Mateo Jack Lafoga Theorine

SPRING GLEN – Mateo Jack Lafoga Theorine returned home to his Heavenly Father and his Papa, December 19, 2008 after passing away peacefully in his sleep at the young age of 22 months.
Mateo was born February 1, 2007 in Price, Utah, to James Victor Theorine II and Malia Mei Laulu and his big brother James (Kimo) Victor Theorine III. Mateo was a pillar of light to all that knew him. His beautiful smile and his golden locks of hair was just a tiny glimpse of our fun loving little boy. Mateo loved his family and his many friends, and loved to share kisses and hugs and the occasional love tap with all of them. Though very young, Mateo loved sports, any kind of balls, four-wheelers, daddy’s motorcycle, the trampoline, dancing and most of all his binky.
Mateo was a very happy and energetic little boy who loved others unconditionally. He was always a comforter for those that needed comforting, and would be the first to stand up in a fist fight, but would always love you better when he was done beating you up.
Mateo loved to go bye-bye. He loved to get his coat and shoes on, and be the first one ready for any adventure. He was often found being curious and self-entertained. Mateo embraced his cultures, and loved the music of his cultures and would express his love by dancing. Mateo was not a little man of many words, but always knew how to express to anyone what he wanted, whether it was him pointing and grunting, or leading you right to what he wanted.
Mateo was preceded in death by his papa Lafoga Laulu Jr. Mateo is survived by his mom and dad, Malia Mei Laulu and James Victor Theorine II, his brother James (Kimo) Victor Theorine III, his grandparents, Patricia Laulu, James Victor Theorine, Annalillia Guiterrez , his aunts and uncles, Sulika (Scott) Merrell, Juan (Ann) Theorine, Rebecca (Jason Ochoa) Laulu, Perry Laulu, his cousins, Kalani Vai Laulu, Sai’peti Epomaikaimaikeakuaokalaniikeiaohanaalii Merrell, Graciann Marie Theorine and many of his extended family and friends that love him very dearly.
Funeral services will be held Tuesday, December 23, 2008 at 11 a.m. at the Price 4th – 5th Ward Building, 380 East 400 North – Price, UT. A viewing will be Monday, December 22, 2008 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Fausett Mortuary, 680 East 100 South in Price and Tuesday from 10 to 10:45 a.m. at the church prior to the services. Interment will be in the Cliffview Cemetary.

Helper Light Parade

So this weekend, we as a family, we were in the 19th Annual Helper Light Parade!!! It was really fun.

We decided to do a Cancer Awareness float and called it "This Christmas, Celebrte Life" and did it in memory of my dad.

We decorated my truck with lights, and put up a tree in the back that we decorated with the different colors of ribbons that represent the different kinds of cancer. Orange is the color that represented Leukemia, so of coarse we kinda made that color a little bit bigger and brighter!



We all also wore shirts that said "Cancer Sucks" with the girls in orange and the the boys in white. Sunny made us some bright orange scarfs and got us some reindeer antlers that lite up and sang!
It was really cold, but really fun! The little boys loved it too!

Thanksgiving, Laulu Style!!!

Thanksgiving this year was a hard one, yet at the same time, we were able to focus on some of the positive, so that was good!

Scott decided that he was going to run the 5K Huntington City Turkey Trot. This is Sai, wishing his daddy good luck!


Something to kinda help the boys (and us grown ups too!) was to send Dad letters and pictures via ballons.


So we all drew a picture and and little notes and sent them off to dad, attatched to some ballons, and watched until dad came down from heaven and got the notes!

Actually the boys really liked the whole idea, and really liked that dad got thier pictures and letters.


Kimo and Kalani decided that they were gonna draw some of papa's favorite things, like BYU Football and Motorcycles!






Here are the boys as they watching the ballons fly away, they all lined up on the 4 wheeler, and we couldnt help but want some pictures!


And here was the elephant ride, later on after we had pie! Sai and Kalani thought it was pretty cool! I thought it ws pretty cool that Scott still had the energy to be the elephant! Let alone with Kalani on there too!

Dad's Last Goodbye!

The viewing and the funeral turned out to be a wonderful experience! We will miss dad a ton but it was good to see soooo many people come and show thier love and respect! It was a wonderful tribute to dad to have so many people there! Lots of family came from all over the US, and lots a friends! We loved seeing everyone!
Again I wanted to thank the family for all of the love and support you all showed by coming to the funeral, for keeping us in your prayers! We truly appreciate everything that everyone has done for us! What a beautiful tribute the funeral was to my father! I could never thank everyone enough. It was so good seeing everyone, I only wish that we could have had enough time to sit down and visit with everyone.

Here are some of the pictures that were taken at the gravesite I thought people might like to see!

Lafoga Laulu Jr.

Price, UT - Lafoga Laulu Jr. died November 2, 2008 after a short battle with Leukemia.
Lafoga was born October 4, 1951 in Mapusaga, American Samoa to Pelu Pelu Laulu and Lesina Fuimaono.
He married the one true love of his life, Patricia Elaine Perry, on June 8, 1974, in the LDS Los Angeles Temple.
Lafoga was a true example of a person who had Christ-like attributes.
He was survived my his wife Patricia Elaine Perry, Children: Sulika (Scott) Merrell, Malia (Jim) Theorine, Rebecca (Jason Ochoa) Laulu, & Perry Laulu. His parents Pelu Pelu Laulu & Lesina Fuimaono, Sulika (Iosefa) Toia, Mei (Ramese) Maiava, Mateo (Ata) Laulu. His grandsons Kalani Vai Laulu, James Victor Theorine III, Mateo Jack Lafoga, & Sai'peti Epomaikaimaikeakuaokalaniikeiaohanaalii Merrell.
A viewing will be help Friday November 7, 2008 6-8 at the Fausett Mortuary 680 E 100 S Price, UT 84501. An additional veiwing will be held Saturday November 8, 2008 9-10:45 followed by the funeral service at 11 at the Price Stake Center, 150 S 500 East Price, UT 84501.

Its Time

Today at 4:06 am, my father passed away. It was very peaceful, and in his sleep, just the way he wanted it. I will put more information as it comes up. We are soo relieved that he is NOT suffering anymore, but will miss him with all our hearts! Love you Dad!

Goin for a Walk

So while I was in Salt Lake at the Huntsman Center Wednesday night, I got a video text from Scott stating "Dont know if you want to see this". I opened it to see my son taking some of his first steps! I was so happy and so bummed that I missed out on it! But he is my cuty pie!

Tappin for Fluid

Here are a couple of pictures of Dad getting his stomach tapped for fluid. They were able to get 6 liters of fluid off of him, which is really good because it made him more comfortable. It was really neat to watch the whole procedure!
Dad is still not doing real well. He is still receiving dialysis. But not feeling the best.

Tryin Dialysis

We started dialysis today! Dad’s liver just isn’t doin well at all and will not work, therefore making hard for the kidneys to work at all, and all of the toxins are building up in his blood making him feel like he has the worst flu ever, and also making him disoriented! For those of you that don’t know what dialysis is, it is where they pump your blood through a machine and filter out all of the bad toxins, and just put back in the good stuff. The bad thing with that is that dialysis makes you very tired, and just worn out.
The doctors are still trying to out smart his body, but so far they are having no luck, and it seems that dad just keeps getting sicker and sicker. Hopefully we will know more of what is going on tomorrow or the next day. His body just will not respond to the chemo therapy and they are not sure just what it will respond to. Dad is still fighting though, so that is a good sign!

Updates on Dad

Just to let everyone know, I started a new blog for the Laulu Family! So I will try to keep that for more of the family stuff, and this one for the Laulu/Merrell household!

But here is a little update on Dad!!!



Here is a picture of Dad, Sai and Mom. Sai was way jealous cuz Dad was eating a popsicle. I know the picture is bad, but its what I have!
Just recently, Dad's Doctors wanted to move Dad to the ICU at the U of U Hospital. Reason being was Dad's blood pressure has been extremely low the last week, and Tuesday night, it dropped to 86/44, which is way too low. So far they have been able to bring up his blood pressure a little bit, to where it is not so much of a risk, but it is still reading really low! But hopefully they can balance that along with the Chemo, the infection, and keeping his lungs working well! Poor guy!

Tag I'm it!

SO... I HAVE BEEN SO HAPPY THAT I HAVE NOT YET BEEN TAGGED. UGGG. THANKS NOELLE. I HOPE THAT NO ONE ELSE GETS THE IDEA. ANYWAY, HERE ARE MY ANSWERS.

10 YEARS AGO:
1. I was preparing to serve a mission to Seattle Washington, wondering what in the hell i was thinking!
2. I was working at Big "A" Auto Parts! & loved it!
3. I had a lot shorter fuse, and would have fought/argued with anyone!
4. I had longer hair! It was still a lot shorter than my really long hair though!
5. I decided that I didnt like Utah and was never going to move back! Yeah that worked really well!

5 THINGS ON TODAY'S LIST:
1. Pack
2. Leave for SLC
3. Go get clear protection on my NEW PHONE
4. Go see Dad & Mom
5. Check into the HILTON! (Oh I am so excited!)

5 SNACKS I ENJOY
1. Scott's Homemade Oatmeal Cookies
2. Mom's Lava Brownies
3. PF Changs Great Wall of China
4. Cold Stone Founder's Favorites
5. No Ice Cream On Andy, that is for sure!

5 THINGS I WOULD DO IF I WERE A MILLIONAIRE
1. I would pay off all my debt and QUIT MY DAMN JOB!
2. I would buy my mom and dad a house and a car!
3. I would buy a Harley, a Harley Edition F150, and a Tricked out Chrysler 300 with a bentley grill.
4. I would buy bonds for my kids.
5. I would start investing so I wouldn't need a job for the rest of my life!

5 JOBS I'VE HAD
1. Deputy Clerk/Auditor
2. Janitor
3. Coal Mine Warehouse Clerk
4. Deli Person
5. Auto Parts Sales Person


RULES:
Each player answers the question themselves. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person that tagged you know when you've answered the questions on your blog.

I TAG:
Sunny
Kati
Laurel
Lindseay
Kathy

Big Weekend @ the Huntsmans!!!

So it was a big weekend at the hospital this weekend!LOTS of family came out to show some support! Dad wasnt able to visit with a lot of them! Best of all, Gramma and Papa Laulu came with Aunty Sulika and Uncle Joe. It was really good to see them! We were also able to visit with family from Salt Lake, St. George, American Fork, California, and even Hawaii! Aunty Tuaoi came and even brought some Pulini (a samoan dessert) and snuck some in to dad, and he LOVED IT! Saturday, all of us kids (Me, Scott, Sai'peti, Malia, Jim, Kimo, Mateo, Rebecca, Jason, Kalani, Perry & Brooke!) came to celebrate dad's 57th birthday. Dad celebrated by getting Chemo, while all the kids and mom ate! Yeah we are a bunch of fat kids! Sunday, Perry and I stuck around, to keep mom company, and visit with more family! Some of the family has a singing group, and they came by to sing for dad, and did a wonderful job! But you know us, we are always beng crazy! After everyone left, we convinced Perry to do the Thizzle Dance for us, and we cracked up BIG TIME!

For those of your that dont know . . .

Some people have been wondering what is ultimately wrong with my dad, and here is the down low . . .
Dad was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia last year in August. Ususally this type of Leukemia is managable, but not cure-able. It is managed by Chemo therapy.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a cancer of the white blood cells and bone marrow. The bone marrow is the spongy inner part of bones where blood cells are produced. White blood cells arise from the marrow and circulate in the blood. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is characterized by uncontrolled growth of blood cells.

Back in June Dad was undergoing Chemo Therapy, and was not scheduled for another 3 months. For some unknown reason his CLL grew out of control, which was causing him some liver problems. He did not feel well and went into the hospital because he had signs of jaundice, and was not feeling well. He was admitted to the hospital, and then contracted pneumonia. After a week in the hospital in Price, he was tranfered to the Huntsmans Cancer Center in Salt Lake City. There they were treating him for the pneumonia and also trying to gain control again of his CLL. He continued to get really sick as they began, but now we think they are on the right track.
Dad is still really sick, but he is a fighter. He is recieving Chemo Therapy, which makes his immune system obsolete, but so far so good! He has really dont well! His jaundice levels are still really high (which make his skin and eyes a yellowish color!), but all of his other levels are begining to do better! Like the doctor said, "We're not out of the woods, but right now we can see the edge!"

We Start Chemo Today!!!

So we are starting Chemo Therapy today. They Doctors came in and said that his white blood cell levels are coming up and his liver and kidneys look like they are doing better, so they are going to give him a certian kind of Chemo, that will attack the bad cells only! So we are pretty hopeful!
He also got out his feeding tube! He was way happy for that! Mom just has to remind him to eat all his food, so they dont put him back on! He is also having some of the fluid drained off of his belly again, so that will also help him feel a little better!
I guess last night he was feeling so good, while my mom left for dinner, he called the nurse and asked for ice cream. Well ice cream isnt on his diet, but they did bring him a popsicle, and he said it tasted good!

Over the weekend!

Dad did pretty good this weekend! We went out Friday and got home late last night, and were able to spend some time with him! So that was nice! They got some of the results back about the biopsy, and it showed that his liver is full of the leukemia, so they are starting chemo therapy tomorrow! They aren’t sure how it will take, but are hopeful! He seems to be feeling better and is sitting up a little more, so that is positive! He is just always tired! It’s hard to see him like that! Mom is doing as best as she can. She still won’t leave and I don’t blame her one bit! Dad got mad at me when I told him that I was coming back later that week. I told him it was too bad cuz I want to spend time with him, and besides that, he would do the same if it was his father! He smiled and said ok. He is too cute!

Shopper Sai

This is Sai thinking he knows how to walk! He is so funny! Sai will walk with his shopping cart, but as soon as his cart gets caught on something, he will turn around and start whining! It is funny! But he still won't stand on his own.

As for dad the liver biopsy is on again! He will be getting it tomorrow, and hopefully we will know the results by the weekend!

Just keep on truckin'

Dad is starting to have fever spikes again, and not feeling the best! They have decided against the the liver biopsy just cuz he is so weak and not sure if he can handle the anesthetic. They are going to be putting a feeding tube in him today, and also extracting fluid in his stomach by needle to help him to be a little more comfortabel. They are concerned that the cancer has gotten into his liver and lungs, so they are going to do a CT scan today to see if they can see anything else. Mom is still up there with him and won't leave his side, I really don't blame her! Perry, Bec & I are going to see him tomorrow, and will find out more!

Hopeful News

Don't let the picture fool ya! This is Dad today!
Dad is doing a little better today. The Dr's came in and said that his the levels in his kidneys and liver are doing a little better today. They have scheduled a biopsy for Monday, and that will be able to tell them a lot more. Saturday was a really good day! Perry and Scott came and sat with Dad while I took mom and we went scrap bookin'! It was a nice out for mom, and dad ended up staying up all day and watching Football with the boys! He really enjoyed the BYU vs Wyoming game! He is starting to get back his appetite and finally thinking that food smells good and taste good. He is even asking for certian foods. Mom was really excited about that. He still has to drink the Ensure drinks, which he hates, and I can't blame him, but now to encourage him, they are making them into a milk shake for him. He said they still taste bad, but it helps. He is doin pretty good today. A little more tired than yesterday, but doing well!

Thought we were on the mend . . .

But we're still having a hard time! The meds for dad's pneumonia is making it hard on his kidney's and liver. They still haven't found what kind of infection that he has, and keep adjusting the doses of anit-biotic. They said that his bone marrow is not producing the stuff to fight anything! So we are still in the woods! We can see a little flicker of light, but not even close to the edge to see clearly yet! But he is trying to stay strong and positive, but its hard sometimes! But we will keep on truckin!

In my world . . .

A ton has been going on besides dad being in the hospital. This weekend we catered a marathon, and took Sunny and Scotts engagements!(I hope they turned out like they wanted them too!) Here is a sample . . .

Sai'peti is starting to stand on his own. He is too cute! Funny too! He will only stand on his own for about 5 seconds, and then try to sit down. He is not scared of anything, well except for standing on his own. This kid will push toys together to crawl up, and will climb any set of stairs he can find! I am afraid we have a rock climber on our hands! He loves to climb, even if it is mom and dad, he does really well on that too! All in all, he has been really fun! We are kinda excited to have him walk, but I am afraid that he is going to skip walking and jump right to sprinting! Time will tell!

Update on Dad

Okay here we go again.
So they got dad into the Huntsman’s Center. (For those of you that don’t know what the Huntsman Center is, here is the link http://www.huntsmancancer.org/ )It is more than wonderful! He has 5 Doctors that are assigned to him, and they come in every morning to have a little meeting and to correlate with one another, and to let mom and dad know what is going on. Its also nice because mom and dad can ask questions and they don’t have to say “I don’t know I will have to ask the Doctor”, cuz they are all right there!
This is what they have found out so far. He still has pneumonia, and is battling that as well as he can. They discovered that he has a fungal yeast infection. They know that there is something wrong with the liver, but not really sure what is going on. They don’t want to do a liver biopsy, cuz they are afraid that dad will have a hard time with bleeding.
Infectious Disease Dr brought in a team to study dad, and they decided that dad wasn’t strong enough yet. They also said that they have never seen anything like this, and they are going to have to hit the books on this one. They seem pretty confident, and did an ultra sound on some of his vital organs. They also looked at his pick, to make sure that there was no clots. They took him in for a CT scan to look at his liver and kidneys, to see if they could see anything on that. But he seemed like he was in good spirits. He was a little on edge, but they had quit giving him his happy pills, but they were starting him back up on those last night. He was really concerned about mom and didn’t want mom to stay there that much just cuz he knows that it is hard on her. I explained that hopefully this weekend she will come scrap booking with me for at least a day. We took mom out to dinner last night, to PF Changs! I love that place. Mom seemed to really have a nice time! We went with Brooke and Perry, and we were able to laugh a bit, so it was nice! You just kinda feel bad that dad can’t go, but I think it was a nice break for him too!

New Picture of Sai

We took this picture of Sai at the Mall. He was soo cute! He was turning the steering wheel just like a big boy! It was so cute!

Update on dad!

Dad was just transferred yesterday to UVRMC and they are waiting to get him a bed in SLC at the Huntsman's Center, but there are no beds available, but they think they can get him in there in the next 3 days.
They did the bone marrow biopsy and said that his bone marrow is chalked full of cancer cells. Dr. Bott gave dad a 50/50 chance, and said he had never seen the kind of cancer that he has grow so fast. Dr. Bott is very concerned, and that concerns us.
Mom is doing as well as she can. She really had a hard time when Dr. Bott came in to talk to them. As for the rest of us kids, we are pretty good. Just trying to be strong for mom and dad, but you know how that goes. Rebecca stayed they night with mom last night at the Hospital Guest House, and we are just going to rotate who will stay with mom.
The plan is to first get rid of the pneumonia, and find if there is another source of infection in his body that they are not seeing. Once he gets over that, they want to do Chemo, and see if they can't get the cancer cells to go down. So basically it is a hurry up and wait game.
I will keep everyone posted! Thanks for your love and concern! We really appreciate it all!

Lots has gone on!

Okay, here is a quick run down. . .
First of all, I just want to say that I love Boyz II Men! For my birthday, I went to the Boyz II Men concert with Sunny, Perry and Brooke, and LOVED it! & yes I will admit that I knew every stinking word, to every single song, and I danced my tail off! Thank you Sunny for one of the best presents ever! Cuz I thought we'd go to the end of the road. . . oh wait, just havin flash backs!

Second, not the best of news but I thought I better mention it, I dont know how many know, but my dad last year was diagnosed with Leukemia. He just recently had another round of chemo therapy, and for some reason, his liver, kidneys, and lungs just dont want to cooperate! He was put in the hospital on Monday, and is still there. Friday, we had a little bit of a scare, but so far, he is doing a little better, and hopefully things are on the up! I will keep everone informed, and I appreciate everyone's love and concern! You guys are the best! Hopefully, he will be able to get better soon, so Sai can love on his papa!

Birthday Party for Sai'peti

Saturday we had a Birthday Party for Sai! It was really fun, and I am pretty sure that everyone had a blast! We swam and ate really good food! Then it was time to let Sai eat his first birthday cake! That was so fun! My mom made it, and it turned out super cute! She made it into a Banana, because Sai is our little monkey that LOVES bananas, and instead of frosting, she did colored Cool Whip, with slices of bananas in it! While he finished off the cake, the other kids beat up some pinatas! After laughing until our bellies hurt, we were entertained by one of Sai's aunties and Antie Bec, me and Perry and my dad did the HAKA! Everyone loved it!