Wayne and Michael played well - it was so fun to see them on the field. BYU had a great first half and a not-so-pretty second half, but the final score was 41-17 BYU, so we were all very happy (as you can tell by these photos) lol.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
BYU FOOTBALL - first game of the season
Wayne and Michael played well - it was so fun to see them on the field. BYU had a great first half and a not-so-pretty second half, but the final score was 41-17 BYU, so we were all very happy (as you can tell by these photos) lol.
Friday, August 29, 2008
BABY KINA - Surgery Day
During the surgery, the doctors closed the opening in her abdomen. Everything went smoothly - They said the opening was small enough they didn't have to use a patch or graft skin from another place and her bowels looked healthy. She will be on a ventilator for a few days just to make sure she continues to breathe with all the pain medication she is taking and after that it will just be the waiting game until she can eat and digest a little food.
Is there a RN in the house?
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
BABY KINA - a day at the hospital
Wednesday is Parents Day at Primarys. They serve all the parents lunch, have a parent discussion (kind of like a support group), give an informative seminar (todays was on financial resources), and give away free baby stuff. It was very nice to meet and talk to other mothers going through the same thing we are.
While I visited Kina and attended the Parents Day, Malia had fun at the Forever Young Zone. It's this huge room that was donated by Steve Young to the hospital full of toys, books, videos etc. for kids. She LOVED it!
It was a fun day at the hospital. Vai and Tevita and the little girls are heading down tonight to see Kina before her surgery tommorow. We pray it all goes well!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Bishops Visit
daddy's little girl
Wayne visited Kina in the hospital. He is so busy with school and football, but loves to go see her and will do so any chance he gets. I can't believe how quickly her bowels are disappearing into her little body! She is looking great.
Monday, August 25, 2008
BABY KINA - We love our friends and family!
BABY KINA - News Article
Amane Kina, which means "hopeful dreams" in Tongan, arrived Thursday after her mother, Mary Latu, was transported by helicopter from Provo to the University of Utah hospital.
"The little girl is just fighting for it," Latu said. "Right now the prognosis is that she will be in the hospital for three months. She has already had a couple of surgeries since she was born."
The infant, named after Wayne's sister Kina, weighed 3 pounds at birth. Her bowels developed outside of her abdomen, a complication that added to the ominous challenge of tiny developing lungs in a premature baby. Doctors have worked to enlarge the stomach cavity to re-insert the bowel. Latu admitted this is the first of many procedures his daughter must face.
"She's a fighter," he said. "She's just up there, you know, you become more of a devoted U. of U. fan when your little daughter is up there."
And with that, Latu exited. "Excuse me, I've got to run to the hospital right now."
"Everything is in good hands," said Wayne's older sister, Melba.
"The mom's doing fine, the daughter is getting treatment, Wayne went back to football practice today and his daughter is in one of the best care centers in the word. All expenses have been taken care of and they feel blessed for that. All they need now is emotional and spiritual support."
BYU president and LDS general authority Cecil O. Samuelson is expected to visit Kina this weekend and offer a blessing on the Latu child, according to Melba.
The family crisis is an interesting challenge for Latu, who has shown a heightened positive attitude so far in his BYU career. One of the top sprinters in the state while attending Orem and Timpview high schools, he has still been one of the fastest running backs in Cougar camp the past three years. Yet, he hasn't cracked the starting lineup.
His claim to fame was a 95-yard, 15-carry, 1-touchdown performance at UNLV in 2005, a game that was well in hand for the Cougars when Latu hit the field.
Still, every day of his BYU football career his enthusiasm over the most boring practices are legend. So are his sisters, all seven of them, who can be heard screaming his direction, in rock star fashion, at scrimmages and games.
"He's just a great example to all of us of how to deal with everything," said Melba. "He's an excellent father and husband because he's had the seven of us sisters training him his while life."
A concert pianist who has toured Tonga, China, Fiji and Canada, Latu is often called upon to play for team activities or firesides. He has a studio where he currently teaches piano to 10 pupils, He also speaks Spanish and French.
"He loves football, just being out there, and he loves teaching piano and hasn't given it up yet," said Melba.
"But what he really loves is life and he's anxious, willing and faithful in living it out and getting the most out of it every single day.
"Wayne stays upbeat and positive, even when it's scary, like when his wife left in the helicopter and he couldn't go with her. He already has another beautiful daughter (Malia) and an incredible wife, Mary, and he has things in perspective."
But even for Wayne, this one is huge. Little Kina's battle is a tough one. Right now, it's a critical fight that will test every bit of Latu's sky-is-blue and everything-is-OK attitude.
As football fades into the background, odds are, Latu is the man to handle this kind of fire.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
BABY KINA - President Samuelsons Visit
Since he has extensive experience in the medical field and was President of Intermountain Health Care, it was especially nice to talk to him about Kina's condition and Primary Children's Hospital. He shared a little bit of the history of the hospital which he was involved in and it just made me even more grateful for this incredible facility. He was so gracious with his time and even chatted with our nurse, who has been there for 30 years, about the past. She was so excited to talk to him.
While there, we asked him to offer a priesthood blessing on Kina. It was beautiful and left me grateful and in tears. I'm so thankful for him, his kindness and goodness. I know he's a man called of God and I feel honored to be able to call him a friend.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Baby Kina - She's HERE!!
Tuesday night, I woke up several times because of pains in my lower abdomen. I had gone on a long walk the evening before so I thought it was just growing pains or something similar. Before Wayne left at 7 in the morning, I told him I'd been in pain. He immediately said, "Let's go to the doctors". I, of course, said, "No" - I didn't want to make a big deal of it - my due date was not for another 6 weeks. Wayne left to football and about a half our later I started bleeding.
I was so scared. I called Wayne, my mom and then 911. The ambulance and paramedics were there in a few minutes. We went to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center and they checked me in. The bleeding didn't stop and soon it was accompanied by contractions. They said we may have to be transferred up to the U of U Hospital if the labor progressed, however, the doctors were very hopeful that I would stabilize and be home by morning. Still, they banned me from food in case of an emergency c-section and gave the baby a shot of steroids to help her lungs better develop in case of an early birth.
We hung out there the whole day - Wayne came from practice and stayed with me, which was very nice. The word got out and Fui and Leonne, all Wayne's sisters, and David and Shan came to visit. Fui said the football team had a special meeting for our baby and my little brother, Michael offered a prayer on behalf of the team. I was so touched.
Around 10 pm my contractions were coming 5 minutes apart and they were more painful. The doctor found I was dilated to a 3 and said I would be taken by ambulance to the U - we had planned to deliver there from the beginning when our baby was diagnosed with gastroschisis. It was a high risk delivery and she would need to be taken to the NICU at Primary Children's Hospital immediately after birth. The fact that she was coming early only made things more urgent and scary. He called the U to arrange the ride and they said they were sending the Life Flight helicopter to pick me up. It was my first ride in a helicopter!! The flight from Provo to Salt Lake City took 15 minutes. I definitely like this form of travel.
Once at the U, they hooked me up to everything and found I was already dilated to a 6. That was definitely a big surprise. The plan was to slow down my quickly progressing labor so the baby could have more time and receive her much needed shots which could only be given every 24 hours. Wayne arrived, laid out his little cot and went to sleep. I had an oxygen mask on and about 6 different tubes and wires going in and away from me. Needless to say, I was pretty uncomfortable and had a very, very long night.
Even though they were giving me medicine to slow things down, it seemed the baby had other plans. My contractions continued and I was dilated to an 8 by morning. Soon, the decision was made to allow my labor to take it's natural course and have a baby. The pain was SO extreme. I think I was already so exhausted from the bleeding and the long foodless day before . . . I was not handling it very well, to say the least. I asked for an epidural . . . and it made a huge difference. They had to give me the shot twice because the first one didn't take, but when it finally kicked in I was able to relax.
Things went quickly from there. My water was broken and after 3 pushes Kina was born at 10:08 am. She was immediately taken to the U of U NICU right next to our room so they could wrap and protect her bowels. She weighed 4 lbs. 10 oz. and was 17 1/2 inches long. Wayne, my mom and Tali were present for the birth.
I got to see her soon after. My first thoughts were that she looked like Wayne. She has his mouth and her face looks like a Latu. She has a TON of black curly hair and long fingers. She is beautiful.
When we moved into our recovery room, Kalo arrived with Malia. The transport team from Primary Childrens Hospital brought in Kina en route to her new place in the NICU at Primarys and Malia got to meet her baby sister for the first time. It was a special moment.
The rest of that day was spent in bed recovering. Wayne went down for the first of Kinas operations - she got a silo around her bowels which will suspend them above her abdomen and make it possible for them to slowly fit back into her body.
Our family came up and everyone got to meet our little Kina, the newest addition to our family.
I spent most of this day in bed, but Wayne got to go back and forth to see little Kina. Kimberly Roy and Shan came up to visit in the morning, Vai, Kina and Leo came in the afternoon and the rest of the family came in the evening.
I have felt so great and I feel like the recovery process is going very smoothly. I'm so grateful for the awesome nurses and doctors at the U and and at Primary's - they have been incredible.
I felt great. I was moving around a little more and Tali was with me to check out around noon. I really enjoyed my hospital stay - everyone was so great and I got some much needed rest - but I was very excited to be home and with Malia again.
I checked in with Kina before we left and the doctors had just done their rounds. They reduced her bowels a little and said she was looking good. We're hoping for the best!