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.