Hey Grandpa,

I wanted to up-date you with how I have been. I have been okay. As you know we met with Dr. Copeland, the one that will do my transplant, almost two weeks ago. He is going to have his people set up four-days of testing. One of the tests is another cath. I HATE THOSE!!!! But Trevor calls me hopscotch, because I hop around. The bruise is pretty big and I can't walk very well, but I like it when he calls me that. It's cute so there is something good to come of it. :D They are going to see how bad my condition is and where I will be placed on the list. They told me I should be on the list by the end of August. To be honest... I am a little scared. It makes everything seem so real. Now that the ball is rolling. It's definitely intense... Like camping (In-tents). L0L, sorry :D
Nothing really new has been happening, we are still just playing the waiting game.
Today I did get to take off my 30-day heart monitor. :D OH it feels so good to have off. The stickers would itch so bad. The area that the stickers would go is all red and sticky. I hope I never have to do one of those again. I am sure I will though. :D well there is nothing else really to say. As soon as we hear something I will let you know :D

Love,

Angie

Hey, Dad.
I am sending you some pics that I took yesterday for Evie's birthday. We had a good time with Aimee and her family. They are good friends to us.
Today I spent the day planning our Nor Cal trip. I'm pretty excited. I have a 1/2 an inch of papers that I printed.
Anyway, I'm sending the pics now.
Love,
Mel

Today my Evie turns 6 years old. Aimee has invited us over to her house for some swimming, hot dogs, cake, and shrimp. Evie loves shrimp. I think it is so sweet for Aimee to do this. Anyway, since Evie can't read too well yet, I can tell you that we are going to buy her a swing set for her birthday. She has to wait until Saturday to get it though because that is the soonest Eddie can put it together.

We still haven't heard back from the cardiologist. I keep meaning to call them and give them a little piece of my mind. The message line where I left a message said they will return my call within an hour. I am not looking forward to the fight against insurance companies, hospitals and doctors offices that is to come.

Well, I am going to be late if I don't go get in the shower.

Love to all!

-Melissa

Dad, I started to send you some pictures that I did of the kids. Then I saw a news tease on the Yahoo home page that said Ethiopian crops are being destroyed by locusts. So, being the curious girl that I am, I did a google search for pestilence and the last days. I couldn't necessarily find a bible passage that talked about pestilence being a sign of the times. I tell you what though, you start off looking up one thing and there are so many rabbit trails to go down when it comes to prophecy. I read Mark 13. Good passage. I recently heard a teaching by Bob Coy where he talked about the increase of diseases and the resurgence of diseases that have been long gone like small pox. He got his information from the CDC! Anyway, I don't know why I went off on that subject. I haven't even been a devout follower of end times studies. God keeps putting things in my path when it comes to them though. I think it would be so cool if Jesus came back before Angie needed her transplant or even got sick. We were just finishing a study of Daniel when she got diagnosed. One of the first thoughts I had was, "Jesus could come back before this is an issue." Then someone on her prayer chain posted the same thing. I like God.

Well, I am sending the pictures now. They didn't come out as good as I had wanted. One day I am going to buy myself some lighting equipment.

Love,

-Mel

We got this today, I thought I would share it

Dear Dad,

I hope you had a nice Father’s Day.

This morning I woke up because Angela was telling me that she didn’t feel good. She was shivering uncontrollably, her face and her hands were totally white and she had been throwing up. She said that she had cramps. I took an ECG and sent it in. They said that there wasn’t anything on there that they needed to call the doctor over. I also called her cardiologist but haven’t heard back from him. She is better now. I wonder if cramps could do all that?

I feel really bad for Katlyn. She feels like she is a slacker because she’s not enrolled in college or has a job. I really need her here with us but I don’t want her to have to put her life on hold for the family’s sake. Today she was going to go down and enroll in the community college. Now she said that she doesn’t want to go because she is scared about what happened this morning. I think she is going to try to call and get some information over the phone.

On a lighter note, did I tell you that we are planning a trip to Nor Cal in July? We don’t really have the money for it, but once Angie is listed, we are going to be stuck in this area for a while. So, we are just doing it anyway. Eddie is the only one of us who has ever been up there. Funny to live all those years in So Cal and to have driven all the way to New York but never made it to San Francisco. Anyway, we’re excited to see the northern coast and the redwoods. Of course I FINALLY get to see Candlestick Park too. J I had mentioned taking a trip to one of the transplant team. She said that we could take trips while she is listed. We would just have to let them know so they can remove her from the list while we’re gone! Who would do that?!?

Hopefully, I will take some pictures of the kids today. I have been waiting for the sun to be more to the north so the light was right.. We’ll see.

Love you guys!

-Mel

Dear, Dad:
Thank you for keeping the blog site alive until we can come back to it.. Say "hi" to mom for us. :)
Love,
-Mel.

We Are Removing Ourselves As "Owners" Of This Blog

We have given this site to a third party who is in no way affiliated with the fund raising for Angela. None of us any longer have access to change, add to, or remove anything from this site. The third party is the sole person in control of this site and can do with it as he wishes.

The Transplant Team Meeting

This is Angie, Rainna, and Evelyn coloring at the doctors appointment. We met with the transplant team from UMC yesterday. I really liked them. Dr. Copeland is a soft spoken older man. He's one of those people that I know I can easily get along with. They reviewed all of the medical records for Angela. He agreed that she has restrictive cardiomyopathy and that she doesn't have anything else short of a transplant that we can do to fix it. He ordered a series of tests that are going to require us to be in Tucson for 4 days. After they have reviewed the tests they will decide if they are going to do the transplant. They will send everything in to our insurance company. Once they get approval from the insurance, they will call us back in. They will go over all of the test results with us and let us know if they are going to do the transplant. We pretty much knew all of this and have even blogged about it. However, there were some new things that we learned. I asked about the 2-3 years average time on the waiting list. One of the coordinators said that because of Angela's weight, her blood type and her age her wait won't be 2-3 years but shorter. We knew that they match donors with recipients in the same weight "range" but we didn't know the range. The coordinator said that the range was + or - 20 lbs from Angie's weight. Angie weighs 108. I think that is a pretty good sized pool of people. We asked if Angie could be airvac ed to UMC. They said that was definitely something that we could do. That means that we don't have to relocate and put Angela in a position to hurry up and make new friends. We also nailed down some time frames. The testing will probably get done in about 6 weeks. By the time the tests come back, the team reviews it, the insurance approves the surgery and we are called back in to meet with the transplant team, we are looking at the end of August to be listed. This is a good time for us. We have been holding off in reminding everyone about the "family" get together at Huntington Beach in August until we knew if we could make it. Well, we can so it's on! Relient K and Skillet are going to be at the Harvest Crusade that weekend too! Relient K is Katlyn's favorite band.

Thanks for reading this.

And We're Back! (Thank you Clever Trevor!)

Angela's cardiologist Dr. Shah called a couple of days ago. Angie was able to discuss the pains she had been having with him. He said that he thinks they are just growing pains. Her monitor she is wearing hasn't shown anything abnormal. We trust his judgment completely. So Angela has been alleviated of a good amount of worry. She thought that her disease had progressed and was worried that it had deteriorated too quickly.

We're excited to meet with Dr. Copeland tomorrow. They bumped our meeting from 9:45 to 11. We should have an update on here sometime tomorrow afternoon. Please keep us in prayer. I am a little anxious that this meeting is going to make everything too real.

I am going to have some shirts made. Originally we were thinking about doing it as a fundraiser. Now I just want people to be able to feel like they are part of Angie's team. The cost is under $10 per shirt. I did a little research last night. Colored shirts are a little more than white and tanks are a little more than t-shirts. If you would be interested in ordering one, would you let me know? I would love to buy everyone one and give them away, but we just can't afford that. I need to get an idea of how many and of what type to order.

Until tomorrow then...

Thank You!

First of all, I want to Thank Everyone who participated in the Candle Fundraiser and to all who have donated. What a blessing you are and I pray that you will be blessed. If you weren't able to donate or buy a candle, I want to thank you too, for your prayers and support for the Olivas' family. Your prayers are holding them together and giving them strength. Thank You, Thank You! God Bless You All!

The Candle Fundraiser is going to be coming to a close, June 15th. If you want to still buy a candle, we are still taking orders. If you are selling them and need a few extra days, please let us know, so that we can see about keeping it open for a couple more days. Or if you want to buy, but need a few more days, again, please just let us know.

I also wanted to let everyone know that the family will be going to a very important meeting/doctor visit on June 18th. They are feeling a little anxious about it. Please hold them up in prayer this week as they wait for that appointment and then especially on that day. The doctor that they are seeing is possibly the Surgeon that will be doing Angela's surgery. Pray that they have peace and get all the answers that they are wanting and needing.

Here is the information again about the candles.

Blush Candles are richly-scented soy blend candles. They burn more cleanly than other candles, and are made right here in the USA. These are perfect hostess gifts, teacher gifts, and great welcome gifts for out-of-town wedding guests. 50% profit goes to Angela.

Candle Scents that we are selling:
Aloha, Blackberry Vanilla, Clean Linen, Lavender & Sage, Mandarin & Mango, Orange Blossom, Pineapple Vanilla, Pomegranate, Sweet Pea, Snickerdoodle Cookie, Sun & Sea, and Vanilla Bean.

Prices and Sizes:
9oz $12.95 (plus tax 6.3%)
16oz $17.95 (plus tax 6.3%)

Examples:
One 9oz Candle $12.95 plus .83 cents for tax.
Two 9oz Candles $25.90 plus $1.63 for tax.
One 16oz Candle $17.95 plus $1.13 for tax.
Two 16oz Candles $35.90 plus $2.26 for tax.
One 9oz + One 16oz Candle $30.90 plus $1.95 for tax.

For EMAIL and OUT OF STATE ORDERS please contact Valerie!
valerie@vjcandles.com


I can't say THANK YOU enough for the prayers! You have blessed the Olivas' family and I so much!!!

Aimee Oliphint

We Have An Appointment

I spoke to the transplant coordinator from UMC (Tucson) today. Everything is a "go" with my insurance. So, they made us an appointment with the transplant surgeon for next Thursday. From what I understand, we will meet with him and if he believes that Angie's heart condition could lead to her death within the next year, he will send us to UMC to do the 3 days of tests. If the tests come back that she does have restrictive cardiomyopathy and that there isn't another cause for her heart issues (like an infection) then they will list her. Angie's cardiologist Dr. Shah (LOVE him!) said that the probability of it being another source for her heart problems is very unlikely. Wouldn't that be nice though? :) I'm not sure how long it will take to start the testing. I'm not sure how long it will take for them to review the tests and list her. Part of me is hoping that it takes until the end of August so we can go to CA for Angie's 16th, a family get together at the beach and the Harvest Crusade. Another part of me thinks, "the sooner she's listed, the better." I am so thankful that we only have to wait a few days for this appointment.
We never made it to Tucson yesterday. The 10 freeway was closed. It took us 3 hours to get 86 miles. We eventually just turned around so Eddie didn't beat us home. Rai was not happy to be in her car seat. On a positive side, we made a list of fast food places and gas stations that we passed for future reference. It was nice to get out of the house too. OK, well I just wanted to update you all.

Angie ordered herself a salad because Sharon told her that she would have to start eatting healthier.

This was how Rai was for a good part of the 3 hours.

We're Outta Here!

OK, so it's summer break. Katlyn's graduated. We have a car here during the day. This house is making me crazy. So the girls and I are taking a jr. road trip today. We haven't decided where, but it will probably be to go down and check out what Tucson looks like. Whoo-hoo! So long domestic prison! :) We'll post pics. Seize the day, ya'll!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

Today is my baby sister's, Rainnna Rose, very first birthday!!!! YAY!!!! We are celebrating by cleaning carpets! Hey! she will be thankful for it when she doesn't put something gross in her mouth! :D
We cannot believe she is one year old already! It is so insane. As my mom has said, she has had 17 1/2 years of raising kids.... only 17 more to go! lol I have learned from her. ONE GENERATION OF KIDS!!!

Our Logo

...or some version of this. We are planning on having t-shirts and tank tops made. This will be on the front and Angie's verse (Psalms 73:26) will be on the back.

As Angie said in her post, we received a packet from the hospital in Tucson a couple of days ago. They said that we should read through the packet so it would answer any questions we might have. I didn't want to hear any statistics so I was a little leery of reading it. God doesn't work based on statistics. Still, after reading through some of the information, it took me a couple of days to remember that. (I haven't even finished reading it.) I can tell you that the average wait time on the list for a heart is 2-3 years. Even typing that, my heart is sinking. Angie has handled that like a trooper. I don't know why it upsets me so bad and she acts like it's no big deal. I think I had it in my head that she would have her heart in 12-18 months. One of the other things that this wonderful information contained was a list of things that she is going to have to go through after the surgery. She will have weekly heart biopsies for the first 2 months. She has to take her temperature frequently to check for infection. Her immune system will be weakened so she is more susceptible to infections. After it is all said and done she will have to face complications from her medicine like low back pain, compression fractures, dizziness, mood swings, cancer, ulcers, hypertension, kidney disease, gallbladder disease, cataracts, glaucoma, gingivitis, pneumothorax, obesity and diabetes. The next sentence on this paper says, "There may be additional problems which are not listed, but these are the most common." Kind of like getting hit over the head, huh? That's how I felt. I don't mean to depress anyone. This is an easy way of letting all of my friends and family know what Angie is going to be facing for the rest of her life.

I should tell a joke or something to end this on a not-so-depressing note.

How about a verse?

Psalm 46:1-3 "God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah"

My dad PhotoShopped this for us. Thank you, Dad! Angie's has 5 hearts to remind her that the five of us love her.

Are you like Moses and his people.... DON'T BE!!!!

Sorry, I know we have not written in a while. :/ it's Angie!

The doctors have me on a ECG machine and I HATE IT!!!!! ugh! It itches me!!!!! You have to push a button to make it record the ECG, well it makes a loud annoying noise! then it will beep. :D It's very loud and everyone around you can hear it, then they ask you what is happening.:D ugh! l0l

Today, I went to church, *well now its Monday so...* Yesterday, I went to church :D Troy Rud spoke, Oh he is my favorite. He talked about Moses,and how the trip to the promise land was only suppose to be 11 days. But due to the hearts of the people, God pro-longed it. They would get mad at God and did not put there trust in him. Trevor kept looking at me (Don't you hate when you have the person you like convict you like that! :D I am thankful for it though) It really got to me though, because I have been having a hard time. I have been asking the why question a lot. That is not the right attitude I need to put more trust into the Lord.

Yesterday, we received a booklet in the mail. It was all about what to expect from the transplant. My mom read it. She told me a couple of things. I have a very hard road ahead. God has put some amazing people in my life though that will help me get through it all. As I have been reminded of tonight ;D

On Friday, we had a Candle Party. It got me to tear up. There were people there I have only talked to a couple of times, and people I have never seen. A lady made bracelets, another did pedicures. One opened her house. And all these people gave up part of there day to come. It's amazing to see everyone that has helped. Thank you to everyone. Even if it's just one prayer that you have prayed for me, that is more than I could ask for! Thank you!

The Word For Today Is...

We had Gayle Erwin as a guest teacher at church a few weeks ago. He told a story of a leader who wanted to get an encouraging message out to his followers. However, he only had the ability to send one word. After some careful thought he chose the word, "others." After service, Gayle gave away bumper stickers that say "others" on them. We have 7 or so of them stuck around our house. It says in the bible that in the last days, people will be lovers of themselves. I know, for our family, that is definitely true. We're really good at throwing pity parties for ourselves. I am trying to teach the girls (and get some practice at it myself) that happiness is found in doing for others rather than focusing on ourselves. Yesterday I was reading some of the comments people have posted on here. I thought, "I don't even know some of these people yet they are praying for my daughter." I want to be able to pray for you as well. We do pray general prayers for everyone who has shown an interest in Angie. If you have something that you are going through, please post it or you can email us at fadinge@yahoo.com. We WILL pray for you.

As an update...I finally tracked down the transplant coordinator from Tucson. She said that she is sending Angie's case to the financial people from the hospital. They are going to contact my insurance to make sure she is approved for Tucson. That takes about 2 weeks (not happy about that). After that, we will go in and have a consultation with the head surgeon. They are aiming for the 18th for that consultation. Once we have met with the surgeon, they will set up the testing they want Angie to have done. Baby steps. Very slow baby steps. Still it is steps and I need to remember that my God is in control, not the coordinators or insurance company or surgeons. I am learning patience.

Today Makes 3 Weeks

So today makes it 3 weeks since we saw the coordinator. She had told us that it would take 2-3 weeks to hear from the transplant people in Tucson. We are waiting for them to call us in to begin the process of getting Angie listed. I woke up this morning with that song from Jeopardy playing in my head. Poor Aimee came over yesterday and I was such a grouch. I'm not good at waiting. I talked to the coordinator (Sharon) on Friday. She told me that it took a few days for her to send the information to Tucson. Realistically it has only been a week and a half, she said. She did say that she now knew the name of my insurance case worker as well as the surgical coordinator in Tucson. I was supposed to get an email with that information. The email never came. So we called her and left a message yesterday to remind her that we were expecting an email. Still nothing. Sharon is a real sweety so I'm not trying to bash her. I am just frustrated. ANY something new would help feel like we're making progress.

Angela has had a few different episodes that have scared us. I talked about them in an earlier post. Last night she was crying in bed saying that her chest and back hurt. Sharon had told us that if there are things that we can do to lessen the pain, it is rib pain not heart. Heat helped so we didn't go to the ER. It would still make me feel a WHOLE lot better to get her thoroughly checked out. That's what they are supposed to do in Tucson. Again I hear that Jeopardy song.

Anyway, either I'm venting or cautioning people who may see me. :)