New and Improved (flat nose now though)

Here she is, post palate surgery, happy, looking like "Ralph Macheo" from the Karate Kid movies in her red headband. If you notice, she flattened the tip of her button-nose by banging her face on pillows forcefully for an hour at the hospital when she was dilirious post surgery. Oh well, we'll add it to our list of surgery "touch ups" for when she turns 4 y.o.

Valentine's girl

valentine's day with mike's side of the family. his grandpa turned 84 today. fun day with all of shaun and zaina's 2nd cousins. we are a very international family, as you can see.

Better- home today?

this is a pic from chinese new year, 2 weeks ago.

Zaina seems better today. no more severe pain meds, just codeine syrup to take home. She seems like her pain is now better managed. Now if only she'd drink alittle of her bottle, we can take her home.
She actually smiled at me when I was jumping around like a fool, she must have thought "I can't believe this goofy woman is my mom, I'll smile at her to be polite", what a sweetie.
We just need her to drink alittle bit of any kind of bottle fluids, that shows she will drink at home so we can be sent home. Still praying.

successful surgery, bad reaction, again

well, very successful surgery. the palate is completely closed, for now. the surgeon says it can open up a little bit and make a smallish hole, but nothing to prevent that, and we wont know til we take zaina in for her 2 week post operation dr.'s appt.
she did great coming off the anesthesia from surgery, but 4 hours after that, BAM, she went back into her not happy place of dillusion and dilirium. She did not look at us, her eyes glazed over, and just mad and scared!!
Dr.'s gave her anxiety meds and pain meds, that helped, and it is now 4am and we are in the pediatric ICU and she is better.
hope to go home today.
thanks to all for the outpouring of love, wishes, prayers and support!!
Michelle, you are Zaina's gaurding angel.