Lyon & Ka'ili

Lyon kickin' it with his cousin Ka'ili

Time with Grandpa

Lyon is weighing in these days at 8 lbs 11 oz. Almost the size of a holiday turkey.
His ROP (Retinopathy Of Prematurity) hasn't quite resolved itself yet, but things are looking good. Next Oahu appointment is Jan 7th. He makes 5 mos old on Jan 23rd and finally outgrew his preemie clothes!".

Napping after a long day of traveling with Mom and Nonita

Lyon and Nana

Growing and growing

Lyon and his super mario brothers shoes....

Lyon and the boys

Another Eye Check-Up

It's been another two weeks and so off we went to Oahu for the day to go see Dr. Wong, the eye guy. Very happy to report that Lyon's eyes have improved yet again! His blood vessels seem to be growing well and there is only one tiny area that still needs vessels on the outer rim of his eyes. Dr. Wong also said that he thinks this will happen soon and Lyon shouldn't have any problems with his eyes. Yet another victory in our long journey from 1lb 12oz!!!

Lyon has also made the 6 pound mark (6lbs 4oz to be exact). As you can see from the pictures he is growing well and getting a nice honey brown color to his skin. He loves to be held all the time, which is fine-we know we are all making up for lost time with all those lonely days spent in an incubator for him.

Can't tell you how amazed we are to see a real miracle in our lifetime!

Ariki and Marie

Off to Oahu...

Nonita y Nieto

Father and son

My cup runneth over

I turned my calendar page this morning as the passing of Halloween only meant one thing to me: we were that much closer to my personal favorite holiday, Thanksgiving. Since I had converted to digital calendaring in the beginning of the year, thanks in part to google, I wondered why I even bothered with this archaic pile of paper standing before me. But there it stood looking directly at me...the multi-colored hearts, the squiggly swirls and excessive use of the exclamation point signified the day that would begin a whole new chapter in all of our lives.
This week would mark the anticipated arrival of the yet-to-be-birthed baby Lyon. Marie's actual due date was November 7th. The mere sight of the lone writing on the whole page brought me back to the morning of July 23. I stood for eternity and relived that whole day. The worry, the fear, the hope, the prayers, the uncertainty, the certainty, the joy, the tears, the laughter and the love. Everything about it hit me at once and softened me to a pulp. To think how far Marie, Ariki & Lyon have all come...and to imagine them sleeping together...in the same room...as a family...for the first time, finally getting to know each other outside of the distracting commotion of the hospital. My cup runneth over.

So here we are…bathing in the wake of the arrival…or return for that matter, of our beloved little Lyon. When I say “we”, I mean everyone but me. I write from a small colorful coffee shop in Monterey, only there in spirit, face painted with a curious smile from the joy brewing deep down of the journey we’ve all been on in the past 3 months and beyond happy and thankful with the end result. I'm not sure if my smile will ever fade at the thought of my nephew. Right about now newly titled Abuelita and Grandpa are probably wondering when their next turn to hold the baby will be and giddyness overcomes me at the thought of meeting him again, and getting to holding him for the very first time.

I think it's safe to say that Lyon has written a chapter in all lives who've been witness to his journey home. What can we learn from a premature life that struggled every moment to be able to one day sit in his mothers arms sans tubes, monitors, and doctors as loving eyes and hearts adore him from afar? We can learn love. Pure, unconditional love. Many of my friends have told me that they've never met neither parents nor Lyon and yet they can't help but love this little guy. It warms me to no end to hear that.
I've developed an incessant need to call at least once a day and know how things are, to hear funny stories, and to hear his little grunts...oh those grunts...they're like little melodic kisses that tickle the very depths of my soul and melt all the seemingly unpleasant matters of my life into a puddle of possibility. At 3 months old (or -1 week, if you will), Lyon has fought far greater battles than I ever will, has taught me how to love, and brings me immeasurable amounts of joy....and we barely know each other.


The latest pictures from Abuelita:

Sleeping soundly

And this was Lyon's reaction when Mom and Dad came to the hospital to tell him he was finally going home...

Finally Home

Dear Friends and Family,

As most of you know, we finally brought Lyon Tehanana'ia Foster home this past Thursday. Ariki flew up to Oahu the night before to sign the Discharge paperwork from the hospital. We hardly slept Wednesday night, thinking of all the things we needed to do before leaving Oahu and in disbelief that the day had finally arrived.

Thursday morning we headed over to the hospital. Our new and dear friends, Ted and Sarah, had offered to drive us to the airport. Ted and Sarah had become a daily fixture in my last weeks in the NICU as their daughter Payton was born at only 2.2 lbs and was often placed next to Lyon in every room he moved to. He was making friends already! As we arrived at Lyon's room we could not stop smiling. The day that we had been waiting for had finally come. Think about it this way:
88 days in the hospital
88 days separated from Ariki and my family
Over $120,000 in hospital bills (don't worry its covered)
Over 176 hours spent sitting with Lyon in the hospital
Numerous surgeries, blood transfusions, tubes, wires, machines, nurses, doctors, specialists, sleepless nights and most of all, prayers.

There he was lying in his crib in his little red outfit, ready to go home. We signed the final discharge papers. The nurse took out the last of all his wires connecting him to his monitors and machines. It was so weird to see him completely on his own after so many months attached to machines. We loaded him in his carseat, said our goodbyes and thankyous and started out journey home.

The first day home was a happy blur somewhere between reality and a dream. We were finally back together as a family. Lyon slept peacefully in his bed as we went about arranging the house. Every couple minutes we looked over at him in disbelief-he was here, he was home with us. It seemed as if it were just yesterday he came so quickly and unannounced into this world. It seemed like a really bad dream that we had to go through this whole ordeal. A bad dream that finally ended and we woke up to see Lyon home from the hospital as he should have been as if everything had been normal.

We can't say enough times how forever grateful we are to all our friends and family that have stepped up to help us through this experience. From those who sent money, dinners, did "check up" phone calls, lent us cars, laptops and everything in between. Please know your help and generosity did not go unnoticed and we hope one day to return the love to you. It was really hard to go through this but never once did we question God's plan in all of this. We just knew we needed to trust Him and know that He wouldn't give us more than we could handle. From the critical life-threatening moments in the ER during his birth, to the surgeries he went throught at 1 week old, to his blood infection that caused him to stop breathing many times...there was this peace over us that is really hard to explain but we know where it came from.

We ask that everyone who reads this posting please send your mailing address to:
marielegacy@hotmail.com


Forever Thankful and Always Grateful,
Ariki, Marie and Lyon Foster

LOVING LYON

I am so grateful to have Lyon out of the hospital and home with us. He is getting stronger every day, and Marie just told me that he can roll over on his side now.

A LANDMARK!

Today Marie and Ariki took Lyon to the doctor on Kauai for his first checkup since coming home yesterday. He has passed the 5 lb mark, now at 5 lbs 2 oz. This is GREAT news! Marie also shared that Lyon's ROP (Retinopathy Of Prematurity) has improved to a stage 2.

Mahalo Ke Akua, Thanks Be To God, Gracias a Dios.

HE IS HOME - Komo mai e 'ai

Nieto querido, Bienvenidos a tu casa y que Dios te bendiga!

con mucho amor,

Tu abuelo Tomas.

On the prowl...

Lyon loves his Abuelita...

So touched by this Song

Right after speaking with Marie today and learning about Lyon coming home this coming Thursday I heard this song by John Lennon on the radio, sung by Ben Harper. It touched me very deeply. It's called A Beautiful Boy.

Close your eyes
Have no fear
The monster's gone
He's on the run and your daddy's here
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful boy
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful boy

Before you go to sleep
Say a little prayer
Every day in every way
It's getting better and better

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful boy
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful boy

Out on the ocean sailing away
I can hardly wait
To see you come of age
But I guess we'll both just have to be patient
'Cause it's a long way to go
A hard row to hoe
Yes it's a long way to go
But in the meantime

Before you cross the street
Take my hand
Life is what happens to you
While you're busy making other plans

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful boy
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful boy

Before you go to sleep
Say a little prayer
Every day in every way
It's getting better and better

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful boy
Darling, darling, darling
Darling Sean
-------
With sincerest and Aloha and deep gratitude to all of you for all your kindness, prayers and good energy.

I pray that Lyon's Grandpa John, Grandma Tua and Aunty Esther can come meet Lyon. I know they love him dearly.

Aloha,

Grandpa Tom

Finally!

Lyon is now 4lbs 12oz (2kg roughly), completely breathing on his own, eating on his own and if his eye exam goes well this Wednesday, then HE IS COMING HOME THURSDAY!!!! What a long road this has been so far. We can't tell you how excited we are to move into the next chapter of life and have him home with us. We promise to keep everyone updated on the eye exam results this Wednesday.
With love and gratitude,
Marie & Ariki

Eye Exam Results!

Good news! Lyon's eyes have improved!! He was down-graded to "mild" grade 3 ROP. Doctors seemed optimistic about it and he will have another eye exam next Wednesday. If you haven't already read the previous blog before this one, do so. Really good news!!

Mother and child

Light at the end of the Tunnel!

Hi Everyone,
As of today, Lyon is 4lbs 9oz(2.08Kg) and doing very well with this breathing and feedings. Around 3pm he is going to have his next eye exam to see if his ROP has become better or worse. If it becomes worse, then they will be doing laser eye surgery probably tomorrow. If it remains the same, then they will just keep monitoring him weekly.

Other great news is that we might be going home very soon! The Doctor said we are aiming for October 18th which is next Thursday! Amazing considering how long and far we have come here. Although we would like to bring Lyon out to meet everyone, the Doctor also advised us to keep him home for a couple months and out of contact with crowds. The reason is because Lyon is coming home in the start of flu season. What could be a cold to us could possibly end up being a severe respitory infection for Lyon due to his preemie background. So please be patient with us in your calls and inquiries to come over and see him. He will make his debut soon and in the meantime we will keep this blog updated with pictures.

Mahalo ke Akua,
Ariki & Marie

Another day in the office...

Just Breathe!

As of today 10-4-07 Lyon is finally breathing completely on his own! No machines! The last hurdle we need to jump before he can come home is his eating. He needs to be able to finish all the milk in his bottle for every feeding for 8 feedings in a row.

Follow-Up Eye Exam

Lyon had his eye exam today. Dr. Wong said that his eyes have not advanced into Plus disease so they are going to just monitor them again next week. There is no need for surgery at this point. I will post another update on his eyes next week. Thank you for praying for his eyes!!

The breath of life

The hongi is the traditional Maori greeting where noses are pressed and there is the exchange of the Ha, or breath of life. As one breathes out, the other breathes in and then the gesture is reciprocated.



Mastering the binky...

And we're live!

Some clips from Ariki's phone of our little fighter.
(The movie clips don't start by themselves...you have to hit the "play" arrow)




If you can't see these clips, you need to download the latest version of quicktime.
Go here: www.apple.com/quicktime/download

Finally Made 4!

4 pounds 2 ounces that is!
I spoke with the Neonatologist last night and he said Lyon should be coming home in the next 3 weeks!!!

Follow-Up Eye Exam

3lbs 13oz
Breathing well, still on High-flow machine.
Today Lyon had another eye exam. it appears his eyes have become a bit worse, going from a grade 2 to a grade 3. They are going to have another exam next week Wednesday to evaluate whether to do laser eye surgery. I will keep everyone posted. Other than that, he seems to be doing well and moving quickly towards 4 pounds.
Aloha,
Marie

2 Months Old!

Hi Everyone!

Today Lyon is 2 months old. He weighed in tonight at 3lbs 13oz and 15.5 inches long. He is doing very well with his breathing. On the flip side, he has developed grade 2 ROP in both eyes. ROP is an eye disease common in preemies, with micro-preemies like Lyon having a 90% chance of developing ROP. They are going to be monitoring his eyes every week or two to see what happens. It could go away on its own or get worse. If you are interested in learning more about this, Google "Retinopathy of Prematurity". Please pray for his eyes that he might be healed!

Thank you!
Marie & Ariki

An Email From Dr. Rossi

This is an email from Dr. Rossi-The head doctor who delivered Lyon via emergency C-section. She is now back in Japan since she was just in Waimea to cover for Dr. Chatkupt:

Hello Marie & Ariki,

I am so sorry to respond so belatedly, as my email thought you were spam (until I checked the trashed messages)! Not the good kind of Hawaiian spam either.

I cannot say enough about how wonderful it was to see how your family was doing, from the smallest (Lyon) and you, to the biggest (Ariki), and all the wonderful grandparents and other family members in between. I think about your family often, as Lyon and your whole family made an enormous impression on me---this is why I and others practice medicine. I was grateful to be part of it, as so many others will be too (as I can see from the pictures of the NICU). Lyon just needed a better way to get out, but he certainly is figuring things out on his own now---tripling his weight and thriving! Marie, how are you doing? Are you getting back into the ocean? It is impressive to see how much you have learned about Lyon's complicated medical environment from your blog comments. You and Ariki are seasoned capable parents already. I asked the nurses at KVMH how you were doing 2 weeks ago, and they said you had so much energy, you were thinking about getting a job in Honolulu. That is a good sign for your healing, except Lyon seems to be trying to get home to Kauai. And sooner than anyone could expect---how truly remarkable your son seems to be and becoming everyday. He is a credit to his genes and his family circle. I will check into your blogspot often and look forward to pictures of him going home soon!

Please let me know if I can do anything for you too, and if you have a mailing address.
Best wishes always,
Vy Rossi
--
Vy Bui Rossi, MD

Los Abuelos

Some new photos from the last trip Abuelita Carmen y Grandpa Tom took to visit Lyon on their 30th wedding anniversary.


This has got to be my favorite picture ever!
(Blue steel anyone?)










(I'm having way too much fun with these pictures)