MEMORIES ^♥^ & FEARS

Yes we came home about a month later, once Dillon mastered the suck, swallow & breath technique and got to 5 lbs they wasted no time to send us home.

We all settled in just fine, it’s been 10 years since I did all this with Jacob ^♥^ Just like riding a bike it all came right back. A lot of emotional moments, remembering when Jacob was this small. Jacob was also 5 lbs when we brought him home, I love all the memories. These are all the memories I will be sharing with Dillon as he grows, all the wonderful things about his big brother Jacob now in Heaven looking down and watching over us. ^♥^ Dillon’s 2 mnth appt on July 27th went well, he got his first set of immunizations, screamed bloody murder but was fine after I held him. He is growing so fast, he weighed 7 lbs, 11 oz & 19.25 in.

About 2 wks later we had a huge scare, we noticed his testicle was swollen and trying not to let my mind go to a place it should not I quickly got him to the Dr’s. (this is why I HATE BEING A CANCER MOM) My anxiety, fear & stress level just grew as the Dr tells me I am not sure what it is, there is a lump there, could be a hernia but we can usually push a hernia back in *GULP* (just relax Melisa, don’t go there…..telling myself its nothing) and to make everything worse the Dr did not want me to take Dillon home, she wanted us to go straight to ultra sound to see what was there. If you can only imagine the state I was in at this point, an emotional train wreck and to make matters worse the U/S tech needed a second opinion on what she was seeing, as I sit there holding Dillon I completely “LOST IT” My prayers could not be heard enough!!!!! What really sucks is that the tech’s cannot share what they see :0/ I did ask but no, got nothing, so we go home and wait for the test results?? OH NO they said they had to send us to URGENT CARE….WHAT!!! WHAT ARE YOU SEEING?!?!?! At this point I just wanted to start screaming at everyone, it did not help we were already there over 5 hrs. SSSOOOOO we finally see the Dr and find out it is a hernia, ALL THAT FOR A HERNIA!!! BIG sigh of relief, thank God!! So Dillon does need surgery and it will be set 1 or 2 days before Halloween. I just want to get this past us and I don’t want any more hospital stays. Dillon is growing & changing so fast and we are loving every moment! We had his 4 mnth appt on Friday September 28 he is doing great and catching up quickly to the normal growth chart, he weighing 11 lbs, 10 oz & 24in.

Thank You for your continued prayers, Melisa

“LITTLE” MIRACLE

It’s been a couple of months since my last update on my pregnancy. Since my results coming back good on my amniocentesis I have enjoyed and was more relaxed with my pregnancy. I have to say my pregnancy has been easy and I was looking forward to going to full term with this little boy. Well he had different plans, I went in for more NST appt on May 29th and then they sent me over for extended monitoring in Labor & Delivery to find out his heart rate kept dropping and coming right back up. This is so scary, not to mention stressful, I was like not again!! This is how my last pregnancy with Jacob ended, granted Jacob was 2 days past his due date, but it still ended in an emergency c section. So any ways with his heart rate continuing to drop the Dr did not feel comfortable letting me go to find out my baby’s heart had stop. Of course my little life inside me was my first priority, so when she told me we need to do a c section tonight I agreed. I had my concerns about how early he was going to be, but at 34 weeks & 5 days they told me there should not be much to worry about. Of course there could be some small concerns but we just need to get him out and go from there. It was about 5pm and things moved quickly, I was in the OR about 2 hours later being prepped for the c section, with so much running through my head, just praying please let my baby boy be ok!!! They pulled him out SCREAMING, what a great sign, he came out perfect and YES HE WAS HOLDING HIS OWN and we were told he was doing great!

DILLON ANTHONY SAMANIEGO
MAY 29TH 2012 AT 7:17PM
3 LBS 15 OZ , 16.9 IN LONG

He is still in the NICU, not sure when he will be coming home, it could be another 3 weeks and only time will tell. He needs to eat fully from a bottle, sometimes he comes close to taking a full 2 oz bottle and other times only half then the rest goes into his feeding tube & his current weight is now 4lbs 8 oz.  A brain scan was also done last tues, this is normal protocol for preemies and they saw a shadow, they do not know what that could have been so they are re-doing it today, please pray that it is nothing.

 
 

Thank You for your continued prayers,
Melisa

A sigh of relief...time to enjoy my Pregnancy!

Sorry I have not updated sooner, I called for my test results before my actual appt on Feb 29th. I had not heard any thing and was really hoping that no news was good news. I new it had been 2weeks since my Amniocentesis and I was not waiting any longer!! So on the phone I waited for 10 min while they found my test results..UGH, the nurse got back on the phone and proceeded with with the results, I started to cry and with such relief I told her THANK YOU, THANK YOU that is all I was waiting for!!! Yes the tests came back normal! What a stressful 2 wks, I was just glad it was a happy ending with good news. I really feel like I can now enjoy this pregnancy with all the movements that my little one is doing. I can't wait till he is here, so I can hold, and kiss him. The start of a new life, "WHAT A BLESSING"!!

Its a little scarry going into the 3rd trimester, this is where we are going to have to keep an eye on my blood pressure and swollen ankles. I just can't believe we only have 3 months left, time is just going by so fast and it is all so exciting :o) Here is a pic from my last scan

Thank You for keeping us in your prayers!! Melisa

Can you also keep this BEAUTIFUL baby boy in your prayers, his name is Dalton and he was DX with severe partial Trisomy 13. http://devotionstodalton.blogspot.com/

LIFE HAS ITS OWN FEARS

I went it for more genetic testing last week (2-15-12), due to the fact I am at a higher risk with this pregnancy. They did a level ll ultrasound; they checked the brain, heart & other organs, hands & feet. The Dr said everything looks good and our baby boy is measuring on target. The Ultrasound did give me some peace of mind knowing everything looked good. So with one hurdle down, I also had the Amniocentesis done to get the genetic makeup of the baby done, so yes now I am stressing about getting those results, praying everything looks good and we have a healthy baby boy. When it comes to my kids, all I want to do is make sure I do everything in my power to make sure they are OK. With Jacob I fought long & hard for him and we still lost him to the STUPID CANCER, I always felt so helpless and now I have this little miracle growing inside me and once again I feel so helpless. Not a thing I can do except wait and pray. The fear is so strong. I know it is a lot to ask, I just want to move forward with life with my pregnancy with no red flags. The results of the Amniocentesis takes 10 to 14 days, so maybe the end of next week we will have those results and I can put all this worrying behind me.

No mistaking it's a BOY!! 18 WEEKS 3 DAYS **THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED PRAYERS** Thank You for keeping us in your thoughts & prayers, Melisa

Lifes Little Miracles

As the time passes it’s hard to believe it’s already going on to two years since my Precious Jacob left us to go be in heaven. It is still just as hard as it was the day of his passing, the very thought of him brings me to tears. I wish so badly to hug and kiss him, to hear his little voice say “MOMMY I LOVE YOU” with his beautiful smile. Well Jacob you know and will always know how much I love you, and will always keep your memory alive!! Please keep Jacob’s Memory in your thoughts and say a special prayer on the day of his passing, Feb 1st witch marks 2 years, maybe even light a candle in his memory. JACOB WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH, NOT A DAY I MISS YOU XOXOXOXOX!!!!! Over this last past Christmas I shared some news with family and friends that brought great joy to many of them. The news that Jacob was going to have a little brother or sister, a little one he can watch over. The new little one will know everything about their “BIG BROTHER” Jacob and know they have a very special Guardian Angel watching over them. With all fears, sadness and the GIANT emotional rollercoaster we have been on this is such a HUGE BLESSING to have this beautiful little blessing growing inside me. Even this little blessing comes with its own fears, fears that I deal with on a daily bases, but positive thoughts get me through each day. Please just keep us in your prayers for a healthy baby. I am hoping for a great Dr's appt this Friday Feb 3rd and we are planing on finding out if it is boy or girl :0)

12/20/11 ultrasound / 3 months Thank You for keeping us in your prayers! Melisa

New leukemia treatment exceeds 'wildest expectations'

Doctors have treated only three leukemia patients, but the sensational results from a single shot could be one of the most significant advances in cancer research in decades. And it almost never happened. In the research published Wednesday, doctors at the University of Pennsylvania say the treatment made the most common type of leukemia completely disappear in two of the patients and reduced it by 70 percent in the third. In each of the patients as much as five pounds of cancerous tissue completely melted away in a few weeks, and a year later it is still gone. The results of the preliminary test “exceeded our wildest expectations,” says immunologist Dr. Carl June a member of the Abramson Cancer Center's research team. Dr. Edgar Engleman, a cancer immunologist at Stanford University School of Medicine who was not involved in the research calls the results “remarkable ... great stuff.” The Penn scientists targeted chroniclymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the most common type of the blood disease. It strikes some 15,000 people in the United States, mostly adults, and kills 4,300 every year. Chemotherapy and radiation can hold this form of leukemia at bay for years, but until now the only cure has been a bone marrow transplant. A bone marrow transplant requires a suitable match, works only about half the time, and often brings on severe, life-threatening side effects such as pain and infection. In the Penn experiment, the researchers removed certain types of white blood cells that the body uses to fight disease from the patients. Using a modified, harmless version of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, they inserted a series of genes into the white blood cells. These were designed to make to cells target and kill the cancer cells. After growing a large batch of the genetically engineered white blood cells, the doctors injected them back into the patients. In similar past experimental treatments for several types of cancer the re-injected white cells killed a few cancer cells and then died out. But the Penn researchers inserted a gene that made the white blood cells multiply by a thousand fold inside the body. The result, as researcher June put it, is that the white blood cells became “serial killers” relentlessly tracking down and killing the cancer cells in the blood, bone marrow and lymph tissue. As the white cells killed the cancer cells, the patients experienced the fevers and aches and pains that one would expect when the body is fighting off an infection, but beyond that the side effects have been minimal. Doctors had told Bill Ludwig, one of the research volunteers, that he would die from his leukemia within weeks. Then he got the experimental treatment a year ago. With tears welling up, he told NBC, "I'm more closer to the people I love and I appreciate them more... I'm getting emotional... the grass is greener and flowers smell wonderful." The other two patients have chosen to remain anonymous but one who happens to be a scientist himself wrote, “I am still trying to grasp the enormity of what I am a part of -- and of what the results will mean to countless others with CLL or other forms of cancer. When I was a young scientist, like many I’m sure, I dreamed that I might make a discovery that would make a difference to mankind – I never imagined I would be part of the experiment.” So why has this remarkable treatment been tried so far on only three patients? Both the National Cancer Institute and several pharmaceutical companies declined to pay for the research. Neither applicants nor funders discuss the reasons an application is turned down. But good guesses are the general shortage of funds and the concept tried in this experiment was too novel and, thus, too risky for consideration. The researchers did manage to get a grant from the Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy, a charity founded by Barbara and Edward Netter after their daughter-in-law died of cancer. The money was enough to finance the trials on the first three patients. With results for the three patients published Wednesday simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine and Science Translational Medicine, money for further studies -- not just in this one type of leukemia, but in other cancers -- will likely pour in from both the government and drug companies. Read the New England Journal of Medicine report NEJM: Redirecting T Cells It is important to emphasize that there still have been only three patients. Over the past century, many attempts to harness the body’s immune system to fight cancer have shown initial success and subsequent failure. So much research remains to be done to prove just how good this treatment is. But it should begin soon, with great vigor.