2008

PBMT - Day 231

Adrian had a busy schedule today - OT session at DK in the morning and then to QM in the afternoon for the MIBG contrast. Both Mama and OT were happy to see Adrian's progress... His achievements over the past month includes drinking from a straw cup (only water though), willing to try out new food/fruit such as watermelon and peach and he's able to chew down a chunk of choy sum at times. Things we need to work on after this session includes training to drink from a cup, practicing the blowing technique as well as continuing to try out new food/fruit. We hope to bring good news to the therapist again on our next visit on Aug 22nd. The QM visit was a pleasant one until the Houseman came to setup a block on Adrian's hand for the MIBG contrast. We are keeping the "block" just in case oral sedation wouldn't work tomorrow.

On a side note, we found out the latest VMA/HVA result from July 21st. Unfortunately, the HVA level is a bit out of the normal range (HVA at 12 while it's considered normal below 10). Not sure if it was due to the lack of water intake the night prior to urine collection (Adrian passed out at 19:00ish and slept the whole 12 hours without drinking milk/water). Will have to talk to the doctor tomorrow.

July 27, 2008

PBMT - Day 230

Papa took the role of "the primary caretaker" for Adrian as Mama went to check out the Book Fair on her own. Having spent 4 hours at the Book Fair, she bought lots of books, crayons and a 3-D puzzle for Adrian. The three of us went out shopping later in the day.... It's just a wonderful experience shopping for our little Adrian - getting him ready for school in mid August!

Adrian's scribbling while we were having Pizza for dinner.


July 26, 2008

PBMT - Day 229

Adrian cried the least in the last ST session at Caritas this morning. Though he didn't behave the greatest, at least he was willing to cooperate but not fussed at the session. Adrian will take a break after these ST sessions and we'll see if he improves through going to school in 2 weeks' time.

July 25, 2008

PBMT - Day 228

We found out yesterday that the school has forgotten to send the confirmation letter to us. Instead of them sending the letter to us officially, we've decided we'll make a trip to the school this morning to pick up the stuff and to order the uniforms for Adrian. Adrian was very patient (playing) when Mama was busy putting on sample uniforms (in different sizes) on him. We finally settled for the size and were busy writing cheques for the fees. Can't believe Adrian is starting school in less than a month's time. We were given a list of things to prepare and having paid all fees, it's becoming so surreal!!!

July 24, 2008

PBMT - Day 227

Adrian didn't behave at the physio session this morning. One of the usual routines is the therapist will get Adrian some toys to play while he lies down and uses his arms to support his body. Adrian had almost played every single toy (his age) there, Mama suggested to the therapist if there's any cars for Adrian to play. Cars is Adrian's favorite (other than ball) lately and as expected, Adrian can play, using his arms to support his whole body, continuously without being distracted. But when it's time to move on with other tasks, he refused to do so and he threw a tantrum that lasted half of the session!!! As Adrian gets older, he experienced a major change in his temperament and behavior. He was no more the obedient quiet baby we used to know. Hopefully with the help of the nursery teacher at school, this will help to rectify the situation.

July 23, 2008

PBMT - Day 226

Mama discovered a kids' playground near where we live and decided to take Adrian for a walk there this evening. It's a smaller version of the park we used to go but it's really close where we don't need to take any transportation to go there. It was a pleasant walk and the playground was like our own private one with nobody there. Guess it explains why both Adrian and Mama became the supper for mosquitoes.

July 22, 2008

PBMT - Day 225

We got the verbal confirmation from the Nursery/Kindergarten school that Adrian is accepted!!!! Instead of September admission (we were under the impression that all schools start in Sept!), their term actually starts on Aug 11th which means Adrian will be in school in less than a month's time!!! Meanwhile, they are going to send out a formal confirmation letter in the mail and let us know when we'll have to go to the school for registration and uniform measurement. How exciting!!!

Adrian in his new bathing suit at the beach this evening.