Dec 31, 2009

Adrian behaved normal even though he's developed a low grade fever early morning (i.e. below 38 C) and later subsided. We're surprised he wasn't bothered at all by the 2 shots he had yesterday.

Similar to last year, we spent New Year's Eve in the comfort of our home – our real HOME! To wrap things up, we've accomplished a lot this year like relocating back to Toronto in the summer time and Adrian completed all the NB Treatment in Feb 09 (i.e. Oral Medication Accutane). We hope Adrian will remain NED for the years ahead and wish everyone a great 2010!!

Dec 30, 2009

Papa took Adrian to go for more shots today at the Pediatrician's. After spending more than 2 hours waiting at the clinic, Adrian came home with 2 shots! He had his 2nd dose of H1N1 vaccine on one arm and the regular flu shot (1st dose) on another arm! While we've heard there's a high chance kids would suffer from fever after the 2nd dose of H1N1, we'll have to monitor Adrian really closely over the next few days!

Dec 24 - 26, 2009

It's so nice to stay in our holiday decorated home for Christmas! Even though Mama has been suffering from a really bad cough and some "unknown" rash over the holidays, we had a quiet, peaceful & relaxing time at home. Adrian also experienced his "first" white Christmas and he loves the snow!!

Dec 21 - 22, 2009

No school for Adrian as the Christmas Holiday officially starts. Papa will not be on vacation until Dec 23 and so Adrian is spending these 2 days (and 1 night) at the grandparent's. It's also the first time he slept over at their place without both Mama & Papa (well, he had slept without us in the past in the QMH ICU where parents are not allowed to stay overnight). Knowing that he survived without us, however, he got mad at us when we came to pick him up this evening!

Dec 19, 2009

Christmas Party with a group of our Prenatal Class Friends. The same party (with almost the same group of people) was held 3 years ago. The kids have all grown and they had so much fun playing in various games.

Dec 15, 2009

Instead of being fed at home, Adrian began to self feed these days... It's amazing how Mama can truly enjoy her meal without feeding him anymore (well, the last few spoonfuls in the bowl still need our help). Adrian is getting more comfortable going into full day with the exception of a few accidents happened in the past days (where he pee'd in naps). He's enjoying school so far and with the school photo we got earlier, we were surprised Adrian knows EVERYONE's name in class!

Dec 10, 2009

How time flies... It seems like yesterday how we spent our nights and days at QMH, And Today marks the 2nd year anniversary for Adrian's Autologous Cord Blood Transplant! Though we've been busy these days dropping Adrian off at school, rushing to pick him up after work and busy preparing dinner etc., it's nothing compared to our life two years ago! Recently we received a call from the CTN (Children's Treatment Network) about referring Adrian to the Early Intervention Team and other services such as PT & OT to follow up on his developmental delay. We are thankful that Adrian has been receiving excellent care with services all lined up for him (though we'd expect long wait time for some of them e.g. speech therapy).

Dec 5 - 6, 2009

We pretty much stayed home the whole weekend so Adrian can make up for the lack of sleep in the past week. He's back to normal except for the fact that he becomes VERY attached to us. He loves to have our company ALL the time, maybe that's his way to make up the loss of time spent between us.

Dec 4, 2009

It's PA Day and Adrian got to stay home with the grandparents while Mama & Papa are at work. He was all good up until his nap where he threw up 4 times (mainly phlegm). It's pathetic to see he has either cough/running nose back to back. We so wish he could have a stronger immune system to fight against all these viruses!

Dec 3, 2009

The reality of going to school full day started to "hit" Adrian. All the excitement has gone on the third day of school (as full day student), Adrian cried and wouldn't let go of Mama at drop off. One of his teachers told us that Adrian actually cried after he napped yesterday and kept asking where's mommy. He's fine otherwise, self feeding himself at lunch where he'd never do it at home. While Adrian had been doing well sleeping through the night on his own; he "resumed" walking to our room in the middle of the night and dragged Papa to his room in the past 2 days. Guess he's suffering from the lack of security again and it'll take some more time for him to get used to... his new routine!

Dec 1, 2009

Adrian survived his first day of school as a full day student! Today's itinerary started with Adrian waking up at 06:30, had breakfast while Mama busy preparing his lunch and we arrived his school at 07:45. Adrian stayed close to 10 hours there with Mama came to pick him up around 17:15. He seemed to enjoy the experience where he could eat & nap with his friends! And Mama was happy to see he finished 3/4 of the home-made lunch she prepared for him. This is a good start without a doubt, and we hope Adrian can keep up the good work!

Nov 30, 2009

Adrian is off school today for his doctor's appointment. The appointment was supposed to be for the H1N1 shot but somehow we managed to get him vaccinated the week before at the community centre. So we took the opportunity to review and prep our pediatrician about Adrian's progress and other stuff. We spent our last "vacation" day shopping at Costco after the doc appointment as well as getting prepared for Adrian's full day class tomorrow e.g. labeling his lunch thermos, cutlery, blanket & pillow etc.

Nov 28, 2009

Holiday celebrations at the Community Service Village where we were able snap our 1st picture with Santa this year!

Nov 27, 2009

Today is Adrian's last day as a half day student at school. With Mama rejoining the workforce after being a stay-at-home mom for more than 3.5 years, Adrian will be going as a full day student starting Dec 1st. It is a big step for both Mama & Adrian as there will be a lot of adjustments ahead of us. We are hoping Adrian can be more independent through his new school life!

Nov 22, 2009

With doctor's confirmation and now that Adrian is free of cold symptoms, we finally took him to get the H1N1 vaccine this morning at the community centre.

Nov 21, 2009

We got an unexpected call from Adrian's Pediatrician this (Sat) evening. Apparently she has touched base with our contact nurse at Sick Kids and was advised to hold onto Adrian's MMR & Chicken Pox vaccination. She thinks maybe they are not comfortable with Adrian to be immunized with live vaccine. However, she gave us the go-ahead to H1N1 & regular flu shot and suggested us to go and get it ASAP.

Us at Mackenzie's Birthday lunch party. Adrian sampled 1.5 slice of garlic bread for the first time (after numerous failed attempts in the past) and liked it!

Nov 20, 2009

Adrian was in good mood visiting the grandparents and we were able to take some good pictures of him.

Nov 18, 2009

Just a week shy of 4 months after we came back, Adrian finally go to bed on his own! When we put him to bed in the past few days, we tucked his "Mickey" in bed with him, reassured him that we have other stuff to do and will be back to see him once finished. As much as he's not willing to let us go, he'll say "OK" and then he will soon be out for the night. Though he still gets up and finds us at around 5ish in the morning but we thought that's a big improvement already. Guess he's more comfortable being in the house and his bed.

Nov 16, 2009

Mama dropped off Adrian's big pile of medical records to the Pediatrician office this morning and was lucky to have 15 mins chat with the doctor. Added to our To-Do list for our next visit is to provide a summary about Adrian's overall well being in terms of all the side effects Adrian has encountered after the chemo etc as well as a list of questions to be confirmed with our doctor at SickKids. We've scheduled our next appointment on Nov 30th and hopefully by then, Adrian will be able to get all his shots!

Nov 11, 2009

Adrian is getting close to two years post-transplant and he's due to go for his last vaccination today (MMR). Instead of going to QMH, we brought him go see his Paediatrician here - the first time in 2.5 years. However, Adrian didn't end up getting the shots simply because the doctor complained we should have brought him see her first thing after we came back from HK!! And because of the fact that Adrian is a "special case" as she quoted, she needed sometime to "study" his case before she gives him the shots! Meanwhile, other than the doc's letter from QMH for which we've given her, she wanted to have ALL copies of Adrian's medical records! Though we had no ideas why she would need ALL because she's not an Oncology Specialist, we would have to provide them to her in order for Adrian to get the shots. Well, at least she's being extra cautious NOW and seeing Adrian has cold-symptoms (runny nose & cough), not only did she got his nasal/throat discharge for the lab, she also prescribed a course of antibiotics to Adrian just to be safe.

Nov 9, 2009

Our contact nurse at SickKids advised us that the results for the MIBG Scan is normal. The next one will be scheduled in 3 months time, after the New Year.

Nov 6, 2009

Being the primary caregiver for a post-transplant person (or cancer survivor), Mama got the H1N1 vaccine this afternoon. Adrian, however, will have to wait until he is fully recovered from running nose and cough before he can get the H1N1 vaccine as recommended by our doc at Sick Kids.

Nov 5, 2009

The actual MIBG Scan is scheduled this morning - it's the FIRST Scan ever that Adrian IS CONSCIOUS, NOT sedated. Mama went into the Scan Room with Adrian for the FIRST time as she was asked to hold Adrian's hand in place as any "moves" would interrupt the scan. We had a hard time getting Adrian changed (into a hospital gown), not to mention had him lie down for the test. Fortunately, Adrian got entertained with the Wiggles' Live DVD this time which make the 60 mins scan more bearable for the both of us. We didn't wait long to see our doctor after the Scan this time. Past urine, blood results and ultrasound were all clear. The MIBG result, however, was not available yet. Our contact nurse will be in touch and let us know the results as soon as she gets it. We're surprised to know our next appointment approx. in Jan 2010 and will involve MIBG Scan again.

Nov 4, 2009

It only took us 30 mins to get to Sick Kids today after school. Poor Adrian got poked twice, one for the blood test and the other one for the MIBG Injection. The last appointment of the day was the Abdominal Ultrasound.... Adrian cries everytime he was asked to lie down. So, apart from watching the "Finding Nemo" movie, Mama actually sat beside him to make him comfortable for the ultrasound. We finished 2/3 of the movie with Adrian fell asleep half way through the ultrasound. Will know the results tomorrow.

Nov 2, 2009

The social worker from the Infant Hearing Program came this afternoon for a home visit. It's more like Q&A where she asked a lot of questions involving Adrian's hearing problems. It's weired she kept asking us what kind of services/support we are looking for but in the end, Adrian only qualifies for TWO of their services. Referrals will be sent to the Preschool Speech & Language Program for speech assessment (which she told us the wait time is approx. 10 months upon completing the first questionnaire) and the York Region District School Board so someone will touch base with us in preparation for Adrian entering JK next year.

Nov 1, 2009

Adrian developed low grade fever last night after having runny nose & cough since Thursday after school. Though we've already brought him see a TCM, we figured we'd take him see a doctor at the walk in clinic today just to play safe at this flu season. Nothing prescribed to him (as expected) as the doctor thinks it's due to viral infection. We're hoping he'll get better by Wed/Thurs so that the MIBG Scan can run smoothly.

Oct 31, 2009

Adrian had his regular swimming lesson in the morning of the Halloween. And because it's parents' day today and we're allowed to take pictures and discuss his progress with his instructor.

After the swimming class and lunch at home, we headed out to the mall to go trick or treating.

Oct 28, 2009

Someone from Sickkids finally called us and let us know of Adrian's upcoming appointments. His MIBG Scan & appointment with Dr Baruchel is scheduled on Nov 5th. MIBG Injection, abdomen ultrasound & blood test on the day before i.e. Nov 4th. He'd start taking Lugol's solution for 3 days starting next Tue to protect his thyroid against the radioactive injection.

Oct 25, 2009

Adrian fell in love with the Wiggles dated back in Dec 2007. It all started with getting a Wiggles' DVD as Christmas Present from a friend of ours during his Stem Cell (Cord Blood) Transplant at QMH in Dec 2007. He loves watching the DVD so much that he'd sit still in his crib with Mama having lunch outside the ward or he'd take the nasty medicine in no time. So we bought tickets to see the Wiggles as soon as we know they are in town for concert!

Instead of driving downtown, we took the GO Bus and Adrian absolutely loves the bus ride! The show started at 13:30 and Adrian was so excited to see the guys coming out in the big red car! Though he seemed to only enjoy the songs that he knows/likes and got a bit impatient on the songs that he doesn't know but in all, he behaved very well during the 1.5 hour of the show.

Oct 24, 2009

Adrian dressed up as "Panda" this afternoon trick or treating at the Community Service Village, an event organized by the York Region Police. We were lucky that the weather wasn't as cold as the last few weeks' and Adrian got to experience a sense of how Halloween is like in Canada. We finished up the day by a gathering dinner with friends from our prenatal class.

Oct 23, 2009

We have gotten a few referrals on hand after searching for a good Chinese Doctor who specializes in cancer in Toronto since we came back in July. Today we decided to bring Adrian go and see that one particular doctor, apparently he was referred to us by two different sources. The first consultation lasted an hour with the doctor going through Adrian's medical records, examining his pulse/palm/tongue, explaining the treatments in terms of both "herbal" & "daily dietary intake" thoroughly. He's prescribed three doses of TCM for Adrian to try in the next few days and we'll see him again next week.

Oct 22, 2009

The first Parent-Teacher Interview was held this evening and we got a chance to meet with ALL of Adrian's teachers! Other than his speech delay, the feedback were all very positive like we know he's participating in class, hanging along well and sharing with his classmates and they all say he's a happy little boy who loves smiling all the time! As people always find it hard to believe what he went through in the past. When we told the music teacher about Adrian's hearing problems, she kept asking why.... and she was completely shocked when we told her that it's because of cancer (well, the cisplatin drug he had in chemotherapy to be exact)! We don't intend to tell people or new friends about his story unless they ask (like this case). She found it hard to believe based on how Adrian looks today and the fact that we were so calm as if we were telling someone else story. Well, this IS the reality and has become part of our lives....

Oct 17, 2009

Adrian has been going for swimming class at the community centre since Papa came back to town. At the last class, the instructor already advised us that kids should start attending class by themselves starting next week and this is one of the criteria to "graduate" from class at the end of all the 9 sessions. No matter how much we prepped Adrian beforehand, he cried loud at the pool side as if it's the first day of school. We passed him to the instructor regardless and then left from his eyesight immediately. He fussed for a few minutes while in the water though and later waved to us half way through the class, we can see he enjoyed the class a lot more than just clinging to Papa all the time. Adrian was the ONLY one by himself so far as the other 3 kids in class all came with their Daddys! It's a great milestone for Adrian and we are so very proud of him!

Oct 13, 2009

In less than a month since Adrian had the hearing test at Sick Kids, we received a call from the social worker at the York Region Infant Hearing Program today. A home visit has been scheduled on Nov 2nd where the social worker will come to our place and meet Adrian to see how he's doing, then do a referral on whatever services (e.g. Speech Therapy etc.) she thinks Adrian needs.

Oct 11, 2009

On the Thanksgiving weekend, we went Apple picking, visited a pumpkin farm nearby the area, with all the leaves changing color. What an experience for Adrian, though it was freezing!

Oct 8, 2009

Adrian greeted the teachers "Good Morning" (instead of just "Hello") the FIRST time at school. As one of his teachers put it, he's a happy little guy in class. He just loves going to school these days!

Because of the difficulty in getting quality Chinese Raw Herbs in Toronto, we decided to switch Adrian's routine TCM to the Chinese Herbs Extract few days ago. Adrian threw up half way through drinking the TCM in the first attempt but then he was ok the second, third days and so on. We are really proud of him because the extract tastes worse than the TCM prepared through decoction.

Oct 4, 2009

Adrian loves the Dora show on TV ever since we moved back to Toronto. Knowing that there's going to be a photo opportunity with Dora at Markham Fair, we decided to check it out! Apart from a few drizzles, Adrian had fun at the fair where he got to try out many rides including the elephant ride all by himself!

Oct 2, 2009

Despite the overcast weather, Adrian's class visited the Whittamore's Farm this morning. Mama drove there while Adrian rode on the school bus. Adrian was so excited when we hopped on the wagon and toured around the farm, then he was amazed seeing tonnes of pumpkins on the ground. We spent a good 1.5 hour there "milking" cow, picking a pie pumpkin, having fun in the jumping castle and sand pit.

Sept 26, 2009

Spent the afternoon visiting Papa's old school at Aurora. Adrian got a chance to visit the chapel both Papa & Mama got married in 6 years ago!









All kids get a SAC "Braveheart"