Meet our son Alii(Aleee-ee) he was born on February 20, 1995, at 6:23p.m. at Tarzana Regional Medical Center. On this day I was one of the happiest mom's in the hospital to give birth to such a handsome precious baby boy. Alii is 50% Honduran with a Filipino, Hawaiian, Irish and English mix.....that makes him 100% perfect in our eyes! I could not ask for anything more I am one happy Mama!
At six months old Alii was diagnosed with Cerebral palsy and seizure disorders. Over the years Doctors prescribed numerous medications to control seizures but they failed. Medication was an exhausting process we tried them all at this point seizures controlled his life. For years we would wake up to the sounds of moaning, painful cries and thumps on the floor because we would find Alii in a seizure. For years I was cynical and skeptic, I gave up on medicine and lost faith in the Doctors treating him. It wasn't until Dr.Robert Kay(Orthopedist at Childrens Hospital L.A.) recommended Dr. Charles Niesen at Cedars Sinai. Meeting Dr.Niesen was a gift, a Doctor who had the skill and knowledge of Pediatric Neurology and did not give us the run around bull shit! I was very impressed. Long story short, in December 2006 Ali'i was hospitalized at Cedars Sinai Medical Center for intractable epilepsy. During our stay Dr.Niesen ordered numerous image studies and a three-day video EEG. We met a team of Neurologists who studied Alii for 15 days and monitored his seizure activity. The results of the CAT SCAN, MRI, PET SCAN and EEG show a possible candidate for brain surgery a technique called hemispherectomy. A drastic operation that would remove one hemisphere of his brain.
Thank you, Debra Bahr (Ashlee's mom) and Tabitha Simpson (Ashton's mom)! Thank you for sharing your story, with God's grace and his wisdom he is embracing us.
To: My family, Mom, Troy, Gina, Lavee,Steve,David, Lisa, Albert,Lori,Dylana and Lorna - thank you for your gifts, kind messages, phone calls and e-mails.
To :Dr.Robert Kay, Dr's. Glenn and Kristine Irani,Dr. Charles Neisen, Dr.Dawn Eliashiv, Patti Valenzuela, Susan Knowles and Highlands Elementary school, Masha Katz, Savina Kollmorgen and all the ladies at Brightstar Physical Therapy....thank you for your brilliance and providing excellent healthcare for Alii, you are the greatest!!!!
A special thank you: Sylvia Chlebek (Jeremy's mom),Cathy Webb (Jaque's mom) Diana Higa (Corey's mom), Kim Krogh (Silace's mom), Marion Martin (Ray's mom) , Grandma Sheryl Graham (Niki's Grandma), Lisa Baker (Allie's mom)Jennifer Redmond, Michelle Clough, Michelle Downing, Stephanie Spina, Gina Ongie, Jenny Peacock, Isaac Barrera , Cecilia Engstrom, Michelle Lewis and Frances Molacek.
