Up To Date and .............Make A Wish Foundation

Hi everyone sorry we haven't posted in a while but so many things have happened and then with the Christmas rush it hasnt been easy. But we're back to let you know all the things that have been going on with Jessy.

I'll start with Jessy going back to Baptist Urgent Care on Monday, November 22 because a Cyst was found in the lower part of her back. She had been a few days with some pain but it just got worse by Monday morning. When she arrived at the Urgent Care she was seen by the doctor and he determined it was a Cyst and it needed to be removed. I can say when Jessy had the Brain Tumor removed she was sedated and didnt feel a thing even if it was for so many hours, this time around Jessy felt everything that was done to her being the anesthesia didn't take affect and they opened the Cyst to clean it and she felt everything. The pain was excruciating! They finally cleaned out the area and placed a drainage to make sure the area would be completely clean. They left the drainage in for 2 days. On Nov. 24th Jessy returned to the Urgent Care where they removed the drainage and at that time Jessys mom was informed by the doctor that Jessy would need to have an operation done to completely remove the cyst sack. This will happen in a few months once the area is completely healed.

On December 15th Jessy went to see her doctor at Bascom Palmer, the doctor was very happy to see that Jessys cornia on the left eye is doing very well. Her eye is still closed and it will not be opened til she is able to move the left side of her face. The doctor did give Jessy a prescription for new glasses even though once her left eye is opened she will need another prescription. But for now it will help her not to strian on the right eye. She was super excited about getting new glasses being that her glasses were a few years old. She'll go back to see her doctor from Bascom Palmer in February just to continue checking her progress.

On Thursday, December 23rd Jessy became Santa for a day, she took gifts to all the Therapist at Baptist Hospital. She feels that everyone there has been amazing to her even the ones that haven't directly worked with her but treat her great. She went with a Santa shirt and hat and went giving out gifts and getting hugs and kisses from everyone.

On Thursday, December 23rd Jessy's mom recieved a letter from "Make a Wish Foundation" letting Jessy's parents know that Jessy was approved by her Physicians to recieve a special wish. Make a Wish Foundation will make that wish come true and if you've all read Jessy's blog you would know exactly what Jessy's wish would be! Of course, to meet "Nick Jonas and the Jonas Brothers". Remember when Jessy came out of her surgery the first thing she said so her family would know she was alright was "Nicky Booboo where are you" and that was completely directed to Nick Jonas. This will be a dream come true for her. We'll keep you posted on the meeting with Make a Wish Foundation and what will take place after that.

Wishing everyone a "Very Merry Christmas and that 2011 comes filled with HEALTH, love and lots of Happiness!"

Thank you to ALL for caring and praying for Jessys recovery!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We are thankful for all the love and support we have received the past few months! Thank you for helping in Jessy's recovery! We love you all very much!

Have a great happy thanksgiving! :)

Something to Share

I have to share:

Jessy went to see her Pediatrician the other day with her mom and when they were leaving Jessy asks her mom " Will I always come to see Dr. Ruiz-Unger?" So her mom responds "No Jessy after you turn 21 he won't be your doctor anymore, you'll have to go somewhere else." So as Jessy stayed quiet for a minute, turns to her mom and asks her "So then that means I'll be going to Leon Medical Center?" Lol!!

Visit to the Dermotologist and more..........

Jessy had the appointment with the dermotologist because she has a really bad rash on her face on the left side. As per the dermotologist what Jessy has is acne from the cortison she was given during her operation. He gave her a cream for the face and did tell her it will take awhile before its all gone. Much patience... will be needed. The good thing Jessy has such a great attitude nothing really bothers her.

Jessy had been complaining of getting dizzy spells for a few weeks now. So on Tuesday her Physical therapist had her do some exercises to determine if what Jessy has is Vertigos and the result was correct, she does have Vertigo. The therapist did some therapy to Jessy to try to get rid of the vertigo. Jessys not allowed to sleep on her right side, she must sleep reclined and she has to wear a neck brace for a week. Hopefully with the therapy and all these home treatments it will help Jessy not have the dizziness anymore. Jessys biggest problem with all this is that she says the neck brace is "Definitely Not A Fashion Statement".

Visit to the Psychologist

Well Jessy had her visit to the psychologist yesterday, extremely early in the morning. She wasn't to happy with that but she needs to start getting use to early mornings again. He got to know Jessy a bit and asked many questions about her life before the Brain Tumor and after the Brain Tumor. She'll have an 8 hour test given to her in sessions of 3 to 4 days. Her first test will be on Saturday, November 13th at 8am. That day she'll have 2 hours of testing and then they'll tell her the next date of testing. She'll have alot of one on one with the psychologist. The test is mainly to see at what level Jessys at.

What the Psychologist doesn't know is that Jessy will be teaching him a thing or two! Thank God her memory and her wittiness has not changed at all. He will be very surprised with her answers thats for sure!

Visit to Bascom Palmer

Today Jessy had an appointment at Bascom Palmer and the doctor was very happy to see that her left eye (thats the one thats closed 75%) was doing so well. Even her eye sight has gotten much better from the right eye even though she'll have to continue using, once her eye is better, the glasses. He was alittle concerned because her right eye does not turn to the right side completely, only 35%. Something he wants Jessys mom to continue monitoring and if theres any change to take Jessy back to Bascom Palmer otherwise he'll see Jessy in 3 months. This is the Muscle Specialist of the eye at Bascom Plamer. In December she still has another appointment with her doctor at Bascom Palmer to see the progress of the left eye. We'll keep you informed!!

Tomorrow Jessy has an appointment with a Pshycologist. She needs to have a Pshycological evaluation before going back to school. This is routine check for any child thats had brain surgery. We'll let you know how it goes!!

Garage Sale a Success!!

Just wanted to say "THANK YOU" to all that went out to our 2nd Garage Sale. Without your
help it could not have been as successful as it was. The day was beautiful and as we sold things for a good cause we had a great time doing it. We'll be posting soon some of the pictures. But again "Thank You" for all the help and support you've showed since day one.
Jessy appreciates it inmensely!!

Garage Sale October 23rd

Hi everyone we finally have our day set for the 2nd Garage Sale.
We set the date for Saturday, October 23rd from 8am til 3pm the location is the Winston Park Clubhouse 8100 SW 132 Avenue.
If theres anything you would like to donate for us to sell please contact us at jessytraviesofund@gmail.com Any donation is greatly appreciated. Please let your family and friends know. Thanks!

Winston Park K-8 Center Dance

Jessy's school Winston Park K-8 Center had a fundraiser school dance. Jessy was super excited being that she hadn't been in school since school ended back in June. When she got to the dance she was applauded and cheered on by all her friends and fellow classmates.

Mr. Diaz the principal of Winston Park, PTA, many teachers, students and parents worked together to make this special event take place. It was a very emotional and successful event. Thanks again for making Jessy feel not only like a student but part of the Winston Park Family.

Come out to our car wash!

Today is our car wash! Come out to the wendy's at 14715 sw 42 st! $5 each car! We'll be here until 3pm! Come support Jessy! See you there!

Car Wash!

We will be having another fundraiser Car Wash on Saturday, October 2, 2010!!!

Come out and show your support!!!

$5 each car!!

The wait is over!

Great news everyone!

Jessy's MRI came back great! There hasn't been a recurrence in her tumor!!! The doctors said that everything looks like it's supposed to after a surgery like she had! We couldn't be happier for our princess! Now it's so focus everything she has on recovering! It's a big load off our shoulders to know there's nothing there anymore!

She gets to see Dr. Siomin(neurosurgeon) next wk. He wants to see her progress. This doctor has been so amazing! He cares so much about Jessy and were truly blessed to have him as a surgeon!

Thanks everyone for your continued prayers, jessy will move forward and be her same 'ol self in no time!

MRI

Hey guys,
Jessy was in therapy today and started getting really dizzy so they took her to the emergency room. She was supposed to have her 3 month MRI on Sunday but they will be doing it right now to make sure everything is ok. Keep her in your prayers please!!! I'll keep you posted!

Jessy has continued her three therapies... She is recovering very well!!!

On Saturday she attended her friend Stephanie's birthday party. She was able to see all her friends that she doesn't get to see all the time since she is being home schooled.

Let's keep hoping for a great recovery.

Back to Therapy we goooo!!!!!

hiii people!!!

Today Jessy had her follow-up visit at Bascom Palmer from her surgery. The doctor was very happy with the way her cornia looks. (Remember, her eye is only 75% closed, so the doctor still can check out her eye! :) ) He gave her the OK to continue with her physical therapy and the electric stimulator on her face. The doctor also doesn't want her using the eye patch so she can get used to seeing light through that eye. The patch just makes it dark all the time. She will only be using it if she's around a lot of people to prevent it from getting infected with germs.

She was super excited knowing she can go back to her therapies!

She has spent most of her time doing homework for her home-bound schooling. It's incredible how much work she gets!!!!!

Yesterday, Jessy and her brother Otto went to Winston Park K-8 to film a commercial encouraging students to attend a dance next Wednesday. It's a "Welcome Back" dance, and all proceeds are going to Jessy's Fix My Booboo Fund. Jessy will be at the dance, and she hopes to see all her friends there!

That's Jessy at home working on her home-bound work....

Tomorrow, Jessy will be going back to therapy tomorrow along with seeing her home-bound teacher!

This is Jessy at home practicing with the whistles she uses in speech therapy.

Jonas Brothers Concert!

Jessy wants to thank her padrino Laz for the awesome tickets to go see the Jonas Brothers!
Jessy was ready with her ear plugs and all to jam out at the concert..
She had an incredible time listening to her favorite Jonas brother and Demi Lovato songs! I'll be posting some pictures up soon!

Jessy's Procedure...

Jessy showed up to Bascom Palmer bright and early today!! The procedure went great! She got 75% of her eye stitched together... She came home and wanted to do more puzzles, but the doctor recommended she stay in bed with her head back. She shouldn't be giving her eye any pressure. At least we can be happy that she was great after the procedure :) We will update you on how she is feeling tomorrow.

We have a few fundraisers for Jessy's Fix My Booboo Fund....

If you'd like to have a Mary Kay Party or just buy some products go to Angelica Llera-Garcia's or email Arell77@aol.com. All profits will be given to Jessy's Fix My Booboo Fund :)

Also Beachy Baubles by Cheryl makes hand-made bracelets. She created "Jessy's Journey" especially for Jessy. $5 from each bracelet sold is donated to Jessy's Fix My Booboo Fund. Order your bracelet and show your support for Jessy :) Here is a picture of the bracelet.

Purple Czech Glass beads, bali beads and Purple Swarovski crystals with a Butte

rfly Toggle.

Hey, even Jessy and I have our own "Jessy's Journey" bracelets!

Big Day Tomorrow!!!

Yesterday Jessy had her therapies. She has been doing really well practicing her walking and stimulations on her face. She blows whistles in speech therapy. She has to make sentences with "f" and "th" by reading from an index card. In physical therapy she practiced jumping the entire time. She was very scared at first. She thought she wouldn't be able to do it or that it would hurt. Her therapists encouraged her and stood by her side and soon enough they were jumping around the entire room! Mom was VERY proud!!! In occupational therapy she played with play-doh. She practiced putting big blocks in little holes. She also had to flip blocks over after trying to fit it in the small hole. (sorry she's not explaining it very clear to me LOL!)

Today she had an appointment with the neuroopthomologist. He wanted to see her before her surgery. He will see her again in November, in hopes that she has gained some feeling back in her left side. He has many great suggestions as to how Jessy will be able to see better after she gains back more feeling. He suggested some glasses that will not make her see double and allow her to open both eyes at the same time! I guess we will have to wait for her to gain that feeling back!

She also spent the day doing puzzles with her left hand! Here's a pic!

Tomorrow is her surgery!! They will be shutting 75% of her left eye! Lets keep her in our prayers!! I'll keep you posted!

Oops!

So last night Jessy had her friends Stephy an Nicole over and they were all sitting on the floor playing around. Somehow Jessy hurt her head and her scar started burning. She got really scared and asked to go see the doctor asap just in case something bad happened. When they got to the Urgent Care the doctor said the scar looked fine but that because that area is so sensitive, any little time she touches that area is going to feel like a big deal. It's still hard for her to realize that she has to manage herself in the things she does so she can feel better quickly.
Besides that she has been doing great! She was at the garage sale encouraging everyone to sell, sell, sell!
Remember September 2 jessy will be having surgery to close her eye shut! I'll keep you posted on how everything goes!

Thanks for a successful garage sale!

We would like to thank everyone who was a part of our garage sale this weekend! From those who donated things for us to sell, to those who were there in the scorching hot sun selling as well as those who went to shop! Our garage sale couldn't have been successful without you!
We had an amazing time, met some people who had an incredible story and had so much support. We had people who heard about us and just came by to drop off things to sell. It's incredible how much support we had and we are truly blessed and grateful to everyone!
We will be having another garage sale sometime in October so you guys can keep cleaning out your house and donating things for our next garage sale! :) email us for more info on how u can drop off donations @ jessytraviesofund@gmail.com.

Thanks again!

Jessy getting up and walking by herself

This is Jessy walking by herself today =) We are so proud of her!

Walking!!!! :D

Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but between bad internet connections and getting ready for our garage sale it's been kind of crazy!!! But I'm back and I got a new iPhone app where i can update directly from my phone.. I'll keep you guys in the loop! :)

Jessy has continued going to her three therapies three times a week. She is working hard on walking by herself. She always tries to get up by herself and walk alone to get around... Or she even starts to crawl!!! I actually have a video I'll be posting up of her walking by herself around the house =) She practices walking by rolling her feet so she doesn't lose her balance.

On September 2 Jessy will be getting her left eye lids stitched together. She will have it shut until she gains more feeling on the left side of her face.

Thanks to our long-time friend Raul Rodriguez from All-Med Services, Jessy is using an electrical stimulator on the left side of her face. The electricity stimulates her nerves. When you pass the electricity through a certain part of her face you can see her moving parts of her face. She is finally getting her smile back slowly. She still talks to one side but it's getting a lot better.

Remember tomorrow we will be having our Garage Sale!! All proceeds are for Jessy's Fix My Booboo Fund!

See you there!

jessy walking!

wah wah wah...

SooOo Jessy went to Bascom Palmer for the second opinion about her left eye. To prevent her cornia from suffering further damages, the doctor recommends that her eye lids be sewn shut until she regains feeling to the left side of her face. Once she regains feeling to that side of her face, they can open it up again and she can practice blinking again. She has an appointment with the cornia specialist on Tuesday the 17th. The specialist will be giving us more details on the procedure which will take place on September 2.

On thursday she had her three therapies again....

In speech therapy she blew the whistle again. Then she had a listening exercise. The therapist would have her write her name in the middle of the page, write the date on the left hand corner of the pg, and write the numbers 1-10 on the bottom left hand side of the page. These were just exercises to ensure she can follow directions.

In physical therapy she started walking. Since she has been dragging her feet while walking, they put her to do heel and toe exercises while holding onto the bar and walking to the side by crossing her legs.

In occupational therapy she played patty-cake against the table. She also had to stack cards using her left hand and then flip them over. The therapist then bounced a ball and then Jessy had to bounce the ball back at her. She also wrote a journal about what she does in therapy. This will allow Jessy to know that she doesn't have to include every detail, but she can later go back in that journal and see what she did that day in therapy.

Today Jessy went in the pool for the first time since her surgery. She was so excited and just couldn't hide it!!! :) She went straight to practicing how to swim with her "Tio Lovey Dovey," who also encouraged her to do underwater exercises. She practiced moving her legs under water and did a great job at swimming. I'll be posting a video up soon.

Remember we will be having a garage sale on Saturday, August 28, 2010 from 8am-3pm at the Winston Park Clubhouse!! Please stop by, all proceeds are for Jessy's Fix My Booboo Fund.. If you have anything you'd like to donate to the garage sale please e-mail us at jessytraviesofund@gmail.com! Thanks for all your help!!! :)

Join Us!!

If you have anything you would like to donate please email us for more info!! jessytraviesofund@gmail.com

Jessy @ Bascom Palmer

Jessy is at Bascom Palmer right now getting her left eye checked out. Second opinion!! Hopefully they have a better solution for her eye! :) I'll keep you updated on what they say!

Practice Practice Practice!!

Today Jessy had her three therapies (physical, occupational and speech) and also went to see her pediatrician.

First off, she went to the pediatrician. He said that the rash she has is acne which is produced from the nerves. It's also a combination oh her nerves and the surgery. He prescribed a cream which will hopefully help it out. He wants to see her ev

ery 2 weeks to follow her progress. We love our family pediatrician!!! He's awesome!! :)

This is a picture of Jessy and her brother Otto at the pediatrician.

In speech therapy she practiced blowing the whistle. She also did speech exercises saying "th" and "v". She also had a massage on her face. Hopefully it helps in the movement of her left side. (Remember she still doesn't move her left side)

In physical therapy she practiced standing up... She also practiced walking in the shoes she will be wearing to her cousins wedding in two weeks. She is part of the bridal party so she's been practicing with her brother how to walk down the aisle. She's obviously not wearing heels like the rest of the bridal party, but she will be wearing sandals and practicing with these shoes will be great. She is going to look beautiful and will actually be able to walk down the aisle with her brother at her cousins wedding... It will def be a tear jerker!!! :)

In occupational therapy she did different exercises with her left hand. She did this one exercise where she had to take little things that looked like needles from a small hole and had to place them in a box. This exercise allows her to focus on one thing she needs to get and grab it with her left hand and place it where it belongs. I will post a video later where you can see how she has trouble with her left hand. This exercise will help in making this better. She'll eventually have better coordination with her left hand.

This is a picture of Jessy on a machine where she exercises her leg. She didn't do this during therapy. But she wanted to do it before she left. It's good to strengthen her legs.

Tomorrow she has an appointment at Bascom Palmer. Mary (Jessy's mom) wanted a second opinion on her eye... Hopefully they can help out more on how Jessy's eye can return to normal.. of course she needs to be able to start blinking again but as long as her cornia is fine then it can all fall into place.

I'll keep you posted!!

p.s. Remember we will be having our garage sale Saturday August 28 from 8am-3pm at the Winston Park clubhouse. If you have anything you would like to donate to the garage sale please e-mail me at jessytraviesofund@gmail.com. You can either drop off everything at Jessy's house or we will go pick it up!!

One man's junk is another man's treasure!

Thanks for all your help! :)

A new week :)

I wanted to start by thanking everyone again for coming on Saturday to our car wash!! It was so great to see everyone there and we had an amazing turn out! It's truly incredible all the support we have gotten!! Everything we do is for Jessy. I know she will be back to her normal self in no time!! As you all saw, she is a super strong girl!! HECK, she even wanted to stand out in the street holding signs to direct everyone into the car wash! We love you Jess and all this is for you princess :)

So today she had her three therapies; occupational, physical and speech.

In Occupational therapy she had to do math problems. She also played ball/catch.

In physical therapy she had to try walking by herself... Don't worry, she didn't start yelling "don't touch me" like in the video. She gets super excited when she starts walking by herself! We all get excited actually.. She's come such a long way in such a short period of time! She also practiced getting up and sitting down by herself. It's good for her to practice this so she doesn't lose her balance or fall to the side.

In speech therapy she practiced talking with some vocal exercises. She had to practice saying words with "sp" and "bl" as well as having to say "ah" and wait until a frog said "ribbit". These exercises are great also because she has to try using bother sides of her mouth.

Tomorrow she has two doctors appointments and her three therapies!!! I'll keep you posted!! :)

Thank You!!!

Thanks to everyone who came out and helped make this Car Wash a success!!

We appreciate everyone's love and support!!

Jessy is extremely grateful for having all the support of family, friends and teachers!!

Thanks again guys!!

Together we are helping Jessy recover quickly!! :D

I posted the pictures from today on the Facebook Page.. I'm working on getting them posted on here.. It just takes longer.. For all you non-facebookers I'll get the pics up as soon as possible!! :)

CAR WASH TOMORROW!!!

HOPE TO SEE EVERYONE AT OUR CARWASH TOMORROW!!!

WENDY'S AT 14715 SW 42 ST

9AM-2PM

$5.00 EACH CAR!!

HOPE TO SEE EVERYONE THERE!!!

Jessy Dancing with mom and otti

jessy with her brother :)

Jessy's brother Ottico was walking her and trying to dance with her. Keeping the spirits up!!! :)

DON'T FORGET ABOUT OUR CARWASH!!

PLEASE JOIN US FOR OUR FUNDRAISER CAR WASH THIS SATURDAY!!!

SATURDAY, 8/7/10

9:00 AM

WENDY'S @ 14715 SW 42 ST

WITH MUSIC BY DJ TONY T

$5 EACH CAR

***PS*** JESSY WILL BE THERE AT ABOUT 10:30 AM

DON'T TOUCH ME!!!

This is a video of Jessy showing us how she can walk by herself!!

It's been a while!

Sorry I have kept you guys out of the loop!!! But I'm back and with a ton of updates!!!

Let's start with her visit to the ENT doctor! The doctor said there hasn't been much change in her hearing through her left ear. She still can't hear well but that can all have to do with the swelling in her brain. She will have another visit in six months to see if there has been any change in her hearing.

Today she went to the Opthamologist. The doctor said her cornia has gotten a lot better!!! He said to continue putting the drops and wearing her patch so it doesn't dry out and damage it! This is great news because they won't have to sew her eye closed! She will be going to the doctor every week to check her eye. Depending on if she starts gaining back the feeling of her left side and she can start blinking again it will get much better!!

At therapy today Stephanie (her bestfriend) went with her. First she had speech therapy. The therapist checked her homework which was sudoku. She was given an activity which she had to match different names together. She also had a listening activity where the therapist would give her instructions and she had to follow. In physical therapy she played Wii Fit! She had to play the skiing and soccer game. This made her move her hips. Stephy and Mary even played with her! In occupational therapy she had to use her left hand to place little sticks in a small square hole. She also had to draw with her left hand on a whiteboard. Finally, she zipped and buttoned clothes. To end her therapies today, she danced with her therapist and Stephanie!

Jessy is doing such a great job!! We are going to start making the posters for the car wash now!!
We'll post some pics in a few!!!

busy busy busy!

BUSY BUSY BUSY!!! Today Jessy had a busy day, filled with therapies! She had speech, physical therapy and occupational therapy.

In speech therapy she had to use different whistles. This strengthens her mouth, and makes her use both sides of her mouth. It's great because she needs to use not only her right side but so the whistle can work properly she needs to use the left side as well. She had a test where she was asked questions and she had to answer them. This was so the therapist could see how she would talk normally.

During physical therapy, she was given electric shocks on the left side of her face. This stimulates her nerves, so she can eventually gain back the feeling in that side of her face. Next, she had to do some standing exercises. They had her doing something like a squat, but she obviously couldn't go very far down. These exercises are good for her balance and because she needs to practice standing up for longer periods of time. She also walked on the treadmill. She did a really good job at walking straight. She would go off to the side a little bit but would fall back on track.

In Occupational therapy she did activities to stimulate her mind such as "what doesn't belong" . She also had to put a puzzle together using her left hand. These activities are great for Jessy even to do at home, because they allow her to use her left hand while having to pick up specific pieces and place them in the correct spot. She then got on a computer and they put the website "puzzles.com" where she had to work on puzzles on the computer. This is another mind stimulating activity.

SooOOOooOo besides all that she did at therapy, when she got home, she walked around the block with her dad and brother holding her on each side. She walks a lot better when she has someone holding her, rather than using the walker. The therapist actually suggested that when we take her out for walks, to hold her instead of using the walker.

Well, tomorrow Jessy has an appointment with the ENT Doctor (we finally got the name!!) which is the Ear, Nose and Throat doctor. Hopefully they will see why she can't hear through her left ear.

We'll keep you posted on what we find out!!!

Jessy Walking around the lake today!

Jessy was tired, but she tried really hard at walking around the lake today. She's doing a great job!

Please join us for a Car Wash!

Join us for a car wash benefiting Jessy's Fix My Booboo Fund!

Hope to see you there!!!

Some more Rummikub

Playing some Rummikub with the family. Jessy is reaching over with her left hand to get the pieces. Good job Jess! :)

Jessy can finally touch her nose with her tongue again!!

Jessy with her padrino Laz!!! She can finally touch her nose with her tongue again!!!

Jessy moving her mouth!!

Church Sunday!!

Jessy went to church today with her mom, dad and two brothers. We have a lot to be thankful for. We have been truly blessed with her recovery efforts and everyones help!

Car Wash!!!!!

Hope to see everyone there!!!!

Dominoes with Mimi!

Jessy is playing dominoes with her grandma Mimi right now. Dominoes is great because she has to move each dominoes with her left hand. She gets to work on her fine motor skills by picking up the dominoes and putting them on the table where it goes. She also has to see the little dots which is good to strengthen her eye!

Rummikub with the Family :)

Jessy is playing Rummikub with the family! This is a game she plays in therapy to help her with her left hand. It makes her use her left hand to move around the pieces and concentrate on what her next move is going to be.. The exercises she learns in therapy are great and could be used at home so she is constantly working on getting better! :)

Jessy loves visits!!!

Jessy loves having visitors over!!! It really makes her feel better and gets her up and going out of her bed! Here is a picture of Jessy with her friends Zuramy and Laura.

Date with Dr. Siomin!

WAKE UP SLEEPY HEAD!! Jessy woke up bright and early today to go see her neurosurgeon Dr. Siomin. They discussed different things about her ear and eye. Jessy can't hear through her left ear because of the trauma from the tumor. Dr. Siomin suggested she go see an ear specialist (not sure what they call those). She has to get that done ASAP so she can be able to hear through that ear again. He also told Mary (Jessy's mom) that it is very important to continue with the treatment on her eye. Applying the eye drops and leaving the patch on her eye is the only way the eye will heal so it doesn't have to be stitched for two weeks!

Keep in mind people, the tumor in her brain was very big, so removing it caused a lot of damage to her brain which is why her left side is the way it is right now. The electric shocks to her face she receives in therapy is what is helping her gain the feeling to her face. Hopefully her eye, ear and hand all fall into place right after!! :)

They also removed that extra stitch that was left on her scar! Dr. Siomin was able to remove some of the flakes on her head and suggested she could use baby oil to remove them on her own. He also mentioned she can use any shampoo or hair product on the scar and it won't be affected.

Stay tuned for more info on the exercises Jessy will be doing at home over the weekend! She doesn't stop her therapies even when she's at home.. That's what we call dedication! :)

20 minutes standing up exercise

Jessy is doing an exercise right now where she has to stand up for 20 minutes or until it hurts that she can't stand up. She is watching Nick Jonas videos while standing. Although she goes off to the side while standing she is doing great!

Hard at work with Lida!

WHAT A WORK OUT! Today Jessy burned some calories with her best friend Stephanie at therapy! She had physical and occupational therapy. She took her best friend Stephanie to therapy with her. Stephanie did all the exercises with Jessy for motivation. In occupational therapy she was given math problems to solve. She had a new occupational therapist who apparently really likes Glee! He was really nice! In physical therapy she did different mat exercises. The bike exercises were exhausting! She also walked while being held by her mom and therapist Lida. She is keeping up with putting the drops in her left eye every hour, and her antibiotic drops twice a day, hoping her cornia gets better! She says her eye feels cold and she sees blurry... She has an eye patch to help the healing. She is also working on her left hand... She gave me a high-five today with her palm! good job jess!

By the way.. While washing her hair yesterday Jessy found a stitch on her scar that wasn't removed with the other stitches!!! She has an appointment tomorrow with her neurosurgeon... I bet he won't be happy about that!!

I'll keep you posted on tomorrows doctors appointment!!!

Yesterday's doctors visit

Yesterday Jessy went to the Opthamologist to get her left eye checked out. They had previously put in a clear contact hoping it heals her cornia. The Opthamologist said her cornia is severely scratched. Jessy can't close her left eye, so it gets dried up causing the damage to her cornia. If her eye does not get better by next week, the doctor will have to stitch her eye closed for two weeks to allow it to heal. Let's hope it gets better! Jessy is on her way to therapy now.. I'll keep you posted!! :)

For Starters....

This blog was created to record the progress in Jessenia's recovery. Jessy is a fun-sprited twelve year old whose life changed on Monday, June 28, 2010. Jessy went in to an Urgent Care Center with complaints of a headache, and was rushed to the local hospital after having a Cat Scan which showed a shadow in her brain. That same night, at the hospital, they did an MRI on Jessy (she asked for them to play Y-100 in the MRI machine.. NO JOKE!) which showed that she had a tumor in the cerebellum part of her brain. On Thursday, July 1, 2010 Jessy went into surgery for a Craniotomy to remove the tumor. Jessy's spirits were always high before the surgery, joking and making us all laugh to release the tension, and she was sure that she was going to be okay. The hospital staff was so impressed with her attitude about all of this, considering her age and the severity of the surgery. Before surgery she gave us (her family) a code for when she got out of surgery, she would say something so we know she is okay. Her code sentence was “Nicky boo-boo, where are you?” (Talking about Nick Jonas). After her surgery, we asked her for the code sentence, and she said it, and gave me a thumbs up. During her second MRI, only HOURS after her surgery, she asked the MRI technician to please play Drake for her inside the MRI machine. This showed how high her spirits were even just HOURS after brain surgery. She was then put in a recovery room, where she was monitored and began therapy to gain back the fine motor skills she lost during surgery. Jessy was later transferred to the Rehabilitation center, where she had three different therapies everyday (physical, occupational and speech). She is now working on gaining back sensation on her left side, ability to walk, patching her eyes to strengthen her vision, working on the movement and coordination of her left hand, her balance and so many things we think are easy for us, that are now difficult for her to do. Jessy was just allowed to go home on Saturday, but she has a long road ahead of her to recover. She will be attending numerous costly therapies throughout the week as well as being home-schooled until January. Jessy has had such a great attitude throughout this whole process. She has kept her family strong and united. She is always joking around and making us laugh when we think things are the toughest.

Stay tuned for more on her recovery and how you can help!