More Birthday...

Okay, lets start the weekend off on a lighter note. Last Thursday was Aya's birthday and we went to Spago's for dinner.

Honestly, I did not even know Spago's was still open. Back in the day, I knew it used to be in Hollywood but it was also above my pay grade. Recently I noticed that Spago's was still open and that it was just a few doors down from my favorite steak house.

Aya gets the Zagat guide every year and I have never given it much thought. This year I started thumbing thru it and making little notes on places where Aya and I have gone. Luckily, Aya and I have been able to go to over 100 restaurants listed in Zagats guide.

With that being said, I am not sure about Spago's. It was more crowded than I thought for a Thursday so people like going. My food was great. Aya and I shared a 40 oz Cote de Boeuf. Basically a rib eye steak, but not like any other rib eye...this was some good meat. So why am I not sure about Spago's? As good as it was, I felt it wasn't any better than other comparable restaurants and the kicker is that Spago's is expensive even by LA standards. The bill at Spago's was almost twice as much as I normally pay for dinners with just me and Aya.

Wolfgang Puck did come over and say hello and Aya got a nice birthday dessert. We also didn't sit in the main dining hall and were in a more private section so that was nice. I just don't know if it is worth paying that much. At least I can say I went once.

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In other good news, Aya's mom was able to speak more today. She responded well to her physical therapy and speech therapy. I mean she won't be chatting it up on the phone or doing cartwells by the weekend but it was very encouraging to see some improvement. She remains in ICU so still no visitors.

UPDATE:

More good news. Aya's mom was able to speak in sentences today. I am not sure how strong her voice projected or if it was a whisper but Aya was able to clearly understand her. Also, Aya's mom was able to move the fingers on her right hand as well so hopefully that is a sign of good things to come!

No news is now good news...

Aya and I are now back to work and things have been busy so there wasn't an update the past few days. Here is the latest.

Aya's mom had a small stroke during her recovery. That stroke is blocking the communication from her brain to the right side of her body. Thus, she had not moved her right arm or leg. However if the doctor/nurse prick her then her body responds so the doctor thinks that with rehab there is a chance that she will regain use of her right arm and right leg but no guarantees.

Right now we are just waiting until Monday when the doctor makes the call on whether to clip the aneurysm or put a stent in the artery. Until then no news is good news.

The doctor increased the blood pressure and no rupture so that is good. Aya's mom is more mentally aware now. Aya's mom still can not speak although she has said the year and her name to the doctor. She has not spoken to me, Aya or Su. She does squeeze Aya's hand in a yes/no type answer when Aya speaks to her.

So right now, we are just in a holding pattern until Monday and then we basically start at square one again...finding out what the surgery will be, waiting for the results of the surgery, waiting for recovery and then waiting to see the outcome of the surgery.

Update...

Today did not go as planned. We had hoped for more progress today but sadly we might have even had a set back. Late this afternoon one Aya's moms test came back with some blood in the brain.

It is possible that it is just left from the surgery but the surgeon thinks it might be a 1mm aneurysm near the site of the original clipped aneurysm. Sadly, the test are inconclusive just like the test before the surgery. The problem is that the aneurysm is right were the vein splits off into many other veins. Basically it is where were a bunch of 'freeways' interchanges are so the aneurysm is hard to detect because like the first one it was underneatch the vein so it is hard to see in the lab films.

In addition because the tear is so small it appears as a vein branch and not an aneurysm. In any case, we hope to find out more tomorrow. Aya's mom is slowly coming around...opened her eye...made eye contact and can non-verbally respond to questions . One eye is still closed due to swelling.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

Bad news...Good news...

Friday afternoon Aya got a call from one of her mom's friends saying that her mom blacked out at the gym and was taken to the hospital. Our first thought was my mother inlaw over exerted herself at the gym but when Aya got to the hospital we found out her mother had an aneurysm and was going to be transferred to another hospital that can do the surgery.

"An aneurysm (or aneurism) is a localized, blood-filled dilation (balloon-like bulge) of a blood vessel caused by disease or weakening of the vessel wall. Aneurysms most commonly occur in arteries at the base of the brain (the circle of Willis) and in the aorta (the main artery coming out of the heart), a so-called aortic aneurysm. The bulge in a blood vessel can burst and lead to death at any time. The larger an aneurysm becomes, the more likely it is to burst.

Currently there are two treatment options for brain aneurysms: surgical clipping or endovascular coiling. It consists of performing a craniotomy, exposing the aneurysm, and closing the base of the aneurysm with a clip. The surgical technique has been modified and improved over the years.

Surgical clipping remains the best method to permanently eliminate aneurysms. It consists of passing a catheter into the femoral artery in the groin, through the aorta, into the brain arteries, and finally into the aneurysm itself. Once the catheter is in the aneurysm, platinum coils are pushed into the aneurysm and released. These coils initiate a clotting or thrombotic reaction within the aneurysm that, if successful, will eliminate the aneurysm. In the case of broad-based aneurysms, a stent is passed first into the parent artery to serve as a scaffold for the coils ("stent-assisted coiling").

At this point it appears that the risks associated with surgical clipping and endovascular coiling, in terms of stroke or death from the procedure, are the same. The major problem associated with endovascular coiling, however, is the high recurrence rate and subsequent bleeding of the aneurysms."

Aya's mom had a 2mm aneurysm and was lucid and moving all her limbs...so we thought everything was okay. Most aneurysms are 5-7 mm and patients are usually unconscious so we were under the false impression that Aya's mom was not in critical condition. Unfortunately after we met the surgeon we became aware of how condition her condition really was and that 2mm or 7 mm she was already lucky to have just made it to the hospital. The next step was surviving the surgery.

Luckily the surgery went as planned on Saturday. The doctor opted for the craniotomy which ended up being a great call because the vessel wall was weak and bleeding and aneurysm was clipped.

Aya's mom is still recoving and will be in the ICU for about 8 more days. She can understand and respond to commands. She can also move her limbs. She is still very groggy from the surgery so she hasn't spoken or opened her eyes yet but we are hoping tomorrow will be the day.

The good news is she survived making it to the hospital and she survived the surgery. According to the doctor 33% of the patients walk out as good as new. We are hoping Aya's mom is part of the 33%....keep your fingers crossed.

Happy Birthday...

Happy 33rd Birthday to Aya!! I can't believe I have known Aya for over 1/3 of her life now. I met Aya just after she turned 21 years old!

What better way to celebrate Aya's birthday than with a story.

I know this happens to everyone where your underwear rides up into your butt. Sure when you are in public you might not pick at your butt to pull your underwear down but at home that is a different story.

The other day my underwear was all messed up...partly because it was old and partly because JT likes to pull my pants down. Thus, I pulled my underwear up super high and it started to bug me so I pulled it out of my butt crack. I suppose since my hand was near my butt I also started scratching my butt.

Aya and I were headed to bed and she was in front me so she did not notice I was scratching my butt. We got into bed and I pulled the sheets up a little for the two of us but I was sure to put my hand on her side of the sheets.

Aya, "Do you smell that?"
Miles, "Smell what?"
Aya, "I think our sheets smell."
Miles, "Really, I don't smell anything. Lemmie see"

Aya is sniffing around.
I then put my smelly butt hand her side of sheets again.

Miles, "Nope, I don't smell anything."
Aya is still sniffing, "Yeah, it smells".

Miles "Does it smell like this?"

I put my hand on Aya's nose.

Aya, "Yeah thats the smell...Eeeeww...WAIT...what is that?!"
Miles, "HAHAHAHHAHAHHA...that is my butt!!"


HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Hop-Hop

This was JT's first encounter with 'shooting' water. JT was a little confused at first...but ended up catching on pretty quick and had a great time getting soaking wet!

Kidspace...

Since Aya was out of town all of last week, Aya wanted to do something for JT over the 3 day weekend. We debated on going to Disneyland or Legoland but at the last minute we opted for something more age appropriate....Kidspace in Pasadena.

We had never been but we heard it was a childs park/museum. It started off well as there was a 1/2 marathon at the park and one of the sponsor's had a helicopter. JT loves trucks and helicopters.

Kidspace was nice. It was like an 'exclusive' park. Tickets were $8 bucks a person and it is good for kids ages 2-5. It was also pretty "anglo".

Right when we got into the park JT just played with the blocks. For a minute I thought we would never see any part of the park because JT was not interested in anything but the blocks.

We lured JT into the next exhibit hall by saying there was a truck and then the jeep became his new favorite! He would not get out and he kept telling other kids to get off his jeep.

Mine!!


We went to the other side and there were water pistols that shot water against drums. You could also shoot water over the drums to the other side...by the time I realized that was possible JT soaked some other kid...haha...sucker!

Kidspace had exhibits to show erosion....but JT just played with the water.

JT least favorite was the tricycle track. Kidspace makes every kid wear a helmet and shoes. JT hated wearing the helmet. I think the helmet is retarded but my mom told me that we should get one for JT because all kids need a helmet. Gay!

JT in a cave out back with a bat:

Finally JT out in the garden:

CFA...

A chip off the old block. JT was reading Aya's Dictionary of Finance and Investment terms.

This is about as mushy as I get for Valentine's Day:

What can Brown do for you...

I suppose like most boys JT loves trucks. He loves seeing the bus, trash trucks, cement mixers, diggers, dump trucks and the UPS truck. JT can not say UPS but he can say, "BROWN".

I use my parents address to ship anything I buy and between my sister and I, the UPS guys comes at least a few times a week. Today the UPS guy brought JT a UPS truck!


He forgot it at Grandma's so we went back to get it and he hasn't let go of it all night long.

Destructo...

It isn't so bad being last in JT's polls. I guess since he likes me the least, when no one else is around he listen to me the best. JT was on his best behavior tonight. We read, played, ate dinner, took a bath and read stories without any complaints or whining. Well, he whined once after he took a humongous crap and wanted to keep playing before changing it.

JT's loves if you build a tower or if he builds a tower...

...because he can't resist knocking it down!

JT says, "OH-NO!! All gone!"

2 beds...

It has been about 6 months since we got rid of JT's crib...which translates into 6 months of JT sleeping on the floor in our bedroom. We never made the floor that comfortable for him to give JT incentive to sleep in the Fire Truck bed that Aya bought for JT.

Some nights JT has nightmares so Aya or I have to sleep next to him on the uncomfortable, DRAFTY floor. I never knew it was that cold on the ground.

Last week, I asked JT, "Do you want to sleep in your bed tonight?"
JT said, "Yes."
I asked, "Will you sleep in your room?"
JT said, "No."
I then asked, "If I move your bed into our room, will you sleep in your bed?"
JT said, "Yes."

Hmm. Maybe he is just pulling my chain, but lets give it shot. If anything having two beds in our room will make our bedroom just as ugly as leaving blankets and pillows on the ground.

JT's bed in our room, next to where I sleep.



Ever since that day, JT has been sleeping in his Fire truck bed:

Sadly, since his bed is so close he has discovered two tricks. One, he can jump from his bed into our bed. At times he does it aggressively so he lands in my stomach. Which usually makes me angry. He know slides in quietly next to me, so I now have to remember in my sleep to sleep on the edge and give him no room.

This has lead to his second trick. He climbs out the back of the truck which is difficult in the dark and walks around to Aya's side of the bed. He only started doing this the past week so now at random times in the middle of the night we have to watch up so this little guy doesn't sneak into our bed.

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On a side note, Aya is in Florida all week for work so this week will be gratitious pictures of JT in Blackberry friendly format.

Also, Aya was one of the top performers in her company last year, so she just got a nice big fat raise and bonus. Sadly, not enough for me to retire despite my arguments that I could retire. Nevertheless, Aya did really, REALLY well last year!

My Hat...

Once JT discovered hats were 'optional' and not mandatory he stopped wanting to wear hats around the house. Lately, JT has re-discovered hats...or I should say, "MY HAT" and now it is first come first serve on wearing MY HAT.

JT's version of hide and seek. (Seriously).

Family picture.

Congratulations...

Congratulations to Roger and Shirley for the new addition to their family:

Ryan Kai Hsu
5 lbs
18 1/4 inches

Mickey Mouse...

Recently JT has a few new favorite cartoon characters besides Elmo. Now he likes Pooh, Tigger and Roo. He doesn't like Eyor much. I am trying to get JT to "Boo" Eyor whenever he comes on tv.

JT was always afraid of the Mickey Mouse ears Dawn bought for him but JT now likes Mickey Mouse so he finally put the Mouse ears on his head.

Winter X Games...

JT trying out his new snowboard....um no...JT was practicing his stance on Aunty Dawn's new snowboard.

Happy Friday everyone!