Thank you

Thank you, 

I started writing earlier this week with the intention to finish the same day. The timing does not always sync with our craziness to be able to do that, so I am writing what I feel, think, have done or may do, and it may not be in any particular order, but are blogs supposed to be that way?  

Every day is different as much as I try to make it smooth. You never know what is down the street, what is around the corner, what is over that hill. Some days we leave to UCSF and its smooth sailing all the way and some days we’re not so lucky, someone may be broken down or in an accident, it may be raining, flooded, and our drive is anywhere from 40 minutes to 1 ½  even 2 hours both ways, but that does not matter. I adopted the “Traffic is My Friend” saying many years ago. Yes, sometimes I get frustrated or irritated but our drive is something anyone would do for their kids. I wanted to thank the people throughout my life that showed me that with the love you have for your kids, you would drive any distance for them.

Myself, and co-worker/commuter, friend/brother from another mother, Elmer, would drive every day from Los Banos to Santa Clara. I am not a morning person. In fact when we commuted, I would pull up to Elmer’s house and before he got in the car I was already in the passenger seat asleep and would wake up at work. At night it was reversed, I drove and Elmer slept, and we did this for over a year and a half. He did it so his kids can eat, have a roof over their heads (a new house like every 2 years LOL) and cool cloths on their backs. 
My Compadre, Pnut, when I first moved to LB he was driving by himself to Los Gatos, so his kids didn’t have to go to what his daughter called a gang infested neighborhood. They were able to be in a community where they felt safe, where his children who I call my nephew and niece, can be kids and have fun and grow up.
A friend of mine, Scott, drives every other weekend to LA to see his daughter, even if it’s just for a short amount of time he gets to spend with her. Sometimes he did the drive every week and sometimes he did it every third week for a stint, but that hurt him; he wanted to see her, to grow up with her, to be able to be by her side every day. We all know someone with split custody, and I gave Scott big props from the beginning for making that drive as if it was nothing and being a responsible father. For him it really is nothing, no drive will ever stop him from seeing his daughter. Scott’s journey to see his daughter makes me feel lucky that the journey we take to see Maia is so short. I want to thank the three of you, for showing, teaching and inspiring me that no matter the journey, no matter the distance, no matter the circumstances, I am my kid’s dad and I will take care of you. I love my kids. Thank you.

I joke around and say sometimes that we should have named Maia, “procedure,” because she has had so many that I would need more than one hand to count them all.  She goes in today for her next procedure.  It sounds simple, a heart catherization . They inject a dye into her blood vessels and her heart so they can measure the pressures and blood flow, and see how the heart is working. I say it sounds simple but it’s not. They add dye into her heart… how do they add dye, how do they get to her heart, how do they read it, all that was explained and researched, it is not a simple procedure. I may be thinking that it is simple, just because she has been through so many procedures that the tension, stress, and emotions that come with having to sign a consent form, and hearing your daughter is going under anesthesia again, is getting easier on us.
Maia is a fighter!!!!! Back in a recent post when I was at the hospital getting my cortizone injection for my sciatica, they actually injected a dye into my sciatic nerve, and it hurts. They have a technician standing by to administer pain meds at a moment’s notice. For me it is not that painful, no meds needed. That makes me think about my high tolerance for pain, and Rizza’s. Maia is a product of us and her tolerance is high too. I pray that she does great, that there are no problems, that it all works out so we she can continue taking baby steps in the right direction, the direction home.

One day she will come home. One day we will be able to hold her whenever we want. One day she will wake up in our room, but for now she is at the best place to keep her healthy and alive until she is ready. We really want to thank the team at UCSF Benioff’s  7 East. EVERYONE that makes that floor run. From the outside company that keeps the elevators running so we do not have to use the stairs (I would actually like using the stairs for exercise), so we don’t have to hear complaints about how long the elevator takes.  I do smile and reassure people that it’s coming and sometimes it’s quick and sometimes it takes a while.  (“Awhile” is an adverb meaning "for some amount of time" or "for some duration").  Usually we get a sigh of relief and wait patiently, since realistically, we’re not going anywhere and neither is whomever you came to visit.
Want to thank security, making sure the right people are going to the right places and documenting it. Within the first 24hours of Maia's birth they had a code for lock down, ALL doors, elevators stopped; lights are flashing, alarms going off and the staff ALL in action. The code was for a baby that may be in danger, may be being abducted. It’s  kind of crazy yes, but they have a code for it and yes, it could happen. Turned out to be that someone walked a baby beyond a certain area and it triggered the sensor, and every baby is tagged so the hospital goes on lockdown whenever this happens, Cool. We want to commend security, we have watched people coming in with emotions all over the board and they handle it, efficiently, and with great customer service.
We thank everyone on 7 East. From the servers that deliver food to Rizza so she can produce healthy milk for Maia. To the staff that cleans the rooms, picks up linens, removes garbage. All the nurses, doctors, everyone on the staff.  Being at UCSF as long as we have now, almost 5 ½ months, we have gotten to know a lot of people. They are nurses, doctors, cleanup crew, etc, etc, and they too have families, they have lives outside of work, and they have feelings and emotions too. They sit in traffic or ride the bus, they are sad when a kid passes away and happy when one does well. The staff is knowledgeable, professional, kind and they have made it fun throughout our journey.
They are all part of the “MIGHTY MAIA FIGHT TEAM”