Back at CHOC

On Friday night we took Emma back to the hospital. During the day she had thrown up 12 times and couldn't keep down a syringe of water. Alissa has not left her side in 3 days. In the past we could leave Emma when she went to sleep, but now she is aware of her surroundings and wants mommy whenever she is awake. Yesterday she was finally able to tolerate some pedialite in addition to the IV fluids. She has pseudomonis again which is some sort of infection or bacteria from her trach.

Last Weekend

Last weekend we took Emma to Chance's 6th birthday party at a local park. She had a lot of fun. It was a pirate themed party that included a pirate ship bounce house. We got to catch up with a lot of people from Healthbridge. Emma went on the swings for the first time and really loved it. . We also took Emma to the pumpkin patch for a photo op. Here are some pictures from the day.

15 Months

Emma turns 15 months old on Monday. I cannot believe how fast it has gone. She is progressing well, but we wish she would gain weight faster. She loves to play peek-a-boo, blow us kisses, read books, and watch Playhouse Disney. We wish she could have joined us at the CHOC Walk on Sunday, but it would have been too much for her. It was a lot of fun, but you felt like a heard of cattle being driven from one location to the next. They estimate that there were 16,000 walkers. We ran into a lot of people we knew, including our friend Chance from Healthbridge. He was recently adopted and lives near our house. We will be attending his birthday party this Saturday. This month we finally started to receive home nursing for Emma. We qualify for 20 hours a day, 7 days a week, but there are not enough nurses to staff it. We are leaving weekends as optional in case we need a break. Alissa has benefited the most from the home nursing as she has been able to get uninterrupted sleep a few nights a week.

Emma's Entourage

This Sunday at 7:00 am, a group of 20 will be participating in the CHOC Walk as Emma's Entourage. As a group we raised just under $4000 for CHOC Hospital. It should be an exciting event. We will post some pictures from the walk on Monday.

Emma Update and CHOC Walk

Dear Family and Friends,

Emma is doing so well. She has several teeth now and is becoming quite vocal. While it will remain difficult to talk with a trach, she has discovered that she can make noises. It is quite cute. She has been making good progress with her physical therapy as well. She is able to balance herself with a little help on a large ball and can hold herself up on a box with some support. Since mommy went back to work, Emma has done well with both grandmas babysitting. Daddy even took a shift on Tuesday. This weekend marks this 1 year anniversary of CHOC saving Emma’s life. On September 10, 2005 we almost lost our little girl, but through the heroic efforts of so many nurses and doctors, we get to experience all these joys today. We are so thankful to CHOC and their staff and want to give back. We will be participating in the annual CHOC Walk on October 8th. If you would like to sponsor us or participate yourself, please let me know. There is no pressure; we just wanted to let you know of the opportunity. Below is all the information. Thank you once again for your prayers and support over the past 14 months.

Thank you, Mark, Alissa, and Emma


We are participating in the 16th Annual CHOC/Disneyland Resort Walk in the Park on Sunday October 8. As a walker, we’re trying to raise as much money as we can to help the children of CHOC. Children's Hospital of Orange County is very special to our family. As you know, they helped save Emma’s life. We want to give back as much as possible. After spending a total of 10 months in the hospital, we know first hand how special CHOC is. CHOC is a place where any child can receive the medical attention they need, regardless of their ability to pay. Last year, the CHOC Walk raised over $1 Million to help pay for this medical care and this year our goal is to raise even more! This is a unique opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the 150,000 children who visit CHOC each year. If you are interested in donating, here is the link. CHOC WALK. Click on sponsor a registered walker and our registrant id’s are mdford1973 for Mark and yoyosmommy for Alissa. If you prefer you can also give a check directly to us made out to CHOC. If you are interested in walking with us, let us know ASAP so that we can get you the information to signup. We need at least 4 more walkers for Emma’s Entourage. It will be a great event and will benefit so many kids.

New Pictures

I like to eat beef jerky with my new teeth!

Mommy, Emma, Grandma, and Great Grandma

I like to play with paper.

Look at me doing physical therapy.

Emma has Teeth

Emma officially has her top 2 front teeth and we see a few others breaking through. She looks adorable with her toothy smile. A couple weeks back, she spent 4 days in the hospital, but it turned out to be a false alarm. She was throwing up a lot again and we didn't want to chance it. All tests came back negative for infection so she came home. 4 days is a new record for her shortest stay. Two weekends ago, we took Emma to the Mission Hospital parking structure to greet 900 motorcycles as they came through on their annual CHOC Ride. The bikers ride from location to location picking up poker cards trying to make the best hand. They end up at the blimp hangers on the old Tustin Marine Base. It is a great fundraiser for the CHOC. Emma was so excited seeing all the motorcycles. We had to put ear plugs in her ears though because it was so loud! This past weekend, Emma got to spend time with Alissa's extended family. In all, there were 16 of us together for dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Her Great Grandpa and Grandma Smith were in town for a few days, so we all got together. Emma had a great time and stayed up way past her bedtime.

New Job

Alissa started her new job at CHOC last week. She went through orientation on Monday and has been training with Marta at Big CHOC for the past 5 days. After she finishes her training this week, she will begin her official work on the 5th. She cannot wait to start working with the families.

Newest CHOC Employee

On Friday, Alissa was officially offered a position as the Parent Services Coordinator at CHOC Hospital in Mission Viejo. This is an exciting opportunity for her to use her experiences over the past year with Emma to help other parents going through similar situations. She will act as a liaison between the parents and doctors/nurses. It is a 20 hour a week job with flexible hours. We cannot imagine a more perfect job for Alissa. CHOC has become so much of our lives with Emma in the hospital for 10 months and now we can give back. She will be starting on or before September 11.

Great Weekend

This past weekend Emma had a lot of firsts. On Friday we took her to Babies R' Us for her first portrait studio photos. We arrived just before 5:00, but there was a long wait. By the time they were ready to take her pictures, she was tired and we only ended up getting 6 pictures taken. They turned out nice though. Daddy had to work on Saturday, so Mommy and Grandma took Emma to Healthbridge for a visit. On Sunday Emma finally made it to our church Sakred for the first time. It was so nice to be back and the sermon was quite appropriate. The theme was Welcome Home and was on the parable of the prodigal son. After church we went to Nana and Papas house for a thank you lunch for everyone who helped out with Karen and David's wedding last month. Then on Monday, Emma got to visit Mommy's school and meet a lot of the prayer warriors there. We are still waiting for her teeth to break through. They are so close and Emma can't wait for the pain to go away.