More Halloween

Adam & Roberta stopped by with 5 of their nieces and nephews (well, 1 niece and 4 nephews) to share in the Halloween spirit. Can you believe Roberta made their costumes, sans wigs of course!

Happy Halloween!

One of the things we like about Wilshire is that they keep things lively! This year's Halloween theme was Under the Big Top and they really got into it.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Uncle Jimmy Joins the Team

Bald & Beautiful, Baby!

Mom, her Pillow Maraschino & Ambien

Mom has this perfect pillow that Jorge and I named Maraschino after a totally unrelated Food Network program. Anyone who comes into the room will hear her sing the praises of this admittedly fabulous pillow.

Because she hadn't been sleeping Mom started taking Ambien. Ambien is a sleep aid and she can get a whole seven hours of sleep compared to the three she (we) were getting before.

One of Ambien's side effects is Sleep Eating. However, she's been calling on our Filipino side and has changed up this particular side effect and turned it into something I like to call Sleep Feeding. This is when she is completely asleep, say at 11pm, and she tells me, "Mija, did you eat? If you don't eat you'll be grouchy and have a headache. Go get some guacamole." I ask her if she wants something from the kitchen and she'll say no but insist that I eat something. So I'll get up and open and close the door and she'll go back to sleep.

This will happen a couple more times at about three , at five, before it's time to get up and she's all rested and bright-eyed while I'm completely groggy and sluggish.

If this keeps up I'll have to start borrowing some of that Ambien!

Gracias por las florecitas Papi!

Little Orphan Elyse

Jorge has been really great about coming over to watch Mom so I can get out a least one day a week. This Sunday I took myself up to Ventura to watch one of my fav kids, Elyse, perform in Annie, Jr. (which is a lot like Annie but with minimal Sandy, no scary railroad scene, and Ms. Hannigan turns out to be a bad guy...) Elyse was, of course, the best little orphan ever and I was so proud!

More photos here.

Little Boy's B'Day

Today my baby bro turned 27. Jorge and his girlfriend Amy came over to visit. Auntie Julie made lasagna and we got to spend time together. It was Amy's first time meeting the family and she didn't run screaming from the house so I think we've got her fooled! To check out more pictures from today, click here.

Kidding aside, today was a tough day for Mom. Because she had her tubes in all week and it's a big hassle to keep them dry, Dre decided to wait until today to take a shower since the tubes came out yesterday. Auntie Julie's brother Adam was able to get her a shower chair through work (yay Adam!) because standing can make her tired. But even with the chair she felt weak and that lead to chills and nausea. It's hard for her when a little thing like a shower can lie her low.

Dre spent the rest of today resting and we're hoping that helps recharge her batteries a little.

Friday's Guest Stars

Lour, one of Dre's best friends, and her super cute daughter Kristine came to visit today. The last day of chemo has proven to be one of the toughest, but Mom was happy to see these two and the tofu they brought! Mom is a little unusual in that she likes to eat raw tofu with just some shoyu on the top. Lour was kind enough to remember this strange fact during her Costco run - thank you Tita Lour!

Velvet & the Away Game

Today is Mom's last day of her second cycle of chemo! We're almost halfway done. The nurses at Wilshire are all being recertified today, so Mom had to be admitted to San Antonio Medical Hospital to get her chemo. But we were so happy because one of mom's nurses from Wilshire also works at the hospital - it's fantastic to see a friendly face and Velvet is about as friendly as they get. Here's a photo of Dre and Velvet right after her hydration IV got set up.

The Sky is Scary

Here's the sun this morning at 7:45am (I get up every morning at 7:25am and it hurts me, let me tell you...). The fires turn everything orange. Don't worry, I held my breath while taking these pictures. One, because it was pretty and two, the air is like soup these days!

He's Actually the $16,500 Man!

Just got off the phone with Kari, who coordinated Uncle Michael's shin-dig, and she said that the total from the fundraiser and website is now over $16,000! Mahalo plenty to everyone who helped make a difference!

You can also check out www.hawaiianmikebenefit.com for more info on the event. Please remember to support those businesses who supported us (after the fire, of course)! Here is the list of sponsors Robert Hilley, the webmaster, has listed on his site:

Skip Frye
Hank Warner Custom Shapes
Steve Mast Surfboards
Masi Sali Surfboards
Bill Minard Tri-Fin
Takayama 9'6" Balsa Surftech Surfboard
Montesquieu Wines
Catamaran Resort Hotel
Crystal Pier Hotel
La Jolla Sports Club
Diesel Al
Fannie Skin Care
PB Surf Shop
Mike Doyle
Trader Joe's
Kari McKone Hair Designs
Surfari Surf School by Rusty Farroll
Off Shore Restaurant
Bar West
Bully's East
Taco Surf
The Tavern at the Beach
Eden Star Hair Design
The High Dive Restaurant
Nicks at the Pier
Billy Joe Grippo
Mission Bay Night & Day Traffic School
Alan Beels Surfboard Repair
Anthony's Fish Grotto
Canes Restaurant
Crest Liquor
Good Time Charlies
Java Jones Coffee House
Latitude 32 Pub & Grill
Southcoast Surf Shop
The Breakroom
The Coasters Saloon
The Sand Bar Sports Grill
Villa Capri #2 Restaurant
Cass Street Bar & Grill
La Salsa
World Famous
A Hair Salon
Bob's Mission Surf
Henry's Market
Sandwich Emporium
The Broken Yolk

Special Thanks

The Bahia Hotel ... Donated the entire Ballroom and Appetizers to the event - WOW Taco Surf B Natural - Providing live music at the event Racheal & Randi - Guest Bartenders that donated all of their tips (over $800) to Mike! Kanaka's Surfwear Joe Roper MikeKoenigs.com - Video Productions OMBAC The Sommer Family (WE MISS BOB) The Bahia Hotel Star Surfing Company - Glen ... the master MC Tom Davis & the rest of the Tailgaters Kari McKone ... again, this event would probably of not have been possible without her

Dora (and) the Explorer

A couple of weeks ago Dora-girl got all ret to take her driving test and was foiled by a burnt-out blinker. Last Friday she took the test again and was victorious, as we all knew she would be...
Congratulations DJ!

Fire, Fire Everywhere

I don't know if you've noticed, but all of a sudden SoCal thought that the thing to do was catch on fire. There's no fire very close to us in Rancho Cucamonga, but Auntie Christine's kids in Cherry Valley don't have any school this week due to wind damage. Dora thinks this is terribly unfair since trees are blowing down at her and Keoni's school all kinds but they still have to go!

Uncle John was called to fight the fire Sunday just after we all arrived in San Diego to go to Uncle Michael's fundraiser. He borrowed Jorge's car to drive back to Ontario. It was a good thing he left us the Suburban because driving home after the fundraiser we ran smack into a crazy wind and dust storm. It was scary but Jorge used his UPS truck driving skills and we were fine. Good thing the Suburban is heavy and stuck to the ground. Let's not think about what would happen in my Miata! We haven't seen Uncle John since Sunday although Auntie Julie and the kids went to the station to visit him. Last night he got moved to the Running Springs Fire. Be safe Uncle John!

No 'ohana in San Diego have been evacuated except for Tyrone who is a Marine based at Camp Pendelton. The Horno Fire is blazing very close to his barracks. When we talked to him this morning he said the ammo dump was bursting as the fire went through. Now, I'm not sure if it's because he's a boy or a Marine, but he thought that was pretty cool. He is safe and sound and most importantly, off of work!

As I said previously, we're not in danger of burning up where we are, but there are ashes all over and the sky has been smoky. It does make for incredible sunrises and sunsets but Mom has to be careful not to breathe in the air since the chemo affects her lungs. I'm attaching a photo of her and Auntie Julie before we headed off to the clinic yesterday morning. Mama's so fine she makes the mask look good!

How A Port Works

One of the things people seem to be curious about is what the scar is on Dre's chest. When she or I tell them it's a port, folks want to know how it works. The illustration to the left gives a good general idea and more info can be found here. Dre's scar isn't that long, maybe 3 inches with a little half-inch scar above it. You can't see the port but you can feel it under her skin which is how the nurses know where to stick the needle. When Mom comes in for her five days of chemo, like this week, they access her
port on Monday and put the tubes in and then hook her up to the IV. Then they disconnect her from the IV but leave the tubes in so they don't have to poke her every day. On Friday the tubes come out. Mom says she can't even feel it when they poke the needle in because they disinfect, give her a numbing shot and "freeze" the site before getting started. Below is a video of Nurse Hope, just back from a nursing visit to Africa, doing the port dance with Mom this past Monday.

The Eleven Thousand Dollar Man

I am happy to report that Uncle Michael's fundraiser this past Sunday was a fantastic success. Organized by his long-time friend and hairdresser, Kari, the event was attended by around 300 of Uncle Michael's closest friends and family. Through the ticket sales, raffle, silent and live auction as well as the down-right generosity of everyone involved over $11,000 was raised to help Uncle Michael during the estimated year that he'll be off of work while he's fighting his Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Plus we all got to enjoy each other's company - truly a night to remember!

The first picture is of Auntie Do, Dre, Uncle Michael and Uncle Jimmy. Uncle John got called to fight the fires and Auntie Carmen lives in Sweden but four out of six ain't bad! The second photo is of all the cousins in attendance - my brother Jorge, me feeling super old, Dora, Kalani, Keoni and Tyrone who drove down from Pendleton.

And this last photo is of me and Davidson, who clearly loves me a lot since he let my Grandpa carve a heart into his head and all.

You can find more pictures from all the fun on Sunday here.

We're too sexy for our... HAIR

This weekend we fulfilled Grandpa John's lifelong dream of shaving people bald. Mom's hair was starting to fall out and she was vacuuming her pillow every morning. So, Davidson and Jorge and I decided to "Go hard, or go home" in true Northside fashion and join her. The picture on the left cracks me up because you can see Jorge full on belly laughing behind the screen door. What isn't immediately apparent is that Grandma Margie is standing in front of him with her back to the camera joking about how Grandpa is having way too much fun.

But since you don't notice Grandma right away Jorge looks like he's laughing a little too hard at Mom's current cholo hairdo. Tee hee!

We're all adjusting well to the bald life except it's so weird to have our little scalps exposed to the elements. Today I'm running out to get beanies and some sunscreen to protect our shiny craniums.

If you'd like to see more of our experience at Grandpa John's Barbershop, including Davidson's heart hair art and my hottie Rosie the Riveter/lesbian pic, click here.

Thursday's Guest Stars

Today Mom's friends Maryanne and Susan stopped by for Eucharistic Ministry. They had fun together talking about church and all the latest news. Mom actually does ministry herself so it's a little strange to be on the receiving end but it was good for her to reconnect with her friends. Mom's faith has been a great support for her and I'd like to thank everyone from St. Mary's for keeping her spirit fed.

"The Way Things Are Is The Way Things Are"

Dre's schedule can be confusing, but the nice folks at Wilshire keep her calendar and I cross-reference everything in my Google calendar to keep things straight. I'm attaching the pic above so you folks can play the home version of "Where are they today?"

Mom's course of treatment consists of four cycles of five full days of chemotherapy with two weeks in between each cycle. The first day of each chemotherapy cycle is named "Day 1", the next is "Day 2" and so on. She receives chemotherapy from 9am-2pm on Days 1-5. On Days 2, 9 and 16 of each cycle Mom has a mini-chemo session of Bleomycin, one of the components of her chemo cocktail. On Day 2, she just gets it as part of her normal chemo day, but on Days 9 and 16 we come in just for the Bleo which only takes about 30 minutes on its own.

Then, two weeks from her last full chemo day which is Friday, we start all over again with Day 1 the following Monday. And in between we meet with doctors and nurses, she gets shots to keep her blood counts stay up and her blood, heart and lungs get tested to make sure her body's ready for the next round. Confused yet? Me too!

Barring any non-optimal (aka scary) test results, these are Mom's full chemo days:

October 1-5
October 22-26
November 12-16
December 3-7

It would be nice to be done and done by Christmas, but we'll see... Thanks for hanging in there with us!

Why oh why do we call her "Apo Lil" when her name is Leonora?

This picture is from this summer when Mom visited up north, just so you don't think Dre's hair has sprouted like a crazed Chia pet. Here's an e-mail from Cousin Liane about her mom's recuperation:

"Hi Everyone:

Hope all is well or expected to be!

So my mom has returned home after a 2 week stay at Pacifica Rehab Center in Pacifica.

Uncle Art and Auntie Shirley have been taking care of my mom for the last 2 weeks and they leave for home on October 13.

Mom is determined to get better and wants to be at home.

She has gained a pound in a week and now weighs 71 pounds thanks to Auntie Shirley cooking all the time.

Apo Mary and Apo King have also visited multiple times and also brings food to fatten up my mom.

I want to thank everyone out there for thinking of my mom and sending her your love and cards of encouragement.

Best,

Liane"

Uncle Michael's Fundraiser

One of the highlights of my childhood is the gallivanting we did to visit family. I can remember my surprise birthday with pink guava cake at Auntie Nita's, following the creek behind Mama Aida's house all the way to its anticlimactic source, walking on the sidewalk from Grandpa John's next door to Claudette's so I wouldn't step on the round, thorny balls the tree dropped onto the grass. So many good memories, and tucked in there is Uncle Michael letting me sit on a Bahia barstool and giving me two, TWO cherries in my Shirley Temple. Good times, good times.

Now, we're meeting at the Bahia once again. The reason for our gathering might not be entirely pleasant but when we're all together it's bound to be a party! To help Uncle Michael with his medical and living expenses, there will be a fundraiser and auction and here are the deets:

Fundraiser for Michael Palacio
Bahia Hotel - Mission Bay Ballroom
998 West Mission Bay Drive, San Diego, CA 92109
Sunday, October 21
5-9pm

Hope to see you there!

Marge Simpson and the Potato Salad Bulldozer

Keoni, Mom & Jorge

You might be wondering why I stopped counting days. Well, I realized that Dre's treatment doesn't follow a linear path. Technically, she is going to have 4 courses of BEP chemotherapy that are each 5 days long and approximately 5 hours long each day. In between these courses she has 2 weeks of "rest". But what really happens is on those "rest" days, Mom has to get her heart and lung functions tested, get bloodwork done, squeeze in a flu and a pneumonia shot, get a Neulasta shot to keep her white blood cell count up, find out which drugs are causing which side effects and take more drugs to counteract them, etc. So counting days doesn't quite work because the plan's always changing.

Mom is doing well despite it all. She has a bit of a white spot on her tongue that we're trying to make sure doesn't turn into a sore. She's been a little nauseated, gotten the chills but not a fever, and had some minor tummy issues. This coming Monday is two weeks after her first chemo treatment and it's expected she'll start to lose her hair soon. Mostly she's just tired to the bone. But the strange thing is that at night she's been having problems sleeping soundly. She'll go to bed around midnight and wake about three in the morning. On the futon next to her bed, I'm reminded of when I helped my comadre Janet with two-week old Lauren and we slept in that twilight state with one ear cocked for any sound of trouble.

Even stranger than being so tired and not being able to sleep was that when she did sleep she would have what she would call "delusions". Last night she woke me up to tell me that Marge Simpson needed to be careful with the bulldozer. When I asked her why, she said, "She's going to drop the potato salad - that's why!"

Tonight we're trying Ambien, a sleep aid, in the hopes that Mom will be able to get a good night's rest. So far, so good - she took it at 10pm and was out by 10:15. Sweet dreams Dre!

Q & Q Interconnectedness

Okay Hawaii relatives, here in California and perhaps other parts of the mainland, there are places that are like L & L Hawaiian BBQ, but not quite. They serve all the same kine food, but not quite. And they have the same name, but not quite. That's how I ended up at somewhere called Q & Q this past weekend.

Jorge came over to Dre-sit for me on Saturday (Sometimes I call Mom Dre because she's ma dre/madre and also because I'm a dork. I call Davidson's mom Ma and Davidson thinks I don'tnotice but he doesn't have a name for my mom. They talk and everything, but he doesn't have a name for her. We have to work on that one of these days...) Anyway, Jorge came to watch Dre so I could watch the halau folk perform at Q & Q in Ventura.

My friend Lorien (but maybe related somehow as she was a Bareng before she was married) is pictured above with Mom above. I hitched a ride up north with her and her daughter Aliana, who seriously needs to be the next GapKids model. Lorien and Ali-girl stopped by to kukakuka with Dre before we headed up; Lorien played a song for Mom and asked her to name it. Did I mention Lorien's going to be a ukulele rock star one day soon? She's working on her CD and you all will have to check it out on iTunes and download Mom's song when it comes out! I'm going to be her Fan Club President so I'll try to hook you up... But until then, please enjoy the last pic of Aliana, who will always be her mom's biggest fan!

Mom is still working on a name for the song. She so enjoys visiting with people but tires easily and we have to limit contact because her immune system is weak. She's thinking of naming the song something having to do with "interconnectedness", how we all link to each other and are part of one another.

Chemo Days 4 & 5

This is Mom with Anita, her oncology nurse. We love Anita to bits. We want to hug Anita until her eyes pop out. You know when you see a cute little baby and you say, "Oh I could just eat you right up!" I'm telling you Anita needs to watch out for us!

The staff at Wilshire Oncology Medical Group where Dre's being treated has been amazing. They're competent, caring and responsive. This is good because Mom and I are able to relax and "Mean Luana" doesn't have to visit to come and have get-on-the-ball talks with anyone. And that makes the world a happier place for everyone.

Today is Mom's last day of this round of chemotherapy. Then she's on a break for two weeks. During her break she has to have bloodwork done, a pulmonary function test, a Neulasta injection and another treatment of her Bleomycin. So it's not a true break but at least we don't have the five hours every day!

Dre and I would like to send our warmest Aloha out to the wahine and makuahine of Halau Napuaokamokihaha'ohaikapolioluana! My halau is dancing at the first Spirit of Japantown festival this weekend. Wish I could be there but I suppose I'll wait until it comes out on YouTube - strive to the highest ladies!

The Latest on Uncle Michael

Uncle John just came in with news on Uncle Michael. The flow of information coming out of Pacific Beach hasn't been all that steady but we're working on it! This info supersedes anything else I've told you so far. It's a strange game of adult telephone our family plays but it keeps things interesting, right?

Uncle Michael has Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma; previously the word was it was Hodgkin's but that was not so much correct. Dr. Hampshire at Scripps Health in San Diego is his doctor. His specific form of cancer is Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma. He is in Stage 3 and starts chemotherapy tomorrow at 10:20am so send your warm thoughts his way!

Uncle Michael will be getting CHOP chemo; CHOP stands for the drugs cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan), doxorubicin (Adriamycin), vincristine (Oncovin) and prednisone. Uncle Michael affectionately calls it his "Chop Suey".

There will be a fundraiser for Uncle Michael on or around October 21st and I'll let you know more as it develops.

Go get 'em Uncle Mike!

Chemo Day 3

Hello everyone! No exciting news today. Mom had her third chemo treatment. The side effect she's experiencing most right now, aside for the forgetfulness, is fatigue. She said today that she didn't feel like being animated or talking to the other folks in treatment. I never thought I'd see the day when Mom was too tired to socialize and kukakuka. But we decided that the main thing she needs to focus on is getting through her chemo healthy. Anything else we can let go of.

One conversation she did feel up to having was about hair loss. One woman has this beautiful, expensive wig her daughter's soccer team bought through fundraising. Another older woman knits hats with hair-like fringes around the edges. Mom told everyone about how she's never had to shave her legs or armpits and never grows hair on her arms. Of course, I told everyone that when I was going through puberty I was completely sure I was a freak when my Puerto Rican fuzziness came in and my Mom was like, "Wow, that's weird!"

So far, Mom doesn't have any interest in getting a wig but we did get her a leopard print hat when we went visiting Tyrone. Ross has been good to us - shout out to Cousin Bobbie! She's also put in a request to Auntie Do for one of her famous knit lei to go with her leopard print hat as well as a purple knit cap.

Today's picture is for Pualani - who noted that the photographer often doesn't show up in the frame...

Congrats to Tyrone!

Mom would like to send a big "Hurrah!" out to Tyrone for passing his drivers' test! After driving Humvees all over Iraq he is now free to navigate the much more dangerous roadways of Southern California. Good luck Ty!

Chemo Day 2

Today Mom was given Bleomycin as part of her chemo. One of the side effects of this is flu-like symptoms which reminds me to tell everyone to get their flu shots! Mom still isn't feeling sickly. She takes treatment in a large room with about a dozen loungers while other patients come in and out. It helps her to talk story with others who are going through the same thing. Among them are women my age with advanced breast cancer, a lady who had a miscarriage because the placenta was cancerous and several older men who like to discuss war stories. It drives home the idea that cancer can happen to anyone.

The only issue Mom is having is a sort of memory loss. Part of it might be that she's on a steroid that affects her sleeping pattern and another part of it might be that keeping rack of everything is pretty confusing! So, if when she's talking to you she repeats herself or asks a question twice, you'll know what's going on.

On Friday Mom and I went to go get her hair cut. Her doctor and nurses stressed that because two of the treatments she's on cause hair loss, Mom will almost definitely lose her hair So now I have her ponytail in my glove box waiting to mail it to Locks of Love. Mom's been receiving lots of compliments on her new do but was amused to see that she has inherited the famous "Palacio neck". What do you think Grandma June?

This last pic is of her and our newest sweet sixteen-year-old, Dora. I can't tell you how much Mom, Jorge and I appreciate Uncle John, Auntie Julie, Dora and Keoni opening their home and hearts to us. Mom's hospital is 5 minutes down the street and they've been a great source of emotional support as well. Three cheers for 'ohana!

Chemo Day 1

Aloha all! I've decided to start a blog to keep everyone updated on Mom's progress. This way, you can check in at your leisure and I won't keep filling up your poor inboxes. It will also give me a project while hanging out with Mom during treatment.

It's Day 1 of chemotherapy. It's now a little after 1pm and we got here at 9am. Her treatment is supposed to last about 5 hours. Mom is doing well; we're getting a little antsy from having to stay in one place for so long but we've got books courtesy of Queena, a laptop and an iPod to keep us entertained. Mom had her first iPod experience this morning and now is reading "Stories of Life in Old Hawaii". She just told me that the way to keep an octopus from flailing around after you've caught it is to bite it right between the eyes. Nice!

Today they're going to give us a calendar of all Mom's treatments and scheduled lab tests. It's almost a full-time job keeping her schedule straight so I'm glad I'm here. For more info on the type of chemo Mom's getting, CLICK HERE.

Last week Mom figured it would be a while before we could go gallivanting again so we hit the road to San Diego. We got to have lunch with Uncle Michael, Cousin Kalani and even Uncle John who was in town for a meeting. Uncle Michael has Hodgkin's Lymphoma and he got his chemotherapy port put in the same day as Mom. Kalani is a freshman in high school and just got back from running cross-country in this picture.

Then we had dinner with Cousin Tyrone at L&L. Here he is enjoying his private room at the barracks. Spending time with and hearing from her friends and family is one of the things that makes Mom just light right up!

So my loves, that is it for this post. Make sure to keep in touch and let me know if you have any questions. Take care!