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
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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!"
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| 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.
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| 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.
