cancer....you can suck it!!!

this post has been a long time coming now. the title pretty much sums it all up. cancer...you SUCK! you come uninvited and turn our world upside down! we're no exception to your wrath...yet you didn't expect we'd fight you til the end! so hiyeeeeYAH! take that roundhouse kick to the gut and never come back! please? lol

timeless pic

for those that know my family, you know that the core...(or in the words of nacho libre...the 'nucleus') of everything KEO is our father....david maluae. many know him as the happy hawaiian who takes his smile everywhere he goes, who's not afraid to wave to complete strangers (who he later befriends after finding ANYTHING they may have in common....ie "oh you visiting from utah??? my kids moved over there...you know anyone in saratoga springs??" hahaha). yup....dis guy...he can make a complete stranger his best friend in a matter of minutes. that just goes to show how big his heart is and many have been the recipients of his unconditional love.

for our family...he's been our rock. the calm through every storm we've had to endure. especially lately with mom being so sick, he has always been by her side. always cracking jokes with her and everyone else who would come to visit. just doing what he does best...make people smile.  but now it was her turn. our turn. to be the rock for him. to be the ones that he could lean on and depend on.

waiting for daddy to wake up

friday june 15 dad was admitted to the utah valley regional hospital in provo, utah. after complaining of headaches, and achy legs, he visited the doctor to find that there was some bleeding in his brain. a cat scan was later conducted to get a better idea of what was going on and that's where they found four masses (possible tumors). he was scheduled immediately for surgery the next day. long story short, surgery was a success. they were able to remove two of the tumors (yup we later found out they were tumors), and because the other two were in vital areas of his brain, they doctors opted not to remove them. so they decided to do radiation instead to shrink them. a total of 14 treatments were then scheduled over the next few weeks.

feeling better

the next few days post surgery were a little tough considering dad was sleeping the whole time. although the doctors were encouraged that he was making a great recovery, we couldn't tell because he was asleep. but thanks to the many phone calls/texts/facebook messages and of course prayers and visits...it made the wait that much more bearable.  when dad finally woke up (about three days later) he wasn't quite the same. aside from being weak and bed ridden for the next few weeks, he was QUIET and barely spoke. talk about full on 180....this podagee who always had something to say about anyone/anyplace/anytime/anyTHING....was speechless! lol. i laugh now but it was actually pretty scary...facing the realization that he may never be the same. *sigh*

well fortunately he's a fighter. the next week or so he stayed in the ICU so they could better monitor his recovery, and not too long after he was transferred to the physical therapy unit of the hospital. and talk about intensive therapy...his whole day was full of various sessions of speech therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy. not to mention he still had to finish up his radiation regimen. doesn't that sound like a lot for someone who just got out of brain surgery two weeks ago? well...it is. good news...daddy's a SOULJAH and took it like a champ!  the nurses would always talk about how much progress he would be making each day. and soon enough dad was telling us all about his adventures in therapy himself.

"ho guess how far i walked today? 2000 yards!"

progress....talking for da

"ho guess how many stairs i went climb today? 25!"

"eh...waste time speech therapy! i know how fo' talk!"

hahaha...towards the end of his staycation at the hospital he was goin off saying all kine random things. talking about how he hates the hospital food. one time when i was trying to get him to eat his food he said, "the only way i goin eat this is if they give me pakalolo!" heeeeeellllooooo!!!! hahahaha. the nurse was looking at us funny and was like, "what's pakalolo?" so i told him "weed...u guys get?" hahahaha. too much this guy! and this is when we knew it was time for him to come home.

as i'm finishing up this post, i realize its been almost 2 months since daddy's been out of the hospital. he hasn't fully recovered....is weak at times, and takes a lot of naps. however, he's doing his best to keep busy. he writes everything...and i mean EVERYTHING down. from what he ate for lunch, to who bought it for him and from where! lol. it may seem a little OCD but this daily activity helps to keep his brain active. the one thing that is difficult for him though is his ability to hear. his hearing aid totally died on him, and after sending it in to get fixed he went to a hearing specialist and found out that he can go in for surgery to get his hearing fixed. kaloz. but other than that he's doing just fine.

eating dinner with naona

we want to thank everyone for everything you've down for us during this time. from stopping by just to say hi to whoever was there, to providing full on meals. also for all those who have continually kept dad in your prayers....we thank you. you have no idea what it all means to us, and we are forever grateful for everything. his health is slowly improving and he is out and about spending time with his family. he will be in utah for a little while...at least until he gets his strength back. until then feel free to give him a call, or post on his (or any of his kids) facebook. he's always happy to hear from his friends.