A Great New Year to Everyone!

It has been a great Christmas for Cassidy as she was able to come home and see her friends and family over this holiday week. She has been blessed by so many friends from both school and church. Friends from the BTBC Joshua fellowship had thrown a party for her, then the Wismer church friends also thrown her a surprised party. Then there were many more parties and many more visited her at home in the last few days. CaCa is so happy to be home this Christmas and she can't wait till all treatments are over and she can be home with GorGor Aaron more often.

As some of you knew already, CaCa has gone back for her treatments and just a few more weeks, she will be done her chemotherapy. Praise God for keeping CaCa well throughout her chemo treatment and thank God for all the love and support from all who loves her much. Let us continue to pray for Cassidy's recovery and especially her physiotherapies as she learns to walk better with her prosthesis. May we also remember to pray for CaCa to continue to adapt well to all new adjustments of her prosthesis as she continue to grow and learn to walk well.

As we count down to a brand new year, let us count all our heavenly blessings that God has poured onto us all in this past year and let us give our thanksgiving to our heavenly Father for keeping and blessing us throughout 2007. May we all grow spiritually and love God ever more in the coming new year that we live a more God glorifying life pleasing to our Lord Jesus Christ.

On behalf of our princess Cassidy, our prince Aaron, Mama Carmen and Papa Andy, Dr. Jesse wishes everyone a great, happy and healthy new year of 2008. May God's blessings be continue pouring onto you all and that our love for God and all others be overflowing all year through.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Praise The Lord! The Cliffwood Cookie Bash was a great success, thanks to many helps we got from great aunties, we got just enough cookies for everyone at Cliffwood and Mama Carmen joyfully brought them all to Cliffwood on Friday afternoon and joined the Cliffwood troops in their Christmas Concert. When everyone at Cliffwood heard that Mama Carmen brought homemade cookies for the whole school, every child applauded and cheered with glee. And we all sang We Wish You A Merry Christmas together to wish Cassidy and everyone in the world a Happy and Blessed Christmas. Cassidy's best friends from Cliffwood also presented to Mama Carmen a stack of Christmas cards her grade 2 class made for Cassidy and Cassidy was so thrilled to receive them when we brought them back to Bloorview for her. Cassidy also made a stack of Christmas cards for everyone in her grade 2 class but Mommy was too busy making sure about the cookies and forgot to bring Cassidy's cards to school. But she promised to put them by the door so she will remember to bring them the next time she visits Cliffwood in the New Year. Here are some pictures of the Cookies we brought to Cliffwood and Cassidy reading the nice Christmas Cards from her grade 2 friends.

Cassidy was surprised by a big party on Friday night at Bloorview. Just when she was getting ready to go home for Christmas, her friends and aunties and uncles from the Joshua fellowship came with pots and pans of yummy food to throw her a big Christmas party at Bloorview. She enjoyed the party so much and then so happily went home to spend Christmas with GorGor Aaron and Mommy and Daddy. Cassidy say Thank You to everyone who planned this big party for her, it makes a happy start for her Christmas week.

CaCa is now home to take a break from all treatments and needles. But she still has to practice on her own everyday wearing her new prosthesis. Let us pray for a few things in specific for Cassidy during this Christmas week. First, let us pray that Cassidy's body stays healthy and her blood level stays at good level so that she can fight off any minor germs that might get her sick.
Second, let us pray that Cassidy has a good appetite at home so that she gets to eat lots and lots of yummy treats and build up a much stronger body.
Third, let us pray for God to protect Cassidy and everyone around her from any bits of virus or sickness so that everyone can enjoy a great holiday with Cassidy.
Fourth, pray that Cassidy and everyone around her get to share the love and joy and peace from our God in heaven during this Christmas season so that everyone is reminded of the greatest love of eternal life God has prepared as gifts to everyone of us.

Cassidy says she can't wait to more parties next week, and she is especially excited about the surprised ones because it is fun not knowing when her friends will show up with cheers and food. And CaCa reminds everyone to remember to wear enough clothes so no one catches a cold and end up with a runny nose like she is. And she reminds every uncle and auntie to drive safely when they go to and from places in this holiday.

On behalf of CaCa, Aaron, Carmen and Andy, Dr. Jesse prays that may all blessings of Joy, Love and Peace from heaven above be poured onto you all and all your loved ones this Holy Christmas Season and Forever and ever. Amen.

Cliffwood...here we come!

Thanks to all your prayers, Cassidy was so happy yesterday that she could rush back in time for the afternoon Bloorview concert where she was one of the singers in the choir. CaCa says it was the best concert ever and Mama Carmen was very touched by the many kids who sang together in the choir. Both Cassidy and Mommy felt that although we had to suffer together over Cassidy's cancer, but we are so blessed that we still can move around, use our voice to sing, and stretch our arms to hug our mommies when there are so many kids who can only move with the help of a machine or they use all their strength but still cannot utter a sound to sing. Mama Carmen says we should all treasure all the gifts and our life that God has blessed us with and use them to glorify God. And we should also learn to love and appreciate the hard works of these children with disabilities. It may be easy to love them and care for them now when they are small children, but soon enough they will be grown ups and they will have to face high schools, universities and the working world on their own but there are the places where people neglect them and look down on them. Cassidy is praying that all kids will now learn to love people with disabilities and so they will grow up to be buddies with big people also with disabilities. May God bless the hearts of those who have a willing heart to love and care for people with special needs.

Cassidy has almost finished all the Thank You Cards and Christmas Cards and some of her gifts and cards have been delivered last night. Cassidy sends big Thanks to the Wismer Church, the BTBC English Congregation and the BTBC Choir who showed her so much love, sent her so much gifts and cards, visited her and prayed ever faithfully for her all these time. Cassidy says she wishes to see everybody soon when she's all better and can come to church again.

As we told you before, Mama Carmen is getting busy with making cookies for the troops at Cliffwood to thank them for their love and support to Cassidy and their family in the last many months. And also thanks to many nice ladies who offered to help with this big mission. As of the time we go to bed last night, we have finally finished all the cookie batches and are putting them in nice boxes to bring to Cliffwood with the DVD we made to celebrate the progress of Cassidy's battle with cancer. So Cliffwood, hang in there, we'll see you in a bit!

What a storm.

As you all know Cassidy gone back to SickKids last Thursday for pre-chemo check ups but because there was no bed, she was sent home to wait and that's when she could sneak in some quality time to play with GorGor and rest at home. Dr. Jesse saw Aaron and Cassidy playing the DS together where Aaron's hands were on the control but the screen is facing CaCa, how nice is that for GorGor Aaron to keep CaCa so happily entertained staying at such awkward position, I pray that Aaron's back does not hurt after a couple days of doing that. GorGor, you are such a hero! You oughtta be awarded the Best Super Bro Award!

CaCa braved the snowstorm yesterday and has gone back to SickKids for another round of Chemo. CaCa is very anxious about finishing and clearing off this round of chemo and hoping to make it back to Bloorview on Thursday for the Christmas Party where she joins the school choir to sing. So let us pray for her chemo to go well and that her body clears off quick enough so that she can be back at Bloorview in time. And let us not forget to pray for God to protect CaCa during this round of chemo and minimize the side effect on CaCa's body.

Dr. Jesse also urges you all to pray for GorGor Aaron as he goes to schools and from places to places in the snow. Also please pray for Mama Carmen and Papa Andy as they drive back and forth on the snowy roads to SickKids to care for Cassidy.

Mama Carmen is busy baking up many dozens of cookies to bring to Cliffwood this week to thank all Cassidy's friends and teachers for supporting and loving her in these long months. Let us cheer for Mama Carmen as she tries her best to get all those cookies ready. And thanks to all the ladies who are helping. Keep up the good work! And keep the yummy cookies coming!!

As Christmas is just around the corner, let us also pray that CaCa's chemo schedule works out that she can be home for Christmas to spend more time with Aaron. CaCa enjoyed so much this last weekend that she and GorGor had so much fun time together. She can't wait till all her chemo and treatments are done in a couple more months then she can be home all the time with Aaron.

CaCa is still busy making her Thank You Cards and Christmas Cards for everyone. She is so thrilled to have received so many presents from everyone. Her Christmas wish is to receive at least 1 card from everybody she knows so that she can read the love and greetings and the names of everybody so she can think of everyone's face when she reads them. So don't worry if you don't know what to get CaCa for Christmas, CaCa says she rather just get cards than presents from you all. Mama Carmen also thanks everyone for the many presents they received and Cassidy is sending a lot of extras to other children who are in need. So in lieu of presents, we ask that everyone writes cards, many many cards, to Cassidy to tell her about the fun and loving things so that she can share your joy in life. And our princess reminds everyone to please NOT write in cursive so she can read your message and your name. She gets frustrated when she cannot read who's writing her the cards and she will go on for days to try to read the writings until she gets dizzy. What a silly girl!

Love Overflows.

Just before Cassidy goes back to SickKids for another round of Chemo, she was visited by so many friends and was thrilled by the many Christmas presents that came pouring in. CaCa says she will be very busy now because she has tons of Thank You Cards to make to thank everybody.

CaCa says she first need to thank everyone at Cliffwood. Mme Rapson has visited her at Bloorview and brought her a whole bunch of presents and a big loving card. CaCa says she misses everyone at school and can't wait to January when she might be able to pay a visit to Cliffwood to see her teachers and friends. Mama Carmen says she can't thank the school enough for the great support in the last few months. She is so grateful for the fundraising campaign the whole school did for Cassidy and she thanks Mme Rapson for also personally delivering the cheque to her at Bloorview. Her heart is greatly touched by the love they received from Cliffwood. Cassidy says she is so happy to see Mme Rapson and enjoyed the time she spent at Bloorview helping her with French homeworks.

Aunties, Uncles, GorGor's and JeiJei's from church also brought so much love and presents to Cassidy in the last few days. She got lots of early Christmas presents from the Elijah and Joel fellowships, and also from the John and Joshua Fellowships. Cassidy says she can't wait till she can come to church to see everyone and thank every person one by one, even everyone she may not know because there are just so many people who love her and are praying for her all along.

Cassidy says she will go through all her presents one by one so she can try to remember who to thank when she sees them. And then she will select some duplicated or excess ones to give to the "Giving Tree" at Bloorview. That is a program for people to donate the presents to be given to other less fortunate kids. CaCa says she's got so many nice presents but she knows some other kids might not be as lucky as her so she wants to help these kids as she was helped by so many people around her.

God is Love and Love is contagious. When you love someone, you enable someone to love and extend your love further. Thank you for loving our little princess and we are amazed by her loving gestures to others. Love can change lives, your love has surely changed the live of little Cassidy and the whole Sheng family.

Love never fails. Where there is faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these is LOVE.

Cassidy is due back to SickKids this morning for her check ups then if there is bed, she will start another round of Chemo. Please continue to pray for Cassidy's body to stay strong for this round of treatment and for God to minimize the side effects. Let us also pray that her treatment schedule works out that Cassidy can be home for Christmas.

CaCa prays that everyone enjoys a joyful Christmas and that everyone is loving to everybody to make this world full of love that it's like living in heaven on earth. And every people of God says AMEN.

Home Sweet Home.

As some of you might know already, CaCa did great last week at Bloorview and she has gone home on Friday evening. However she is having a little cough so to be safe, Dr. Jesse did not make the visit to her just yet. But Dr. Jesse's skin problem is pretty much healed and just waiting for a new nice coat of fur to grow back.

CaCa might return to Bloorview first later on Sunday night or Monday morning, then she's due back at SickKids by Thursday for her pre-chemo check up and if everything is good and if there is bed, she will have her next round of chemo Thursday evening.

Mama Carmen is busy with Christmas decorations and shopping, CaCa is enjoying helping with all the Christmas doings and cherrishes her home time with GorGor Aaron. CaCa is thinking about a very very special gift for her hero GorGor and she is not telling anyone what it is. It will be a surprise, so you guys, hush hush!!

And to everyone, Christmas is when we celebrate the birth of Jesus. When Jesus was born 2000+ years ago in Bethelem, there was no room for Him and He had to be born in a stable by a hillside on a cold winter night. He had no bed for His crib and no downy pillows but He is willing to come to earth to give us love. Would you make room in your heart for baby Jesus this Christmas? Receive this blessing from God today and say to Jesus "Yes, I've got room for You".

The week just swished by!

Just as Cassidy was still enjoying her swim sessions on last Monday, she was already called back to SickKids last Tuesday for check up and then began another round of Chemo on Wednesday, everything went well and CaCa has already finished her Chemo and went home last night. She is doing great and she misses Dr. Jesse because Dr. Jesse is having some skin infection and has to stay away from CaCa until it's healed. CaCa says she'll have to draw a get-well card for Dr. Jesse, ooh...how lovely!!

Cassidy's next round of Chemo is scheduled for Dec 13 so she'll be at Bloorview most of the time during the week and be home on weekends. We praise God for another good week for Cassidy as she completed another cycle of treatment, and let us continue to pray that God protects her from any kind of sickness so that she remains strong and healthy to go through the rest of her chemo treatments. Let us not forget that it is very easy for Cassidy to pick up germs and viruses as her body is weakened by the chemo drugs and she can become neutropenia very easily. So we also need to pray that God would give good health to GorGor Aaron, mommy and daddy so that the whole family is protected from any sickness that may affect CaCa at a great degree. Especially when the air becomes very cold lately, it is very easy to catch a cold too. So CaCa and Dr. Jesse pray that everyone will stay warm and healthy this winter and be able to come play with Cassidy from time to time.

The doctors were saying that they are hoping to let CaCa return to school around March/April. As long as CaCa is doing good with the rest of her chemo and rehab treatment, there is a very good chance that she can come back to Cliffwood to all her dear friends and teachers. So let us keep our fingers crossed while we pray for God's perfect timing and guidance in this matter. CaCa can't wait to be in class with all her friends at Cliffwood again.

Christmas is coming up and it is time we have parties to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Stay tuned and we'll notify you if we can schedule a big party to celebrate Jesus' birthday and also to give thanks to God for so many angels like GorGor Aaron, loving uncles and aunties, great doctors and nurses and many many more who walked through a big half of this year with Cassidy.

A Big New Step!!

Hurray!!! Caca is having so much fun swimming as part of her rehab program. She was home for the weekend, although Dr. Jesse missed seeing her again this weekend, but is so happy for CaCa that her leg has finally healed all over that she can now swim. Let us praise God as we all celebrate this new big step of recovery for Cassidy.

Good job CaCa! We all cheer for you! Hurray!!

Back to Bloorview on Thursday afternoon

Despite the crazy snow storm yesterday, CaCa and Mama Carmen were safely sent back to Bloorview and perhaps CaCa had already gone to class at Bloorview this morning. Praise God that the chemo cleared pretty quickly this time and CaCa was doing well at SickKids. She told me that her wound is almost closed up and soon she'll be able to swim in the pool at Bloorview as part of her rehab exercise. Can't wait till the summer when we can all swim together with CaCa. It is very possible that CaCa will go home for this weekend, let us pray that she stays warm and healthy as the snow has started falling and the air turns crispy cold.

It is Dr. Jesse's prayer that CaCa stays strong and well, and that she can even come to a Christmas Concert next Sunday to hear me sing. It'd be a nice retreat for CaCa, GorGor Aaron, Mommy and Daddy to come enjoy a nice full orchestrated concert at a church. May be we can even gather everyone to come to the concert together. Leave a comment here to let me know if any of you are interested.

Things are going well.

Dr. Jesse had a nice long chat over the phone with CaCa and she was telling me that things are going great with her chemo. She was sleeping in on Monday morning while the side effects started to subside slowly and she was starting to eat much better by lunch time on Tuesday. She says she'll eat more and save up the bones for Dr. Jesse because she knows that Dr. Jesse lost some weight from not getting the yummy treats in the last little while.

CaCa also told me that the nurses said her chemo is clearing fast that she might be able to go back to Bloorview sooner this week. Praise God for that and let's pray that the rest of CaCa's time at SickKids goes smoothly and that she gets to even go home for the weekend before returning to Bloorview.

Mama Carmen says she feels so blessed by all the love that were shown to Cassidy and the whole family in the last few months and she thanks God for His faithfulness in bringing them through all the sufferings and giving them strength to be brave and courageous to walk on whatever path He has planned ahead of them. Mama says she feels extra blessed with Aaron being such a great big brother throughout the whole time that Cassidy's been sick and needed all their attention, she prays that both daddy and her can work out more "Aaron Time" just for Aaron because they do not want to miss out any part of Aaron's growing up. Let us pray for God's guidance to Mommy and Daddy that they get to work out some great "Aaron Time" to be just for Aaron while still be able to attend to CaCa's need.

The weather man says there's a snow squall heading into town, so Dr. Jesse prays that everyone drives with extra care to and from anywhere you need to be and come home safe everyday to celebrate the loving family that God has given all of us. It is my prayer for everyone to stay healthy and keep warm!!

Back at SickKids already!

Cassidy came home briefly over the weekend and was back at SickKids already last night to begin her chemo. Dr. Jesse had yet another busy weekend and didn't make it to see CaCa, I miss her so much.

Mama Carmen just told Dr. Jesse now that CaCa is still sleeping because she was not feeling too great this morning. It could very well be the side effects of the chemo getting to her. Please whisper a prayer for God to minimize the side effects and that Cassidy can feel better and be able to continue to eat well and build up a strong body to endure the rest of her chemo. And also remember to pray for the chemo to work well in CaCa's body to kill off any microscopic tumor cell that she can remain cancer-free for the rest of her life. Pray that all the foods and drinks she takes would not interfere with the chemo drug and pray for God's continuous guidance for mommy and daddy to plan nutritious meals that would strengthen CaCa's body.

Mommy and Daddy are also trying to work out a better schedule so that they can also spend more time with GorGor Aaron. And Mommy was saying that she is so thankful that God gives her such a good boy to be her son that he is so mature and understanding especially during the time Cassidy needed her most. Mommy says she cannot wait till all the treatment is done and then she can spend much more quality time with Aaron to make up the time she missed with him in the last few months. Let us all remember to pray for things to work out that Carmen and Andy can fit in more time with Aaron and pray that God continue to protect and keep Aaron healthy and with a joyful heart even during this difficult time. At times when Aaron feels lonely, which is perfectly normal and fine, we pray that the Holy Spirit in Aaron's heart would comfort him and encourage him so he does not feel sad when mommy and daddy cannot be around too much.

Aaron, we are all so proud of you and mommy says she doesn't know how she gets so lucky to have you. Hang in there Aaron, you're doing great! God in heaven is smiling because you make your mommy and daddy very proud. Thanks for being a big hero to Cassidy. You are a real super bro!

Lost track of my little CaCa

Dr. Jesse has been so so so busy and then sick that I even lost track of where my princess is lately. She was back at SickKids last Friday for chemo, after a couple times back and forth because there was no bed for her. So that was done and over with, she is back already at Bloorview this week, but then she is going back to SickKids for another round of pre-chemo check ups because if there's bed, she might start the next round of chemo in the next 36-48 hours, so if you are planning to visit, make sure you call ahead so you know where to go.

Things are going so quickly and there's just another few cycles of chemo to go for her, if we are not taking the oncologist's advice to change chemo drugs. Mama Carmen says the oncology doctor wants to have another appointment with them to further discuss the possibility of changing the chemo which he strongly recommends. So let's pray that Mama Carmen and Papa Andy gets to book a good time to meet with the doctor and pray that God opens both their hearts to hear out the doctor's concerns and made the best decision for Cassidy.

Many people are sick these days, including Dr. Jesse, so let me remind you all to refrain from seeing CaCa if you yourself are sick or someone close to you is sick, same if you just had a flu shot recently. It is better safe than sorry, CaCa can become neutropenia easily especially when her chemo rounds are being scheduled so frequently and she needs to take extra caution in staying away from any germs. Let's remember to pray for God to protect Cassidy from any sickness and for God to build up her body ready for the next chemo.

Gone home already on Friday

Sorry for the delayed update, Dr. Jesse's computer went coo coo and couldn't get to doing the updates, sorry for making you all worry for a few days. Nevertheless, Cassidy is doing well and has gone home on Friday afternoon after 1 last bag of transfusion. Her blood count was a bit low on Thursday night so the doctor couldn't say if she could go home for the weekend or not, then Friday morning shows a bit better levels and doctor decided to give her 1 last bag of blood product before discharging her and we all went home for the weekend. But CaCa is still coughing a little bit so we still have to be very careful not to get her anymore sick. If you are thinking of seeing her, make sure you are at perfect health. If you had a flu shot in the last couple of weeks, even if you're not feeling sick, it is still better if you wait another week before you go see CaCa, just to be safe.

CaCa got a bunch of light-up gadgets on Thursday and she felt in love with those light-up glow sticks. May be we can have a great party of lights later and we can turn off all the light and let those little light-up gadgets flash with some nice music and food. Let's pray that CaCa continue to enjoy good health and strong body so we can plan more fun parties together.

CaCa also started to eat better since Thursday, but there is a very bad mouth sore in her gum, so that makes it painful for her to eat. Let us especially pray that her mouth sore goes away so that she can eat all the yummy foods she likes and quickly recover from her cold and from the chemo effects.

CaCa will be going back to Bloorview next week getting ready for her next chemo on the coming Thursday. Remember to pray that God would minimize the side effects on her chemo again and that the treatment reacts well to keep CaCa's body free of cancer cell.

It's seems that Papa Andy has decided not to take the doctor's advise to change for a higher chemo dose so there are only a few more treatments left for Cassidy. Let us pray fervently that God protects Cassidy from any future cancer even without the added chemo and helps her to quickly adapt to her prosthesis so she can start walking and running without help. Pray that whatever final decision Mama and Papa made, God give them peace in their hearts and sustain their faith and trust in Him. Amen.

Uh...oh...

Wow, the weekend went by so fast again and CaCa had a fun weekend with the whole family. But since the weekend was a bit cold and windy, CaCa caught a little cold again. She was coughing early this week and that makes her appetite drop. So from eating less yummy foods, her body became a little weak and last night they found her blood counts to be a bit low. So for safety, Bloorview had transferred her back to SickKids for some transfusion to up her blood level and to take some antibiotic just to make sure no other infection happens. So please pray for Cassidy's body to recuperate fast and her appetite to increase so she can eat well to help her body recover.

CaCa was a little disappointed because we were planning that she might be able to join Dr. Jesse tonight at the "LightUpTheNight-FUNtastic Harvest Carnival" at the Grace Chinese Gospel Church at North York. But since she's at SickKids, it'd be too far for her to come. But those of you who live close by to the GCGC, may be you can come and play some games, then win some prizes to bring to Cassidy. See http://www.gcgcny.org/ for address. Door opens at 6:30pm. Make sure you don't wear costume of witchcrafts, evil, wicked, violence themes, Christian theme costumes such as princess and angels are encouraged.

Let us remember to pray also for Cassidy that she gets to enjoy the fun activities at SickKids tonight and let's pray for God to keep her away from evil things. The evil spirits will love to make CaCa sick and then make us all blame God for allowing sickness in such a good and beautiful little girl, and the evil spirits will love to see us loose faith in God. Let's pray that Cassidy gets to be surrounded by the Holy Spirit and be protected from any evil, bad spirits, darkness, germs, and any harm at all times and be in the embrace of God. Let us also avoid any evil things such as witchcrafts, ghost and spooky stuff tonight so that we stay in the lights of the Holy Spirit and that all of our prayers are righteous and would reach to God in Heaven.

Oh, Dr. Jesse forgot to say in the last blog, Cassidy and Mama Carmen says they want to give a big THANX to Crystal Jei Jei for sending so many loving messages and encouragements almost everyday. CaCa and mommy don't really know Crystal Jei Jei yet but Dr. Jesse told them that she's a very nice Jei Jei from the Wismer church. I promised to bring them to meet with Crystal Jei Jei the next time when CaCa gets better and be able to visit the Wismer church. Hey Toto, thanks for all your love, you are so sweet!!

So busy with all the happy things.

Cassidy had her bone scan at SickKids yesterday and we are waiting for the report. And CaCa is enjoying her freedom from Chemo this week. She was so blessed to have all you friends checking her out and bringing her gifts all the time. Cassidy says she doesn't even know how to thank you all.

Cassidy was surprised by Mme. Saba, Ms. Mercurio and Mrs. Barrow from Cliffwood who came to see her and brought so many gifts and presents from all her friends from school. Cassidy is making a big bear collection and when she's all done with treatment, she's going to put them all together to make a big big class with the bear-bears. Cassidy says a big special Thank You to Lisha and Ailin Fei who sent her a very special present. Cassidy says she is so blessed with all these presents in the last few months and since it's time that we make shoe-boxed presents for little children who are not as fortunate, she says she will go through all her presents and pick from them some duplicated or similar ones to put into shoeboxes. She is thinking she might have 4 full boxes but may be even more. Dr. Jesse applauds Cassidy's spirit of giving and her thoughtfulness to those little children who are less fortunate than we are. Isn't it nice that we get to pick from something we have and love and then be able to send it off as a blessing to another child. If you are also doing your Samaritan Purses this year, may Dr. Jesse remind you that it's all about the spirit of giving so you should find something you already have and give to others, it would be meaningless if you just take an empty box home and nag your mommies and daddies to buy new stuff for that child. If you do that, you're just forcing your parents to give and you yourself are not really giving out anything.

We are so glad that Cassidy has been discharged to return home to enjoy her weekend as of late this afternoon. Mommy Carmen has already planned a whole weekend full of fun for Cassidy, GorGor Aaron and the rest of the family. Make sure you call them up before you make your trip to visit. And one more time, if you have a cough, a cold, a flu or anything not quite right, you should refrain from visiting Cassidy until you get better. Because we don't want Cassidy to catch any of the germs or virus that are going around. Cassidy still needs to be very careful in everything she does and eat and everywhere she goes that would not make her body weak or sick. Let us pray that CaCa enjoys her great weekend, stays healthy and continue to eat well to build up her body for the next chemo a week later.

While waiting for bone scan report, Mama Carmen and Papa Andy will further discuss about the change of chemo drug and make their final decision upon the arrival of the bone scan report in the next couple of days. Please continue to pray that God's Holy Spirit guides them on this important communication and that God grants wisdom to them so they, along with doctors, would make the best decision that not only helps CaCa recover but also pleases and glorifies God.

Back at Bloorview

Cassidy did well in her last chemo and is now back at Bloorview. She was so happy that her friends came to see her at Bloorview the other day, they spent great times together.

CaCa will be going back to SickKids for bone scan on Thursday and then she'll enjoy 2 weeks off from Chemo before the next round is due. CaCa will stay at Bloorview in these 2 weeks but she can go home on weekends. We're all busy planning for some fun on these weekends so CaCa can enjoy the time with GorGor Aaron and mommy and daddy when she's away from any hospital.

Let us continue to pray that Cassidy eats well and stays healthy while building up a stronger body for the rest of her chemo treatment and rehab therapies. As we look back to the past months, we are so amazed at how God brought us all through many rough waters and that we grow in the love of God. We praise God for so much love shown through so many brothers and sisters and friends that enabled us and our brave little princess to take each courageous step in this special journey. It is truly hard and lonely to walk on any path without the love and support of people who love us. We praise God for all of you.

Pulled out some stitches

Cassidy was back at SickKids Thursday morning and was getting ready for her Chemo. Her wound in the leg is getting better and the doctor had taken out some more stitches out. It was very very painful for CaCa but she was very brave to see every stitch comes out her leg. Cassidy did cry when they take the stitches out because it was truly very painful. And Mommy helped CaCa to endure the pain by screaming with her so it felt better when they pulled out each painful stitch.

That's what they say, no pain, no gain. We praise God for the good progress in CaCa's recovery. If the leg was not healing well, they would not have taken the stitches out the last 2 times. There are still a few stitches left to be taken out, and we pray that it would not be as painful as before. CaCa, you're so brave, we'll make it through together!! Hang in there.

Thanks to Wismer buddies...

It was like a Heaven's Rehearsal yesterday at Bloorview when many uncles and aunties visited Cassidy. CaCa wants to say a special thanks to everyone at Wismer who made her a Big Big Heart lovely card and brought her the cute Polar Bear Baby Cub. Cassidy was so excited to read all the names on the card so she can say Thank You to everyone in person when she sees them, but most of the signatures are too scratchy to read so CaCa says she'll just say 1 BIG THANX to everyone and send everyone a Great Big Hug of THX. And she says please also print your name the next time so she can remember who you are. How serious is our little angel =D

Cassidy moved room already yesterday afternoon and she spent a happy day with Rana, her new roommate, going to different activities. They watched the same TV channel together and they wheeled around happily together. Cassidy wishes that all her friends from school and church could also be there and she can introduce them each to Rana. Rana has Cerebral Palsy and also uses both wheelchair and walker. When we pray for Cassidy's recovery, please also whisper a prayer for Rana and her family. Rana's mommy says that it is so nice to see such a big family Cassidy has when Rana has no one else other than mommy and daddy seeing her. Rana is leaving Bloorview on Friday to go home and CaCa is leaving Bloorview tomorrow to SickKids for chemo. Pray that God provide the opportunity for Cassidy and us to share the gospel with Rana and her family so that they also become part of our big family in Christ. Pray also that we still get to see Rana in the future when she comes in during the day for therapy so that we may continue to share the love of God with her.

Mama Carmen brought Caramel Pudding and Strawberry Mousse back from Dessert class last night for everyone, we shared all the yummies with Rana and her mommy and Rana loved treat very much. But CaCa was not too crazy about the Caramel and the Strawberry Mousse were not quite set yet, so CaCa gave mommy a long lipped face for not having dessert for her, and Mama Carmen promised not to burn the sugar in the Caramel next time ; p

Cassidy is having so much fun these days that she has hard time falling asleep the last few nights. Also with the air turns cold and heat is turned on in the building, her skin becomes very itchy for her to fall asleep easily. So as we slip into our comfy blankets every night, remember to say a prayer for Cassidy that she also gets to fall asleep comfortably without having to keep scratching all over. We praise God for the itchiness at the surgery spot on her leg, because that means the skins are healing up. The overall incision is healing well and there is only about a half inch area left to be closed up by the new skin. Let us continue to pray for that little patch to heal up and then Cassidy can go for a swim soon.

Cassidy has also tried on her new temporary prosthesis yesterday and she did great in her first try to walk with it. More fittings and trainings will be done to make her get used to the new prothesis. Pray that CaCa adapts to the new limb comfortably and learns fast to move around freely with it. Pray also that CaCa has the healthy body and strength to go through the exercises with the new limb, and pray for God to protect her from any falls or accident big and small. Hang tight and we'll post up some new pix of CaCa in her new leg.

Decisions Decisions.....

The weekend zoomed by so quickly when CaCa got to go places and play with QueenQueen and auntie Doris' cat on Sunday. Then Cassidy went into SickKids Monday morning for some check-ups and getting ready for her next chemo on Wednesday or Thursday. Mommy saw the oncologist and the doctor recommended to change and add some of CaCa's chemo drugs to ensure the maximum removal of cancer cells. This recommendation is made based on the "activeness" of Cassidy's cancer cells measured before treatment. Since the type of cancer Cassidy has is a very "strong" and "fierce" type, it is of utmost importance to ensure to wipe out all microscopic cancer cells to avoid the return of cancer. However, like any other chemo drugs, there are side effects that calls for some serious consideration before any decision can be made. The new drugs recommended are "Etoposide" and "Ifosfamide" as replacements for the Cisplatine which is 1 of the 3 chemo drugs they are using for Cassidy. Dr. Jesse has looked up some side effects info on these 2 new drugs and they seems to be very similar to those already being used in CaCa's treatment. And the end date of CaCa's treatment would be moved from May to about the end of July.

Again, we ask that you pray fervently for God to endow wisdom onto Carmen & Andy as they need to make yet another big decision for Cassidy. Pray that God would calm their hearts to be able to hear each other out, pray also that God remove all sayings of man and make them both able to hear only God's voice in guidance, pray that nobody relies on our limited human head knowledges in making such a big decision, pray that the Holy Spirit helps them to submit to God's divine guidance even when things might not make sense to human understanding, pray that God protects the whole family from any disturbance from evil and most importantly, pray that God's will be done unto Cassidy and the rest of the family so that God's Name is glorified.

Despite all the big things going on, it is important for Dr. Jesse to report that the oncologist says as of the time being, Cassidy is considered Cancer Free! Praise God for this report. And truly, Cassidy is enjoying life the best she can between treatments. She made lots of friends at Bloorview and she roams around the whole 3rd floor in her CassiWheels all the time.

Later today, Cassidy will be moving into the room of one of her Bloorview friend who's close to her age and free up her current bed for another 14yr-old girl so Emily, her roommate now, can also be with a friend closer to her age. Cassidy is so excited about the move that she could not even sleep last night. Let's pray that Cassidy gets to share the goodness of God again in her new room so that the blessings of God can be shared with more kids who are also sick and their families.

We talked about our plans to go to DisneyWorld together next year and Cassidy has already picked out all the princess dresses to wear down there. We can't wait for all her treatments to finish in the summer so we can go anywhere we want. Cassidy says she likes to dive into the water and she will show me how she stays under water. Pray that God keeps CaCa's spirit high and her body strong, and brings us all to Disney when the time is right.

Back to Bloorview soon

Time is going by so quickly since CaCa started her chemo Monday night, she's doing great in the last few days waiting for the residual chemo drug to clear from her system. They were sending her back to Bloorview yesterday but was still finding a very small amount of chemo in her blood, so the kept her for another night just to be safe. And then they were holding her again too long this morning that we missed the bus transferring her back to Bloorview, but the doctors confirmed that her system is clear enough and Mama Carmen will be bringing CaCa back to Bloorview this afternoon.

And then CaCa will be back to SickKids for some test next Monday, then if everything is good, then the next Chemo would be on next Wednesday, and CaCa will be at staying again at SickKids for another few days.

Mama Carmen and Papa Andy will also be discussing with doctors about changing or adding chemo medication for the coming rounds of chemo. We are talking about another 30+ rounds of chemotherapy to clear all tumor cells in CaCa's body, and we need much prayers for God to grant wisdom to Mama & Papa as well as doctors to make the best decision on the coming chemo rounds. Also pray that CaCa's body respond well to the chemotherapies that she experiences minimal side effects yet the chemo to be most effective.

Mama Carmen is also planning for some uncles and aunties to stay home with Aaron after school until about the time either Mommy or Daddy comes home in the evening. Please pray for God to provide and guide in this matter. Mommy says she's so blessed with Aaron as he is such a good boy in taking care of himself all these months, and Mommy worries that Aaron might feel lonely at times or wish to have someone around for company. Let us pray that God brings good mentors and friends to fulfill this need for Mommy, Daddy and Aaron.

Aaron, you've been an amazing brother to CaCa and an amazing boy for Mommy and Daddy, hang in there, things are going to get better and better under the care of God. Have faith and be joyous. We are all very proud of you.