Merry Christmas

Pulling myself up

I can pull myself up and stand for a little while with minimal support.  Mommy and daddy gave me a lot of kisses after seeing me do that for the first time.

Feeding tube is off

As some of you might have noticed, I'm not wearing the feeding tube anymore.  It is because the tube is so annoying that I pulled it out twice in November, and then once in the beginning of Dec.  Then daddy decided not to put it back into my little noise and hoped that I would eat by mouth again.

It was a nerve wrecking experience for mommy, as she is strict when it comes to following rules.....the doctors told her that I need to eat 30oz of formula daily then she follows.....so when I did not meet the requirement the first few days after the tube was out, mommy was freaked out.....then I lost 0.8lb after just three days of pulling out the tube....mommy freaked out again (I mean FREAKED OUT!)  

Finally, my parents consulted with the doctors and specialists, and they agreed to have us continue this trial under one condition: A weekly weight check.

I'm slowly picking up with the oral eating routine since then; however, I still think the formula is yucky.  

I'm a gamer

Mommy was mad when she saw me holding the Xbox controller and told me that video games are not for babies.  Well, I'm not so sure about what mommy said and I think there's gamer blood run inside my body.  May be it is inherited from daddy.......hehehehe.....

My dog

This is my dog.  He is a Beagle and his name is Miu (a Chinese name that my parents gave him, not sure what it means though......)  I love to play with him, but he doesn't feel the same way.  He usually goes to another room when he hears me cry or scream.....so weird, but I still love him very much!

Exploring music

I love music and should move my body with the beat.  I want to be a musician (well, at least for now........)

Sitting up by myself

Mommy and daddy were screaming when they saw me sitting up by myself.  They tell me that they are so proud of me.  ^.^

Mommy's reflection

Mommy and daddy are so happy that I got to go home.  Let's the celebration begins!

Mommy tells me that she learn a lot from my last hospital stay, and she really wants to share with everyone of you.

After staying in the hospital for 31 days, Jasmine finally got discharged on 11/8/11. During this tough time, I have learnt a few very valuable lessons.

--God is in control: I knew this since day 1 when I decided to  follow Jesus Christ.  However, this experience helps solidify this idea and God reminds me once again who is the boss. God has a blueprint for everyone of us, all we could do is be humble and trust Him that HE will provide the best for us.

--God will make a way: when our family was desperately pleading God to let us go home, HE did not make it happen right away. We were disappointed and frustrated because we did not understand God's plan. God answered our prayer after we stayed in the hospital for 31 days. Miraculously, 31 days is exactly what we need; in order to be eligible for Medicad (health insurance benefit) from the Federal government! Due to my husband's unstable job situation, it is extremely important for Jasmine to have a back up insurance coverage. Praise the Lord, and HE has indeed provided the best for us.

--Be faithful: there were times that I lost faith in God and just wanted to run away from HIM. Thankfully, HE did not let me slip through. I lost my strength and faith during the third week stay in the hospital. I felt so depressed and almost wanted to give up. But God reminds me again and again that I should not give up on HIM, as HE has never given up on me. So I lifted my head up and decided to stay faithful no matter what, then God just took away my depress feeling and allowed me to press on!

--Stop complaining: one day I was chatting with another family in the hospital and I complained that I have already stayed in the hospital for "FOUR" weeks! Then the little girl from the family said, "Four weeks? That's nothing. We have been here for SEVEN months already!". I felt so embarrass at that time, as I thought my life was so miserable that I have to complain about every little things.

--Don't take things for granted: Your health, family, friends...... We should cherish them while we have them. 

--Express appreciation openly: all our love ones has shown us care and support in all sort of different channels: phone calls, Facebook messages, homemade/delivered meal, soup, dessert, drawings, greeting cards, prayers. Our strength come from all of you, and I sincerely thank you and I don't mind to say it over and over again. I have never experienced so much love, and Jasmine is so lucky to have so many people who love her so much!

Our journey doesn't stop here, so we will continue to seek guidance from God and remain faithful. 

Not ready to go home yet

So at last the doctor forbid the idea of sclerotherapy, because Jasmine's drainage output has decreased. Most importantly, Jasmine was actually so active that she had successfully detached the drainage tube from her body.
Without the tube, some of the fluid got collected and created a little bump on her chest. Surgeons and doctors want to keep an eye on it and make sure that it won't grow in size or cause infection. Then the doctors also mention that her immune protein is low and she would need to inject IVIG(immune protein) weekly. How long will the treatment last? We don't really know, as that have to depend on Jasmine's test result. Last but not least, specialist from infection team will try to switch Jasmine's antibiotics from IV to oral. We are not sure when will they begin that switch, but they would need to spend couple days to monitor Jasmine's condition after the switch 

With everything mentioned above, it comes to a conclusion that we have to remain in the hospital for a longer period of time.

Besides Jasmine's condition, there are more hardship that had happened recently in our family. Super tough time, but we as a family are keeping our spirit up. We learnt that although we might not understand God's plan, but we can 100% sure that He would only prepare the best things for us. Challenges are not blocking stones to us, instead they should be stepping stones to achieve higher things. Lee's family will not let the devil beat us so easily!!!!!

We are thankful thatJasmine is doing better each day. She is more like her old self now - happy, playful.  We are also super thankful that we have a lot of support from family, friends, brothers and sisters in Christ. I can never say enough "thank you" to all those lovely people. 

Happy Halloween

I'm feeling a lot better today, and mommy allows me to take over today's post.
Happy Halloween everybody, I'm all dressed up and ready for Trick or Treat.  Are you?

Updates 10/27/11

Haven't update Jasmine's condition for a while, because there aren't too much progress and I'm physically and mentally exhausted. Jasmine's potassium and sodium level are stable now with the help of medication. She is still on few kind of antibiotics; in order to fight off any potential infection that she might has on her mass. There were days that Jasmine's blood count was low and almost needed a blood transfusion. Fortunately, she is able to create more red blood cells on her own these couple days (although is still not in the normal range). 
The doctors and us had a conference last Wed and here's their plan:
--continue to perform blood draw and monitor Jasmine's blood test result
--if everything looks good through the weekend, then the doctors will move to the next step: sclerotherapy


Sclerotherapy : using medications to reduce swelling and infection. Sclerosing Agents are injected into certain large cysts to reduce their size. This mean the cysts is not removed, but scars down on itself son that growth stops. 

If everything goes according to the plan and no complications occur, it means--two more weeks and we could go home!

Jasmine's potassium level is stable

Jasmine's potassium level is finally stable with the help of medication. So why are we still in the hospital? 


1. There are still pending blood test results
2. Doctors still couldn't figure out the reasons behind all these (I doubt they will ever find out the reason.....and I surely hope this is not one of the requirement that is retracting us from leaving. Because if it is, we will be here forever)
3. Jasmine has been getting a lot of IV fluid, and it causes her mass on her chest grow bigger. Now the doctor is trying out a new medicine on her for three days, and hopefully it will help decrease the size of the mass.
4. If the medicine doesn't work, then they will perform a procedure on Jasmine. It involves poking several pin size holes on Jasmine's chest; in order to drain out fluid from the mass. (if we have to go to this step, it means we have to stay even longer!)

Is a mystery

We are still in the hospital as Jasmine's potassium level and blood count are not stable. Besides, we still have to wait for the blood test results to come back and hopefully the doctors could figure out the reasons behind all these. 
Jasmine is always a mystery to the doctors:
Unknown cause for her lymphatic malfunction 
Unknown cause for her unwillingness to eat orally
Unknown cause for her high potassium level and all the other wacky numbers from her blood tests
God's plan is always a mystery to us:
Unknown cause for giving us a baby with special medical need
Unknown cause for letting Jasmine suffer from all the medical procedures
Unknown cause for giving us challenge after challenge 
The only "known" factor is LOVE
-endless support and love from:
Family
Brothers and sisters in Christ
Friends.....BFF......
Jasmine....even though she has to go through so much, she is a true trooper as she would smile back to us and even comfort us by touching our faces
God.....even though He let us go through so much, He still provide us strength, peacefulness from time to time....Without him, I don't think we will still be alive......

Jasmine is back in the hospital

10/7 Friday 
10am:  Follow up appointment  & blood test @ Seattle Children's
1pm:  Blood test result is back--Potassium level is at risky level, sodium level is low, blood count is low, white blood cell count is super high
2pm: Doctor is very worried about Jasmine's condition and transfer us to the ER 
6pm: Have blood transfusion, transfer to ICU
10/7-10: Blood test every six hours.  Various tests followed and still couldn't figure out the reason behind the poor blood test result.

Children from our church are so thoughtful, they have sent us a lot of drawings for encouragement.










10/10 afternoon: Transfer to regular room.  Blood test twice a day, but still no answer


10/11.........still no answer

Luckily, our little warrior is still trying her best to keep her spirit up

Happy birthday, Mommy

 I'm so glad that I got to celebrate mommy's birthday in our own house.

Happy birthday!

We are home!

Jasmine was discharged from the hospital on Monday 9/26. We were all so happy that we finally got to go home. 


























I bet Jasmine feels very happy about that too, as I finally see her smile again after we got home and laid her down on our bed. She even hold the zippy cup and drink from it by herself. 
Hopefully, she will feel better every day and eventually go back to her old eating habit. Right now, she would only take couple spoonful of baby food and still doesn't want to drink milk from the bottle. As a result，she is still eating through the feeding tube. 
Thank you for everyone's continuous support and prayers.

09/25/11 Jasmine's condition update

My husband and  I really miss bringing Jasmine to church for Sunday service. But we are optimistic that we could do it very soon! Since we can't go to church to worship our Lord, daddy decides to do it in the hospital. We read some bible verses, sing some praise songs, and pray together as a family. It is such a joyful and peaceful time. 
Jasmine is doing pretty well today except she still hasn't gain any weight back. She is so skinny now that I really hope she could feel more comfortable and start to eat more when we go home. 
The only episode that happened today is placing the feeding tube. I was supposed to learn how to do it but I got so emotional even before it has started. At last, I have to step out from the room and have my husband take over . Once again, daddy did an excellent job!

09/24/11 Jasmine's condition update

My weekend plan? Staying in hospital. My next weekend plan? Play and laugh with my little princess at our own home. 

The doctors are discussing again if they have to continue monitoring Jasmine in the hospital. If not, she probably can get discharge on Monday. 

Feeding pump training-checked
Practice on changing bloody dressing-checked
Putting the feeding tune into Jasmine-um.....TBD....probably tomorrow.....

Above are the three things that parents must learn before Jasmine can be discharged. 

Another episode today as Jasmine throws up again after feeding and she has a minor fever but fortunately it is gone after awhile. She is now in a pretty good mood and we really hope that she will keep up the good mood and tolerate all her feedings. So that we could get to go home next week.

09/23/11 Jasmine's condition update

Jasmine has her MRI done today. The result indicates that although the mass on her neck looks bigger, it is not dangerously close to the air way. Therefore, we shouldn't worry too much about her having breathing problem later on. However, her esophagus got pushed a bit due to that mass and the doctors think that it might be the reason why Jasmine is not willing to eat.
Anyway, Jasmine will have to keep the feeding tube with her before she is willing to eat on her own again. And the scariest thing is that I have to learn how to put in the feeding tube!!! 
Besides the MRI, the doctor also performed a throat scope on her. I have to step out of the room, as I really don't want to see another equipment being insert into my little's girl body forcefully. Of course Jasmine doesn't like that either, but the bright side is that the test result come out positive.

09/22/11 Jasmine's condition update

Another tough day..........

Jasmine continues with her tube feeding, but the poor girl throws up at one of the feeding sessions.  Then she feels so uncomfortable that she just cries non stop, which scares the heck out of me.  At last the nurse calms her down by injecting a stronger pain relief medicine. 

After all the drama, I almost have an emotion break down.  Fortunately, I have a lot of supportive friends who help me through it, and I'm still alive at this point.  During my short break from the hospital, my husband told me that Jasmine's temperature is a bit high.  That totally freaks me out again but her temperature is back to normal after 15 mins.  Due to cautious reasons, the doctor decides to run a blood test on Jasmine.  Poor Jasmine has to suffer four pokes before the nurse could get sufficient blood amount for testing. 

Since the mass on Jasmine's neck got larger after the surgery, the doctor has scheduled another MRI tomorrow.  I know everyone has been praying hard for Jasmine and our family......don't mind me saying this again and again....please continue to keep our family in prayer.  Thank you.

09/21/11 Jasmine's condition update

Jasmine has a swallow study today, and the result indicates that she is swallowing fine. However, we still couldn't figure out why she won't eat from a bottle and eat a lot less than usual. 
Jasmine's doctor requests us to feed her 5 times a day. We would try to feed her first (usually she would eat about 50ml of food with spoon...absolutely no bottle or zippy cup) then the rest will be fed by tube. So far she is doing ok....would throw up occasionally but she did gained 0.07 kg today! 
The doctor gave her antibiotics to control her minor infection on the wound. She has already use that for two days and she needs to take it for five more days in order to fully utilize the drugs. 

09/20/11 Jasmine's condition update

It has been a week since Jasmine's surgery and she is still in the hospital. Jasmine is still not quite willing to eat and the doctors have decided to put in a feeding tube today. It was not a pretty scene and I was asking myself "what have I done to my little girl?" " She was fine all along....did I rush on the surgery?" "what have I done to my little girl?"
Jasmine vomits out a bit of her food for her second tube feeding. I really hope that she would get use to the system as soon as possible and keep all the food in her tummy. 

09/19/11 Jasmine's condition update

Jasmine is still not willing to take the bottle, but at least willing to have two small meals that are fed with spoon.  Hopefully, her appetite will get better, then she will catch up with her nutrient intake and avoid the feeding tube.  Since Jasmine is still not eating very well, she still has an IV intact to her.  She is also taking antibiotics, because the doctors are afraid that her wound will get infected.

A nutritionist and an occupation therapist will come re-evaluate her tomorrow, and hopefully we will get a good result.

09/18/11 Jasmine's condition update

Jasmine is still unwilling to eat, so she still has an IV attached to her little body. All she has today is a small container of baby food.....well, positive side is that she at least eat once today, the negative side is that she is still eating a lot lesser than what she would normal eats.
Her weight loss is not very significant today but it still worries me. I just hope the doctors would be more aggressive and try to find a resolution. I really really want her to eat!
It seems like her pain level has increased, as she is pretty upset and cranky today. Is heartbreaking to see my little girl cries and I just wish that I could suffer for her. 
I just continue to pray and hope that God will listen to my prayer and heal my little girl.......God, please answer my prayer!

09/17/11 Jasmine's condition update

Jasmine has a better mood today, she would smile and play with us occasionally. Step by step, she is acting more like herself.  However, she is still unwilling to eat. She has lost some weight already and I'm really worry that she will continue to lose weight and won't get enough nutrients if she doesn't start to catch up with her eating.

Please keep Jasmine in your prayer and pray that she would eat again and get the nutrients that she needs for her recovery.

My little brave warrior!

09/16/11 Jasmine's condition update

Tough tough day today.
After smiling at me in the morning and being called the cutest baby in the hospital, Jasmine refuses to eat and vomits out whatever goes into her tummy.
Doctor has to put an IV into Jasmine now, so that she will get hydrated and hopefully have better control on the pain relief.

Please pray for Jasmine and hope that she will eat by herself again and keep everything in her tummy.

09/15/11 Jasmine's condition update

Breathing tube got removed this morning and she has been doing fine with breathing on her own. 
She was bleeding quite a bit around the wound, as she is not on sleepy drugs anymore and she is just super active!
Despite the bleeding, she is doing very well and the doctors decided to release her from ICU and now staying in a normal room. Hooray!

09/14/11 Jasmine's condition update

Jasmine is still sleeping with breathing tube intact in ICU. Everything is well, except for a bit of swelling around the air way. Doctors will keep monitoring her and hope to take out the breathing tube by tonight.

4:22pm. The tube needs to stay in because of the swelling. :(

My first surgery

So my doctors at Seattle Children's have finally decided that is about time for my first surgery.  This surgery involves removing the mass on my chest and back.  The doctors tell me that I will be quite tire and weak after the surgery, so I'm handing the keyboard over to mommy.  She will help me update the blog and keep you guys posted.

Praise the Lord! Surgery is a success. But for cautious reason, Jasmine will be staying in the ICU tonight. 

Please kindly continue to pray for the little warrior. Pray that she won't feel too much pain after she wakes up from the drugs. Pray that she would have a smooth recovery (no fluid leakage from the wound, no infection, normal blood sugar and oxygen level.)

Thank you all for the continuous care and concerns.

2nd hair cut

I think daddy is in love with cutting my hair, as I remember only a few months ago that the "First hair cut" blog was posted.

Anyway, I think daddy does a much better job this time.  I guess he is a real pro now.

Trying solid food for the first time

I have been drinking milk for six month and now my parents want to change my diet.  What are they thinking? And what is this? Yuck!

First hair cut

Daddy says that my hair is getting too long and is about time to get a hair cut.  He also tells me that he is a pro.  I'm not sure what he is talking about and here's the end result.

You guys be the judge!

Going out of town

My first time going out of town and I'm so ready for it.  All buckle up! Vancouver, BC here I come!

Arrive to the hotel and the bed is huge, I mean HUGE! I'm going to have so much fun rolling on it.

Vacation.....have some milk, watch a little TV, and have a sweet dream....what a life.

Happy Mother's Day

This is my first time celebrating Mother's day with mommy and grandma.  I love you both!

Happy 100th day

I feel the love from everyone.  Thanks for coming to my 100th day celebration.

Happy Chinese New Year

Happy Chinese New Year
Thanks to all the uncles and aunties for the red pocket money ^.^

First tummy time

Daddy and mommy say I need to exercise, and I was like what??? So they put me on this play mat thingy, and it feel so comfortable...

It is so comfortable that this is the end result

Zzzzzz..............exercising in my dream

I'm going home with mommy and daddy!

Yeah! I'm finally got to go home after spending seven days in the hospital.  Mommy and daddy are so happy and prepare some fancy clothes for me!

A+ for my first test!

After being seen by a lot of specialists, the doctors have me sit in my car seat for two hours.  Mommy and daddy tell me that it is a test.  In order to go home, I must do well in the test.  Man.......I'm only a week old and I'm having my first test??? 

Well, I guess it isn't a very hard test, as all I do is just sleep (Zzzzz......).  I think I slept way beyond two hours.  

Go to Seattle Children's hospital

After staying in the NICU at Overlake Hospital for three days, the nurse is putting me in a fancy box.  I see mommy and daddy waves at me and tell me that I'm going for a ride.

All buckle up, and off we go!!!!

Welcome Jasmine to the world 01/11/2011

Welcome Jasmine to the world!
01/11/2011
Weight: 8.8lb

Just like what the doctors had expected when I was still in mommy's tummy, I'm diagnosis with Lymphatic Malformation (LM). I'm not quite sure what LM means, but here's what the doctors had told mommy and daddy:

LMs do not invovle blood vessels.  Instead, they involve the lymphatic, or body fluid, system.  They result from a blockage or defect of the lymphatic vessels as they are forming.  When the lymphatic channels are blocked, this results in excess fluid build-up in both the t issue and the vessels.  When this is close to the surface of the skin, you can see a prominent enlargement of the area.


My affected areas are all on the left side of my body: neck, arm, chest.  The condition doesn't really bother me, the only thing that bother me is that I can not spend more time with mommy and daddy as the nurse is taking me to the NICU for further observation!