| "All My Children..." |
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| "All My Children..." |
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It's a real pleasure for me to introduce "ALL MY CHILDREN" to you. Join me as I tell you a little bit about each one of them.
Paul is also very musically inclined. From the time he was two years old, he could already sing and whistle on key and even make out instrumental licks of different songs. Paul wants to learn how to play the guitar, keyboard and drums...I believe he will someday.Marleina (a.k.a. Siki Si'i) is our daughter who falls after Paul. Her first name Marleina was given merely because her mother has always liked that name. And no, it wasn't from "Days of Our Lives" (ha! ha!). Sikineti was after her grandmother in San Francisco. And Alexandria is from her deceased great grand-aunt who goes by Matilda Emberson.
This little lady is our princess that resides in San Francisco. She lives with her grandma. Baby Siki is our vivacious, intelligent, outspoken, courageous, talented, fun-loving actress and singer. If she's not singing, she's acting out segments from all kinds of movies. Let's just hope they stay G-Rated (ha! ha!).
Anyways, this little gal is gifted in many ways. There are two top students in her class. Her teacher mentioned in a conference that Baby Siki was one of the two. The only problem was that Siki was always given extra work to keep her quiet and still. Talk about over-energetic!
Now, Baby Siki has many hobbies. She takes ballet, karate and piano lessons. She loves to perform cultural polynesian dances. She loves to sing and I'm telling you -- anywhere and everywhere. She's gone from singing in the bathtub, in the bedroom, and even in her sleep to singing in church, at dances or on stage. Girlfriend is not shy!
I guess that characteristic has helped her to succeed in so much. She was picked up by an agency and hopefully it will condition her for better use of all of her talents in the future.
This girl is always concerned about what she wears. As a matter of fact, her wardrobe outnumbers all of our other kids' put together. Thanks to her grandma, Baby Siki always looks nice. The unique thing about this little girl is her matured love. She treats and loves others on an adult level. She practically speaks and understands adult language. As a matter of fact, she has already vowed to watch over and never leave her grandma's side. She has a special mission here, and if not for her, grandma in Frisco, with all her stresses and health complications, wouldn't be so happy as she is now. That's our little girl!
JOVELANA was a name that we picked up from a National Geographic television program. This particular episode was taken in New Zealand. There was this flower that they showed called "Jovelana" and it, almost immediately, rang a special sound to our ears. In the meantime, Tia was pregnant with our fifth child. And guess what? Yep! That's right. We named our fifth child "Jovelana Sisi Kafa Muti." Sisi Kafa is, of course, her grandmother's name.
Marcus was born on October 26th, 1997. A healthy baby boy! He was named by our oldest boy, Paul, as you can tell from Marcus' name. On the 4th of November, 1996, our son, PAUL ANTONIO KEIKIIKAIKAMAIKALANI MUTI was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Through CT or CAT scan at the Kapiolani Women & Children Medical Center, Dr. Michon Morita (Neurosurgeon) discovered a tumor that was located at the pineal region of the brain. Our little family was devastated by the news that there was no other way to attain even a bit of comfort than through the Lord. Our hearts were pierced with pain to see our son's life put to a struggle.
In one week, our son was operated on twice. He was incredibly blessed. Paul survived those two major operations. He truly lived up to the powerful names given to him; PAUL...after his grandfather, ANTONIO...after his great grandfather and KEIKIIKAIKAMAIKALANI which translated as "Strength of a Heavenly Child."
Our family would like to take this opportunity to thank our friends and loved ones: Our beloved parents, Paula and Sisi, our sister Uinise and her husband Ka'au, for watching over our children while we tended to Paul. To our beloved mother, Siki, from California. To our sister and her husband, Lusi and Tom for your undying faith and prayer. To the Laie 8th Ward and Laie North Stake members, President Lester Moore and our Polynesian Cultural Center family, our aunties, uncles and cousins from the Great White North, Salt Lake City, Utah, to the eastern origin of Florida to all the aunties, uncles in Santa Ana, California, for your faith, fastings and prayers. There are many more friends and relatives out there who have been so kind and caring and we would also like to thank them.
Your faith, love and concern helped our son make it through this major crisis. He still has more challenges ahead of him, but we can only thank our Heavenly Father for prolonging the life of our son with us. Your faithful prayers strengthened our son amazingly.
On the 12th of November, one week later, Paul was discharged from the hospital and miraculously walked out with hardly any assistance and rode home to Laie to be reunited with the rest of his family.
Faka'apa'apa Lahi Atu,
Dallin, Tia and Family
The pineal gland is located in the posterior portion of the third ventricle. Pineal region tumors represent less than 1% of all primary brain tumors. However, 3% to 8% of childhood brain tumors occur in the pineal region.
The most common tumor of the pineal region is the germinoma. Germinomas represent over one-third of the tumors in this region. Germinomas of the pineal region are most common in teen-agers.
Additional tumors found in this area include other embryonal type tumors, teratomas, astrocytomas, pineocytomas, and pineoblastomas.
Embryonal tumors in the pineal region are the only brain tumors that may be diagnosed by tumor markers found in the cerebrospinal fluid. The markers are alpha-fetoprotein and beta HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin).
Symptoms are due to obstructive hydrocephalus and involvement of the optic pathways. Headache, nausea and vomiting, lethargy, and double vision (diplopia) are common.
Surgery is possible in some individuals. If surgery is not possible, biopsy alone for diagnosis is performed. The usual treatment for these tumors is radiation therapy. The germinomas in particular are very responsive to radiation therapy (radiosensitive). If hydrocephalus is present, steroids are often prescribed. A shunt procedure may be necessary if the hydrocephalus is not controlled by steroids. Chemotherapy for astrocytomas and germinomas is under investigation.
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