Happy "10th" Birthday Leila!!!!!!

Leila's Art gets displays downtown

Summer trip back to Las Vegas

Having fun in the spa with my Las Vegas neighbors and friends.

Summer trip to Ohio

I love coming back and playing with all my cousins :)

Summer trip back to Minneapolis

Had a great time at the Mall of America hanging out with my old friends and neighbors in Minneapolis.

April 2011

Leila has been doing great!  She is now nine months post chemo.  We are still going to the oncologist on a monthly basis for routine check ups.  All of her blood tests have been good.  She is now completely off all medicines, even her antibiotic.  She had her port removed in October 2010, so we do not have to worry about that anymore.  Leila is now back to her normal self! 

Leila enjoys her new school and has made many new friends this year.  She takes ballet classes every week and loves to dance all over the house.  She is full of energy and attitude!  Leila has always been a very strong minded and independant child, which has been a blessing. 

We enjoy going to the beach whenever we get the chance.  Leila had a great time in Marco Island for Spring Break.  She loves to ride the waves on the boogie board or the innertube.  She is a water girl.  Rami and Deena love to play in the sand and build anything.

Leila is looking forward to summer break, although she loves school. 

  

Deena's Dance Party

Leila in Marco Island for Spring Break 2011

Our move to Florida

The week after Leila ended treatment, was spent getting ready for our big move to Orlando, FL.  The movers came on July 6-8 and packed up all of our furniture and belongings. 

We spent several days saying goodbye to our good friends in Las Vegas.  We stayed at the Red Rock resort for two nights, and our neighbors joined us for our last goodbyes!  We flew out of Vegas on July 10, 2010.  It was an emotional trip leaving everyone that we had become so close to over the three years of living there.  We will miss all of the wonderful people who were a part of our lives.

We have moved into our new home in Orlando now, and are adjusting slowly.  Grandma and Grandpa Brown came to help us get things unpacked and settled in.  We are trying to get used to the humidity and bugs! 

Leila has her first doctor appointment here in Orlando this week.  She has been dealing with some skin irritation and itching problems since going off the chemo.  Other than that, she has been doing well!  We are anxious to meet her new doctor this week.  Leila will continue to go once a month for blood counts and check ups. 

End of treatment June 30, 2010!

On June 30, 2010, Leila took her last chemotherapy pills!! This officially ended her 2 1/4 year treatment protocol for Leukemia. Leila's last doctor appointment with Dr. B and Jenny was July 2, 2010. The entire staff including Dr. B, sang Happy No More Chemo to Leila and we had a wonderful cake from Candlelighters. It was a moment to remember!

That evening Leila had a Spa party at our house with all of her close friends. We had the Giggles and Glitter company come with all of the supplies for facials, pedicures and manicures. Leila and her friends had a great time and enjoyed the special treatment.

Moving to Orlando, FL

It is official that we are moving to Orlando, FL. Ziad received a promotion with Pepsico and we are being transferred to Florida. Leila, Rami and Deena were shocked by the news and at first were not thrilled about the idea. We told Leila that we will stay in Las Vegas until her treament ends on June 30, 2010. We are planning on moving in early July. Leila has already shed many tears about leaving her friends and school. She is also not happy about switching doctors. We continue to stay upbeat and explain that it is a good move for daddy and we will be living near Disney World and the beach! Our house here in Las Vegas is up for sale and Ziad is starting to travel back and forth for his new position. We will continue this way until July.

Two Years and counting!

On April 28, 2010 it was two years to the date of Leila's diagnosis. Leila has been doing great with her treatments and has been very fortunate and successful in getting through all of this. We are down to nine (9) weeks left of her treatment protocol. Her ending date is June 30, 2010! It doesn't seem possible, but we are all so excited and anxious for the date. After June 30th, Leila will only be taking an antibiotic as long as she still has her port in. Her port will probably come out at the end of this year. She will continue with the Oncologist on a monthly basis for check ups and blood tests.

In Memory Of Oscar

On March 26, 2010 we received the unfortunate news that our dear little friend Oscar Soriano had passed away. We first met Oscar in the hospital on the day that Leila was diagnosed with Leukemia. Leila and Oscar quickly became friends, and Oscar was by Leila's side when she received her first chemotherapy treatments. We continued to see Oscar at Leila's weekly chemo clinic visits as well as Candlelighters events. Oscar and Leila enjoyed calling each other and checking up on each other. Oscar was also in treatment for Leukemia and had to have a bone marrow transplant. He made it through all of that and was doing fine for the year following his transplant. He suddenly became ill with an infection and was admitted to PICU. The infection shut down many of his organs and he could no longer fight it. We are all deeply saddened by his loss and will never forget him. He was a kind and loving boy who brought joy to everyone who knew him. We will miss you Oscar!

First Haircut

Leila recently had her first haircut in almost two years. Her hair has been growing since her chemotherapy was reduced. Now she has long brown curls that are beautiful.  She decided that she was ready for a small trim, so we started with half of an inch.  When the stylist was done, Leila said she wanted another half of an inch taken off.  Leila was very pleased with how her new style looked. She enjoys putting barretts, pony tails, bows and headbands in and styling her own hair each day.

H1N1 (swine flu)

Leila has been doing so well and staying very healthy since school started in August.  She has been very good about washing her hands and her teacher was helpful in using antibacterial wipes in the classroom.  Unfortnately she and Deena caught the H1N1 flu, despite our efforts to keep them healthy.  It was two weeks of high fevers, horrible coughing, aches and pains, several rounds of IV antibiotics, oral antibiotics, tylenol, motrin, chest x-rays, breathing treatments and many trips to Dr. B's office. It all started the weekend of Thanksgiving and went on until Leila's birthday.

We still managed to have Leila's 8th birthday party after we knew she was no longer contagious.  It was a long two weeks and she missed about 8 days of school, but we avoided the hospital!!!!!!

October 2009

October was an extremely busy month for us. We had several Halloween events to go to as well as Trick or Treat in our neighborhood. We attended the Candlelighters Halloweeen party again this year and had a great time. The kids received a pillow case to fill while Trick or Treating and we saw some other kids and families that we knew.

We were also invited to attend the Haunted Harvest at Springs Preserve. Leila, Rami and Deena enjoyed walking around the gardens filled with lights and Halloween decor while they received more candy. There were carnival games to play and a stage show with music and childrens characters.

Our neighborhood had a big Halloween party and then all of the kids went Trick or Treating together. It was crazy but a lot of fun!

Miley Cyrus concert

Leila was able to go to the Miley Cyrus concert that was here in Las Vegas recently. Ziad came home one day with tickets to the concert, that were given to him from Pepsi and Make-A-Wish. Leila, Deena and mommy went to the concert and had a great time. We had fantastic seats where we could see everything. Leila and Deena sang and danced along with Miley and screemed along with every other girl in the audience.

Candlelighters 5K Race

On Saturday September 12, we attended the Candlelighters annual fundraiser run/walk. This year we had many of our friends and neighbors join us to walk or run for the event. We also had our friends Olivia and her brother Aaron with us. Olivia who was diagnosed with Leukemia two weeks after Leila is also doing very well. We had decided to join a team that was honoring the memory of a boy who had passed away this last year from Leukemia. This team alone helped to raise over $20,000 for Candlelighters. After the race was over, there was plenty of food and drinks for everyone. There was also face painting for the kids, inflatable jumpers, balloon artists and games. Leila had a great time with the kids.

Disneyland trip

A few days prior to school starting, we decided to take the kids to Disneyland. Leila had been asking to go all summer long. Leila had a great time at Disneyland and enjoyed the rides and parade. California Adventure was so much fun for all of the kids. Rami and Ziad rode the roller coaster over and over again.

Leila and Deena enjoyed having dinner with the princesses at Ariel's Groto. They got to meet Cinderella, Ariel, Snow White, Jasmine and Belle. That was the highlight of the trip for them. On the last day of our trip, we decided to go to the beach for the day. Although the water was freezing, Leila had a great time playing in it. Rami built his usual sand fort and Deena just ran from the water to the beach and back.

Back to school

Leila is very excited to be back to school. She is happy because several of her friends are in her class this year. Her teacher is great and seems to be very interested in helping Leila and cares about her overall well being.

Leila has also decided that she wants to be on the school tennis team. She will play once a week on Wednesdays after school for one hour. This will give her something physical to do without invloving too much contact. She is doing well with getting her homework done and keeping up with the class.

Family visits over the summer

We have been very blessed this summer to have many of our family members come to Vegas to visit us! Leila and Deena enjoyed their youngest cousin Kamila who is 10 months old. They loved playing with her on the floor and making her laugh and giggle. Leila was great with Kamila and helped feed her and take care of her. Leila will make a great babysitter in the future.

Rami especially enjoyed a visit from his older cousin Danny. They spent a lot of time swimming and went to New York New York and rode the roller coaster together as well as the rides at Circus Circus.

Leila also had her Aunt (Amto) Dania visit for a few days. With the exception of Leila stepping on and breaking Dania's glasses, it was a fun time!!

We also had our cousins Sophia, Aiden and Gus with Aunt Jenny and Amo Sham come to visit us from northern California. Leila spent most of her time playing with Sophia who is the same age. During the same visit we also had Tata and cousin Zach come from Ohio. Rami and Zach had fun swimming and playing Legos. Deena had fun with Gus and Aiden.

Camp Cartwheel - summer 2009

Leila has had a great summer filled with a lot of fun! Both Leila and Rami were able to attend a summer day camp through the Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation. The camp is an hour drive outside of Vegas located on a private ranch in a canyon area. Camp Cartwheel is a day camp for the younger kids, and the older kids get to stay overnight for the week. Next year Rami will be old enough to stay all night.

The week consisted of music, singing, dancing, arts and crafts, swimming in the lake, canoeing, archery, karate, games, making new friends and eating good food. Leila and Rami had a wonderful time and look forward to next years Camp Cartwheel.

Our summer trip to Ohio

We took a two week trip to Ohio in June, to visit family and friends. Daddy stayed in Vegas to work and get ready for the busy rush for July 4th weekend. Mommy and the kids traveled to Columbus and had a great time seeing everyone. We were able to go and do a lot of fun things this time. We went to the zoo and saw a newborn baby elephant, which the kids loved seeing. We also went to COSI (museum) and spent time learning some new things and enjoying an afternoon with family. We went swimming a couple of times with our cousins and played at the parks. We went to the Whetstone Park of Roses where mommy and daddy were married. The kids enjoyed walking around and looking at all of the roses. We had a great two weeks and Leila did well with all of the traveling.

Las Vegas 51's baseball game

Our family was invited to a Las Vegas 51's baseball game through the Candlelighters organization. The tickets were donated by Metro PCS and they chose Leila as the child to represent them and throw out the first pitch at the game. It was very exciting for all of us and Leila was very nervous about being in front of a stadium full of people. A friend of ours who is also a teacher at Leila and Rami's school, put together a large group of teachers and their families to attend the game that night in support of Leila. They made a huge sign that said WE LOVE LEILA and held it up during her first pitch throw. We all sat together as a group and enjoyed the game and snacks. It was a fun evening and we greatly appreciate the support from all of the teachers.

Viral Infection and Pinkeye

For the past two weeks we have been battling a virus and pinkeye in our house. It first started with Rami who missed three days of school and was very sick with fever, cough, congestion and pinkeye. We tried our best to keep Rami away from Leila during that time and even had her wearing a mask in the house.

Unfortunately it didn't work and Leila ended up getting it all. She started with the fever and congestion along with the cough and then the pinkeye set in. Of course it all happened to be on Memorial weekend, so we called Dr. B and told him Leila was fevered. He quickly told us to meet him at Sunrise Childrens Hospital so that he could look at her. He examined her and gave us a prescription for the pinkeye. He said he thought the fever was a virus and that we could fight it as an outpatient rather than admitting her into the hospital. That was a huge relief, but we spent the next three days at the clinic where Leila received IV antibiotics and fluids along with Tylenol and Motrin to battle the fever. Her cough and congestion continued for several days.

Leila missed a week of school, but is finally feeling better. She returned to school today to finish out the last few days for the year. She was very excited to return and see her friends.

Now Deena has the fever, pinkeye and all of the above. Once again we are trying to keep Leila away from her. This is our third week of this virus in our house. We are all tired of being sick and sick of being tired!

We are all looking forward to summer break!

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY - APRIL 28th

It is hard to believe that today marks the one year date since Leila was diagnosed with Leukemia. As we remember that day and all that transpired, it is both an emotional and heart wrenching memory. We take today to look back at all of the ups and downs we have had with Leila. We realize how fortunate we are to have her here with us and how thankful we are that she is still doing so well.

Leila continues to do great in school. She enjoys going each day and has many friends in the first grade. Her hair has been growing out more now, so she is getting more comfortable wearing headbands and barretts.

She has reached another milestone this week! She has been working on swallowing her chemo pills, with a lot of practice with M&M's. Leila has managed to swallow her pills the last two days, so we are on our way to a much easier way of life. Mommy will be happy to give up the pill crushing for good. We have Leila's friend Olivia to thank for that. Olivia who is only 5 years old, just started swallowing her chemo pills. This helped to talk Leila into giving it a try.

On this day, we are also thinking of Leila's friend Oscar. Oscar is the boy that was in the hospital with Leila during her first week. Our friend Oscar is recovering from his bone marrow transplant in Oakland, CA. We have talked to him recently and he is doing well. We continue to pray for him to make a full recovery and come back to Vegas.

We also think of the children who have lost their battle with cancer. Here in Las Vegas, there have been 10 children since January, which is an alarming number. Three of the ten were boys that we knew who were in the hospital with Leila, and all of them received a bone marrow transplant. We think of these families and remember how lucky we are to have OUR LOVELY LEILA!

Spring Break 2009

This week was spring break for the kids and Ziad took the week off so we could all be together. We decided to go to Phoenix, AZ for a few days to get away and relax. We stayed at a Marriott resort that has a lazy river pool with rafts and a slide, along with two other larger pools. The weather was nice and warm and we had a great time swimming and relaxing in the pools. The kids loved eating in the restaurants and enjoyed the all you can eat breakfast buffet.

"A" Honor Roll

Leila has been doing very well in school this semester and managed to get all A's on her progress report card. Her school had an awards assembly for all of the children who made the Honor Roll. Leila was recognized and congratulated by the principal and given a certificate for her hard work and achievements. She has worked very hard since being back in school and her progress shows it. We are extremely proud of what she has accomplished in so little time. We are also thankful to her home school tutor Mr. Gardner. With his help and guidance through Leila's time away from school, he kept her ahead and well prepared for school.

Candlelighters event for Ace Ventura movie

On Sunday afternoon we attended a Candlelighters event at The Springs Preserve for the premiere of the upcoming movie Ace Ventura Pet Detective Jr. Leila, Rami and Deena were able to meet the celebrity kids who star in the movie and get their autographs and pictures. The main star of the movie is Josh Flitter who plays Ace Jr. Another actor in this movie is Reed Alexander who is best known for his role on iCarly as "Neville". We watched the movie and then spent time walking around the Springs Preserve gardens. I was a fun and busy weekend and Leila had a great time.

St. Baldricks Foundation

On Saturday evening we attended a fundraising event for a foundation called St. Baldricks. This is a head shaving event that raises money for the research and finding a cure for children fighting cancer. Leila's doctor (Dr. B) had his head shaved by one of his other cancer patients, which was an emotional moment for everyone watching. It was very fun and Leila also got to see one of her nurses (Mary) after she had shaved her head. We also had the opportunity to meet other families and see many bald heads!

First week of March 2009

Leila did much better this week. She made it to school everyday and had a busy week. On Wednesday night we were invited by Candlelighters to attend an event at the Red Rock Casino Resort. The event was hosted by a company called Illumina, which is a genetic DNA research company. They had invited kids and their families to come and enjoy an evening at a carnival that included games, food, crafts and entertainment. After the carnival, they had a magician for the kids and a Las Vegas show similar to Mystere. It was a fantastic evening and was so much fun that we didn't get home until 11 pm on a school night! The kids were tired the next day, but it was worth it.

Last week of February 2009

The last week of February was rough for Leila. She was on steroids again and was miserable with stomach pain and vomiting. She missed three days of school that week, spent a day at the doctor, made a trip to the hospital for an abdominal X-ray and took a lot of Miralax. After a week of misery, she felt better and was her old self again.

Leila's monthly Chemo clinic visit

Leila is now going to Dr. B's office every four weeks for blood counts and an IV chemo treatment. She did well this week and her blood counts were good. She has had some stomach problems and missed school one day this week. She is back on the steroids this week also, which adds to the stomach pain, back and leg pain and her emotional ups and downs. We are learning how to be more patient with her during these weeks. She also seems to be more tired and wants mommy to comfort her more often than usual. Although weeks like this are difficult, we are still very fortunate and thankful that Leila continues to do well. We know many other children whose battle is harder and longer, which helps us to appreciate every day that Leila does well.

Leila's first LIMO ride!

On Saturday night we met our friend Cindi Thurmond for dinner at the Rainforest Cafe at the MGM and then had a surprise Limo ride down the Las Vegas strip. Cindi and her friends who are from CA, were here for the weekend and wanted to plan a night out for Leila. We had originally met Cindi in August during our stay at the Wyndham resort here in Vegas. Cindi was at the pool with her grandkids when we were swimming. She noticed Leila, whose hair at the time was falling out everywhere; and asked us if Leila was taking chemo. We started talking and found out that she belongs to an organization called Chemo Angels. Since our meeting, she has been sending gifts and home made cards to Leila and our entire family. She has "adopted" our family and continues to think of Leila and what she is going through. We are very grateful to Cindi for her generosity and wonderful heart. Thank you Cindi for your love and support.

Annual Make A Wish Run/Walk

This past weekend we attended the annual Kendall Tenney Make A Wish 5K Run here in Las Vegas. Kendall Tenney is the local newscaster from Channel 3 who tells the stories of the Make A Wish children and helps to raise money for the Las Vegas chapter each year. We had the opportunity to meet him and have our picture taken with him after the event. Leila, Rami and Deena had a great day during the event. The Make A Wish foundation had a special area set up for the WISH kids and their families to hang out and eat treats and do some crafts. We were also able to meet Miss Teen Nevada and we had a special visit from Snow White. The kids also had time to play at the Town Square playground, which they love.

Leila goes back to school!

Leila started back to school last week and enjoyed being with all of the kids. Mommy stayed with her on Monday and Tuesday to make sure she was comfortable with the routine. She was welcomed by the entire school on her first day during the morning announcements. The entire staff and her teacher Mrs. Mammano went out of their way to make sure she felt good about returning to class. The kids in her class have been very helpful to her, especially the girls. They have all taken turns sitting with her at lunch, playing together on the playground and helping her in the class. Leila decided that she also wanted to ride the bus with Rami. This has given her more social time to see her friends that also ride on the same bus. Leila has been very tired when she returns home at the end of the day. When she does get home she needs to rest awhile before beginning her nightly homework. We are so pleased that she is adapting so quickly to her old and new life. It is wonderful to see her energy and enthusiasm return and to feel that her life can be somewhat normal again.

Leila's Christmas and New Year's

We all enjoyed Christmas day at home with just the five of us. The kids each had a few gifts to open and then spent the day playing, eating and packing for our trip to Ohio the next day.

On December 26, Leila was due for her blood counts and her monthly IV chemo. We had to go to the outpatient area at the hospital instead of Dr. B's office due to the holiday. This of course usually takes longer. Leila and mommy left very early in the morning and spent several hours getting the process done. Later in the afternoon we left for the airport to make our trip to Ohio.
After a delayed flight, we made it to Ohio late that night.

We had a great time visiting with our family including all of Leila's cousins. She had so much fun playing with them and having sleepovers with her cousin Sophia. On New Year's Eve we spent the evening at Ziad's brothers house, along with the other Shiblaq's and partied until 2:30 am. We were all dancing (including all of the kids) until the wee hours of the morning. It was one of the best New Year's we have had with our kids! Leila, Rami and Deena also spent time making gingerbread houses with their cousins Tawny and Kobi as well as sleepovers with them at Grandma and Papa's house.

The week went very fast for us and we did as much as we possibly could to make the most of our time there. Now we are focusing on the New Year and getting Leila back into school this month.

Make A Wish Holiday Party

On Thursday night we attended Santa's Open House, hosted by the Make A Wish Foundation of Southern Nevada. It was held at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino, and was decorated like a winter wonderland. The buffet table had holiday cookies, candies, chocolates, lollipops and brownies as well as other foods. There was also entertainment throughout the evening with singers, clowns, balloonists and games for the kids. One of the main singers was Meaghan Jette Martin who played "Tess" in the movie CAMP ROCK. Leila, Rami and Deena enjoyed getting their picture taken with her. There was also a visit from Santa Claus, who gave each child a gift after taking a picture with him. They also had a special room set up for cookie decorating and each child was given two huge cookies to ice and decorate any way they wish. It was a wonderful night and the kids had so much fun.

SNOW in Las Vegas

This past week was very different for Las Vegas. On Wednesday afternoon it started snowing and continued throughout the night. The snow storm left several inches of snow on the ground, so of course the kids were very excited! This was a small fraction of the amount of snow that we are used to, especially coming here from Minnesota, but it was a lot of fun. Rami spent hours building a snow fort with his friend, and Leila and Deena built a snowman with mommy's help. All of the schools closed on Thursday, which made the kids happy!