Update from Michael - November 12, 2008

Dear friends,

Melissa is going to have her 16th and 17th surgeries today beginning at 8:30 a.m. California time (Thursday, November 13, 00:30 a.m. Taipei, Hong Kong, Beijing, Asia area time).

During the first surgery, the surgeons will re-attach her left skull which was removed after her aneurism on March 21 to allow her brain to swell without being damaged. At this time, her surgeon feels comfortable that it is safe to perform this surgery, and we are excited to have it put back for Melissa, too. This is not only "safer" for her, but now she can also continue to grow her long hair to where it was before all of this happened.

The second surgery is to replace the old-type G-tube for a MIC-KEY* Button. The current G-tube is long and easily gets caught during many activities. Replacing this tube with a detachable tube and button will be a great improvement and much less of an inconvenience. The great news is that Melissa might not need this new tube very long. She is now eating better, has a greater appetite, enjoys a variety of food, and chews much better. She is working very hard to reach her goal of enjoying her favorite dish, steak.

Following these surgeries, Melissa will remain at CHOC for 2-3 days for routine observation. Please pray for the surgery to go smoothly and successfully.

Over all Melissa has made great improvements:

* she stopped vomiting 2 weeks ago;
* her appetite has increased and she is able to take more and more food by mouth, allowing us to cut her G-tube feeding by half;
* she can sit on the wheelchair up to 4 hours now and even roll herself in the chair;
* her speech has improved and she can sing songs from a CD given to her by her friend, Brendan.

Melissa still has a long journey to be able to retain words and recover her language usage. Many times, we have seen her suddenly become sad after visitors leave. With tears in her eyes, she looks at us and just silently shakes her head. She wants so much to be able to express herself, but she just can’t.

During these tough times we lead her in prayer … it’s really the only thing we can do for her. We believe that God can repair and heal the damaged area, and we pray for his mercies on her.


In Him,
Michael

Happy Halloween Melissa

Our small group trick or treated to Melissa's house last night. She was in great spirits and did not want us to leave! It is great being able to see her personality come out again! We love you Melissa!!

Help Provide Meals for the Yu Family - November

Dear all,

With Melissa’s two surgeries scheduled for the 2nd week of November,
we still need to continue to provide meals for the Yu family.

I myself can cook once a week, Debbie is committed to deliver Chef Chen's
food on Wednesdays, all I need is FOUR PEOPLE PREPARING ONE MEAL either
on Mondays or Fridays, then we can cover the month of November.

Would you please help?

To sign up for the month of November, simply go to the following web site:

http://www.efci.org/EFCI-EM/Yu_scheduler.html

1. Click on the UPDATE and login to Google Calendar. (Email: blessmyu password: efci4myu).

2. Click on the right arrow for move to November.

Remember to ONLY sign up for MONDAY or FRIDAY.

If the calendar system is too time consuming for you, you may also call me at 949-856-3026(H) or 949-351-1274(C) and I will update the calendar for you.

May the Lord bless you and continue to sustain Melissa and her family.

In Christ,
Felicia

Update from Michael, Friday, May 24, 2008

Dear friends,

I would like share with you two very exciting things that have happened this week.

Early in the week Melissa was feeling down. She wants so much to be able to talk to her friends, to stand up and to walk into the back yard. But then things started to happen....

On Thursday, Melissa happily tasted real food by mouth after a successful swallowing test. She couldn’t wait to have some Campbell’s clam chowder, and she was able to taste many other foods. She was so excited .. though there will be no steak quite yet as chewing is still difficult for her. The G-tube will still supply the bulk of her nutrition until she is completely able to transition to eating by mouth, but being able to take at least a little food by mouth is so satisfying for her and gratifying for us.

Another exciting milestone was reached when she learned how to master her wheel chair using her left side. She was able to navigate back and forth down the hallway and to turn to avoid running into the walls.

We’re all so excited about these events.

So, Melissa has taken more steps closer to our prayers for her. We all glorify the Name of God for this progress and we continue to praise Him always!!

In Him,
Michael

Update from Michael - 10-23-2008

We went back to CHOC last Thursday (October 16) for visits with a neurosurgeon and G.I. doctor. They have scheduled Melissa to have two surgeries the second week of November. The first surgery will be to replace the piece of skull that was removed months ago to allow her brain to swell without damage. During that surgery they will also replace her shunt with a new design that will have a valve to control the fluid levels in her brain so she doesn’t feel faint when she sits up. The second surgery will be to replace her gastrostomy or “G”-tube with a Kimberly-Clark MIC-KEY* low profile design (www.mic-key.com). The MIC-KEY* is a barely noticeable device that will allow us to feed Melissa more easily and keep the feeding device cleaner.

Prayer Requests

Please pray for the upcoming surgeries, that God will guide the surgeons’ hands and that Melissa will tolerate the procedures well.

Please also pray that Melissa’s once or twice a day vomiting will subside and that her stomach will be able to tolerate feeding.

We are very thankful for all of your support, love, care and prayer, definitely we give all of our heartfelt praise, thanksgiving and glory to our Lord Jesus and Almighty God.

God bless you all.

Michael

Update from Mr. B, Thursday, October 9, 2008

Dear Friends,

I was blessed to have a chance to visit Melissa on Monday shortly after she returned home from HealthBridge. She was alert, smiling and enjoying seeing her friends and family.

She gave me a big thumbs up when I arrived, but gave me a thumbs down when I told her I was going to post this photo. Sorry, Melissa!! We all love you!!!

Update from Mr. B Wednesday 10-8-2008

Dear Friends,

On Tuesday Melissa was complaining of heart discomfort. As a precaution, she was taken back to CHOC for an examination by a cardiologist, returning home about 4:00 p.m. Tuesday. She slept very well Tuesday night.

Michael reports that she is feeling very good today and is enjoying visits from her friends.