An Update on Gaby's Progress

Thank you for all your encouraging words and on going support. It means the world to my family to see everyone come together for our baby girl. Family, friends, and those who don’t even know us our praying for Gaby, we thank you from the deepest part of our hearts.
I’m back at the hospital feeling better, thank God. Gaby has her good and bad moments. This morning she woke up throwing up and the next minute she was laughing with her cartoons. My daughter is amazing, so strong and after all, full of life.
Her white blood counts are down to 0.2, which means her body can’t fight infection. She is extremely vulnerable at this time, but with the help of God her counts will go up. Doctors said it was expected for her counts to go down after chemo. Her next round of chemo is due January 1st if everything goes as planned. She is draining from her chest tube therefore she is still in PICU however it has decreased a bit but enough to go home.

Mom says...

Gaby is doing good today despite the LONG night we had. I on the other hand had to come home because it looks like I'm coming down with something; plus I have sinus. It hurts me not to be there but its for her best interest. She has tolerated chemo pretty good. She really blew my expectations. They did put the feeding tube but when they tried yesterday with the feeding, her belly got extended and had some diarrhea. They will try again today to see if she can tolerate it.

A Christmas Prayer for Gaby

This Christmas Eve, join us in a prayer at 7:00. At 7:00, before we sit to eat, we will join hands as a family and Junior, my son, will lead us in prayer. I want to encourage you to join hands with us from afar and pray for Gaby and any other burden heavy on your hearts.

We were not sure if we were going to have a Noche Buena party. What is happening with Gaby has really put us in a bah hum bug! BUT we finally decided that it was the perfect opportunity to come together as a family and pray for Gaby, Julian, Mildred and Juan. We will be missing them that night but there will be nothing else on our mind!

An Update after day 5 of Chemo...

Gaby woke up with nausea and throwing up. Yesterday she was weak. She still has the chest tube and it's still draining. Yesterday they put the feeding tube; she took it like a true trooper!!! Go Gaby!!! That’s our girl!!!

Although she is going through all this mom says Gaby was smiling and laughing as she was watching the movie Tinkerbell. Mildred says that Gaby is still her active little self and playing tricks. When she doesn't want something she acts like she is sleeping, then she opens one eye to peak!!! What a silly little girl. She was running a temp so they had to give her tylenol so she played her little asleep game to get away. Since it didn't work she tried to be slick and drink lots and lots of water so when they finally got the tylenol in her she thru up. I tell you she is "candelita" like her mom says!!! Please keep her in your prayers.

Mildred is also going through a rough time. She has been having bad headaches. God please place your healing hands on her head and in your name take the headache away so that she can be with Gaby the way she wants to be. Amen

Gaby needs blood! Wait until January or February to donate blood. There has been enough donations for now. We are looking for blood type O positive or O negative. You could go to any community blood center with Gaby's info. This is what you need to take. Name: Gabriella Garcia, DOB: 10/10/2006, Last 4 S.S.# 6540, Location: Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, Doctor Name: Dr. Cauff. Please stop by and donate in January or February. Gaby needs us!!!

Day 2 of Chemo

Gaby did pretty good yesterday. She wasn't feeling too good in the morning however she did really well with the chemo and slept for a while to reenergize for night time. She is still on TPN and the doctors are insisting that she needs to begin eating on her own. Yesterday she had a little bit of milk and a couple french fries, which was GREAT. We just need her to continue. Her chest tube is still on and is still draining liquid therefore they can not take it out. I think that when the chest tube is out and maybe 2 days go by after finishing chemo that she will pick up again on eating. Doctors have mentioned a feeding tube and I really hope it doesn't get to that.

Yesterday, I got to spend some time with Julian. At first, he was distant and didn't want me around until he gave in to my hugs & kisses. It really hurts me that he is hurting as well. He is too little to understand but he definetly knows there is something wrong. I can't wait to go home and be able to jump into bed all 4 us again.
I am amazed on how many of you are praying for my princess. Its great to know that there are GOOD people in this world. Our prayers will be answered and our princess will be running around again.
Today we are ready for day 3 of chemo. I will keep you posted

Whats the Plan?

A note from mom: Her chemo treatment is for 5 consecutive days, on day 6 she gets a shot to boost her immune system. Then on day 21 counting from the first day she starts again. I spoke to a neuroblastoma expert from the University of Chicago who assured me that Gaby is getting the appropriate treatment here. She was GREAT, she answered all my doubts & questions. She also suggested that when it was time to go back to surgery, to find a surgeon with a lot of experience in neuroblastoma. She gave me 3 names, one in Chicago who works with her, one in Sloan in New York, and the other in Harvard. I will definetly consider this.

Things always get worse before they get better...

A note from mom:
I was devastated this morning when the doctor confirmed with me that the liquid in her lungs were a second side effect from the actual tumor; in other words it has the cancerous cells. On top of that the second biopsy came back MINC amplified; its a genetic study & all this means its that its a tougher tumor. With all this said u can imagine what kind of a day I've had. Today I had a mother advocate who stopped by to meet me. Her daughter is a cancer survivor of neoroblastoma. Had stage 4, 10 years ago & is now a teenager. Her visit was God sent. I needed to hear from someone that has been here that it will be okay. Tomorrow is a BIG day for all of us. The battle is about to begin, she will start chemo tomorrow. Please continue to pray! Gaby needs it. Please update everyone. XOXO, Mildred

'The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you." Hang in the Mildred, we love you!

This week's report and new pics

This week God has been working in Gaby's body. She is digesting and using the restroom so her intestines are improving. They have found fluid in her lungs though and we need to pray that the fluid disappears so it does not get complicated. Gaby did have the liquid extracted from her lungs and it is still draining some. However, she actually played Peek-a-boo with mom while she was next to her in bed.

I wanted to let everyone know that there are two prayer times for Gaby. One at 8:00 am which a special group of nuns all the way in P.R. are hosting everyday for the next 8 days. The other is "Gaby's Prayer" which we are doing as a group everyday at 9:30 am. Please join in as one big voice in God's ear. I am including the prayer in Spanish as well on the blog.

They have also start a Carepage for her at Joe DiMaggio. Please feel free to view it and send Mildred a message.

Thanks again for all your prayers. We will be delivering the books to the hospital sometime next week so if you want to participate, let me know.

Finally a Blessing...

I am sending you the latest update on our precious Gaby. We are happy to inform results from the MIBG study indicated there is no presence of cancer cells anywhere else in Gaby's body. We are currently waiting for results from the second biopsy. We will keep you posted...

Please continue your prayers. Our family is forever grateful for all the love and support we have received from everyone. .

Thank you and God bless you all,
Marilyn

Mom's Newest report...

Hello Everyone, thank you for all the encouraging emails and text messages. It really helps to know that so many people are praying and truly care. Let me update you on Gaby, so that you know where we are at this point. We got back preliminary results that Gaby's cancer is a high risk. This puts her at a Stage 3, high risk, nueroblastom. The hematologist/oncologist has been great so far. Dr. Cauff has been very proactive and helpful till this point. I did express to him that I wanted a second opinion; I am looking at Memorial Sloan Kettering or St. Jude. He has sent emails to nueroblastoma experts in his field and is helping me get the second opinions. I am exploring all options to see what will be best for Gaby and increase her chance of survival however we have to decide this week coming up what we are finally going to do; time is crucial. I ask God to help me make the right decision for her. Most likely by the beginning of next week, we will find out about the MIBG study, it will tell us if she stays at Stage 3 or moves to Stage 4.There is also one more genetic study that is pending which we will know very soon. The waiting game is no fun.She has had some difficulty after surgery and some set backs. I'll be honest with all of you, it hasn't been an easy week. There are times that I am as strong as can be and other times that I feel so down. But I guess this is normal considering what Gaby is going through. As of now, her lower intestines are working okay but we are still waiting for the upper intestines to work. This happens sometimes after surgery however I am anxious for her to recover and start treatment ASAP. Gaby has also had some issues with the line that was placed in her neck but I will not get into it since its coming off tomorrow, thank God, it has been torture for her. Her hemoglobin is dropping and there is a chance that she'll need another transfusion tomorrow if it gets lower. Lets hope it doesn'tSince Gaby is not feeling like Gaby, I've asked for only immediate family to come. As her mother, I feel that I have to give her 100% of my time. If I have to deal with visitors, I can't really dedicate 100% to her and she is just not feeling up for it, I know it. Not only that, her immune system is down and the least amount of people that she is exposed to the better. Please don't get me wrong and I hope you all understand, I just think its best for her.I can't thank you all enough for all the prayers. Please do not be discouraged if I can't answer your phone call, text message, or email. Its really hard to keep up with all of them therefore here is the latest update on Gaby.
God Bless you all,Mildred

Fridays report from Dad

GREAT NEWS! Gaby is feeling better. Juan (dad) says they might move her into a regular room tomorrow. Her intestines are improving and they have lowered the amount of pain killers they are giving her. The bone marrow test results come back on Monday. I know those results will come back negative. God is working in her body. There are so many people lifting her in prayer, God can not ignore. I for one have never prayed with so much conviction. I also can not believe how an event like this can bring people together in prayer. Thanks to all of you and lets keep this blessing going.

Prayers for Gaby

Hi Everyone,I just wanted to say thank you for the prayers and encouragement. I can't believe how many responses I have gotten from you and your family and friends! I wanted to create this blog so everyone can have a place to find out info about her. Keep the prayers coming....prayer works!!!!

Update from Gaby's Mom

Latest update on Gaby.
I'm sorry if you called and couldn't get to you, it's been a long day.We appreciate what you are doing for Gaby. We definitely need as many people praying as possible. Today it was confirmed it is a neuroblastoma and in a couple of days we will know if it will stay in stage 3 with one last test which will be done tomorrow (MIBG). This test will see if there are any neuroblastoma cells anywhere else in the body. We are also waiting for the second biopsy where it will be determined if it is an intermediate risk tumor or high risk tumor. We are hoping for the best at this point. Honestly, I am still trying to digest that my daughter has cancer.Being in this ICU unit there are many kids that are suffering as well. We need to pray for them as well and hope they recover asap. I met this extraordinary Mom. Her daughter Amanda has a rare brain tumor and the doctor's initially told her that Amanda had very little chance of survival. Amanda's Mom has extended a helping hand to us in this rough time since she knows exactly how we are feeling since she has been there before. She is truly admirable. She is fighting this monster and is not giving up on her little princess. Not to mention that Amanda is a cub with a heart of a true lion. She is figting and not giving up and she is cute as can be.Gaby is not doing too good after surgery. Initially she was doing good and the doctor decided to take out her foley and the suction tube that she has from her nose to her stomach. Since she didn't pee on her own and her intestines were not responding (looks like they are in shock from the surgery), they had to put both back. She has been in a lot of pain and has been given morphine for the pain. However the morphine is good for the pain but not too good for the recovery since it slows down the possibility of her intestines starting to function and of her to pee on her own. The doctors think its best if she is comfortable, they told me some kids can take a 3-5 days before everything starts functioning again. You can imagine how stressed we are. Regardless, I am trying to stay strong, positive, and focused as hard as it is. I know she needs me more than ever and I will not let her down.Please continue to pray. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you and God Bless!
XOXO,Mildred