Sweet Annabel Received Her Angel Wings

Annabel Leigh Villadiego

Born April 30, 2009 at 7:20 AM

Received her Angel Wings

December 10, 2012 at 6:30 PM

Forever in our hearts.

Funeral services have been arranged.

Time: Friday, December 14 at 3pm

Location: Bluebonnet Hills

5725 Colleyville Blvd  Colleyville, TX 76034.

Annabel is sick :(

Annabel suffered a cardiopulmonary arrest on Wednesday morning and was resuscitated. She was airlifted to Cook Children's Hospital in Ft Worth where she is in the PICU. She is on a ventilator and her lungs continue to be sick.

Tonight, as you lay your heads down to sleep, please include Annabel in your prayers.

For regular updates please like her page at www.facebook.com/TeamAnnabel

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Veterans Day!

Thank you, Veterans!

Thank you, Paw Paw!

Two More Days til Halloween!

Howdy, Pardner!

What is this thing on my head?

Nine More Days til Halloween!

The countdown continues...starring Annabel as:  The Stinky Pirate!  The second pic is our favorite.  :)

Arrrr, matey!

Shiver me timbers!

The Two Annabels!

Annabel Leigh meets Annabel Grace!

Annabel had a very special visitor a few weeks ago...a beautiful little girl named Annabel Grace.  Like our Annabel, Annabel Grace has Full Trisomy 18.  She is now seven years old and she is truly amazing!

Before we were blessed with our Annabel, we were unaware of Trisomy 18.  Of course it was a complete shock to receive the news that our newborn baby was 'incompatible with life'.  So we brought Annabel home with us on Hospice and we made plans to love her and enjoy every precious moment until she was gone.  As a mother, that is really all that I could do at the time; I was unable to read and research Trisomy 18 or reach out to other parents, etc.  My mind was consumed with the daily care of Annabel while my heart was so full of love yet it felt broken, too.  Thankfully, my husband Jorge (ever the stubborn and resourceful man) set out to find out anything and everything regarding Trisomy 18 to help us in our journey.  He somehow found Annabel Grace's blog and after reading it we were filled with so much hope!  He even contacted Annabel Grace's mother Cathy a few times when we needed some general help and information.

So this meeting of the two Annabels was particularly special for us!  We visited and let the girls play with each other and though the visit was far too short, we had a lovely time!  Please enjoy the pics below of Annabel Grace with our Annabel Leigh.  And as usual, Ava had to join in and get in the photos, too!  Thank you to Annabel Grace's nurse for taking the pictures for us!

From left to right:  Cathy, Annabel Leigh (Stinky), Annabel Grace, Ava, Carrie

Stinky was all about touching Annabel Grace!

Stinky, touching again!

And who is that scary skelebones in the background?

23 More Days til Halloween!

Stinky and her New AFO's!

Stinky got some new AFO's!  She has grown so we had to get a bigger size.  We had to get her some new shoes too, she's now wearing size 5!  Yay, go Stinky!  For those who don't remember, the AFO's are little leg braces that she wears while in her stander.  See the pics below!

Her AFO's from last year!

So tiny that fit perfectly in hand.

Gastric Test Completed!

Annabel had her gastric emptying scan done last Friday.  We hope this test will show us how her food is moving through her system when she eats:  is it moving at a normal speed, or too slow, etc.  Our next appointment is this week to see the stomach doctor, we hope to see the results from the scan at that time.  She did great during the test, she was content to look at her mom the whole time, of course!

Test Results Back!

Update: all tests came back normal from Stinky's esophagoscope. We take that as good news, however still no answers to the root cause of her vomiting she experiences once a day or so.

Next step is to schedule a digestion study. A radiologist will examine her stomach and intestines via X-ray while a dye makes its way through her tummy.

Waiting on more info then we will schedule the appointment.

Stinky loves a good shampoo!

Stinky's Socks

The case of the missing socks..closed! 

Team Annabel-Facebook!

Stinky now has a page on Facebook.  So if you're on Facebook, please Like it!

http://www.facebook.com/TeamAnnabel

Stinky's Scope..Successful!

We are so happy to report that Stinky's Scope day was a success.  The GI Dr. took some biopsies during the scope and we should get results in a week or two.  He also dilated Stinky's pyloric muscle, this should help alleviate the vomiting..we hope!

Thank you all for the many kind words and prayers today:  Stinky came out of anesthesia just fine!  She did have some issues staying awake and as expected, her oxygen levels were a bit low.  They monitored her very carefully and kept us at the hospital until 2:45!  Now we are monitoring her closely at home and if she needs oxygen, we will certainly make sure she gets it.  Everything else seems good, so far.

The two pics below are before her scope and after, when she finally woke up!

Stinky's Scope!

Tomorrow is the big day!  Stinky is getting her endoscopy on her tummy tomorrow morning.  We must be at pre-registration by 6am..that's so early!  They hope to begin the procedure by 8am at the latest.

Please pray that all goes well:  the endoscopy is a common procedure and at the most lasts 45 minutes or so.  But Annabel must be anesthetized for the procedure, and that is why momma is so worried!  We pray this scope will give us some insight regarding Annabel's tummy/vomiting issues.  We will keep everyone posted tomorrow, for sure.  Until then, think of Stinky, pray with us..and look at how sweet Stinky looks, playing with her little sister:

Music Time!

Stinky's Xylophone.  Please pay attention to the very beginning after you hit play....as usual, she stopped playing as soon as she noticed I was recording!  :)

June, July..where did you go?

It is hard to believe, but the long, hot Stinky summer is almost over!  Annabel's summer school session ended last week.  Sadly, she had to miss her last week (just three days, though!) due to a summer cold that caused some nasty snots and congestion.  We did a lot of pat the back, suction the nose and breathing treatments and she is doing much better now.

She had such a great time in her summer school classes.  Now she is on holiday until the fall semester begins...on August 27th!  Take a look at some pics that her teacher sent me:

Music Time!  Teacher said that Stinky loved her piano!

Physical Therapy Time!  Stinky loves getting on the ball!

In other not-so-good news:  Stinky is still vomiting...every other day and most of the time, every day. We tried increasing the erythromycin but so far it hasn't helped much.  We have an appointment in a couple of weeks to get an EGD (scope) done.  This will allow her GI doc to take a look at her esophagus and stomach so we can figure out what's going on.  We know already that she has problems with motility and most likely reflux..again, due to her low muscle tone and the other usual T18 factors.  But we hope the scope will provide some answers!  We will keep you all posted on those details as they come.  Until then, please enjoy another pic of Stinky when she was waiting on the summer school bus!  Happily waiting!

Hey!  Do you like my new bangs?  :)

Pirates! Argggh, matey!

Stinky has enjoyed her 'Pirate Week' at summer school so far.  She made a cute pirate picture and she got to dress up as a pirate, too!

The Long, Hot Stinky Summer!

Hello all, we know it has been a long time since our last update.  It has truly been a long, hot and stinky summer here in Stinkerville!

First, Stinky's summer school is going great!  She goes Mondays through Thursdays with Fridays off.  She really seems to enjoy herself while there.  Like her normal school, she gets to play and learn, she enjoys circle time and she also gets her physical, occupational and speech therapy while there.

She's been bringing home some great artwork too, which I proudly post on our refrigerator or the family bulletin board.  The last two weeks she has been learning about transportation.  During music time she gets to sing along with 'The Wheels On the Bus Go Round', etc.  Please enjoy the pics below of her cute art (that she completed with assistance, of course!)

Now, some cute pics of Stinky before and after school. The bus picks her up at 11:40.  We are usually dressed and ready to go by 11:30.  Here she is, all smiles and waiting on her bus!

Now, check it out the next few pics.  This is how she looks once she gets home and out of her chair.  This day in particular she had her therapies and her therapists called and told me that she worked real hard and did a great job!  She was so tired from working so hard, I just knew she was about to crash!  So when she got home I took her out of her chair and this is what she did immediately:

You deserve your rest, Stinky!  :)

Last Day of School!

Well, Stinky's last day of school was on Thursday, May 31st.  I got some good pics of her smiling while they were loading her onto the bus.  It was cloudy that day, so there was no sun to make her mad!  We are now getting ready for summer school, woohoo!  We get to meet her summer teacher next week. 

Stinky also got a new g button put in.  The GI doc said she had grown out of her old one.  What?  Stinky growing is ALWAYS good news!  So far, it's working great.  It's a different button, this one has a lock on it so it will be harder for her to pull it out when eating...we will see how that goes. 

Playing with her rings while waiting for the bus!

Still waiting for the bus...

Yay, finally getting on the bus!

Silly Stinky!

Stinky was caught pulling out her feeding adapter tube today.  She didn't even try to hide it.  She decided to chew on it while her food continued to run through the line.  Can you see the little drop of formula on her arm?  Silly Stinky, leave that tube alone!

  Remember when she pulled out her nasogastric feeding tube?  She was just four months old!  Silly girl.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day! 

'A man's work is from sun to sun, but a mother's work is never done.'

A special shout out to our moms, Cynthia and Rocio.  You both rock!  :)  We love you so much and thank you for everything!

Now, some pics below:  The first few pics are my Mother's Day gift that Stinky brought home from school.  Yes, I know that Stinky didn't actually make my gift, but I was still so happy to receive it!  I remember making homemade gifts for my mom in school and it was so much fun!  It was even more fun watching my mom's smile/reaction each time I gave her one of those handmade gifts. 

I just love it:  My little stinker is a Big Stinky now, she goes to school now AND she brings me cute Mother's Day gifts!

The rest are just some recent pics of me and Stinky and one with Ava in the park.

Stinky Goes to School!

Since Annabel has turned 3, she will no longer receive her therapies from Early Childhood Intervention (ECI).  She is now eligible for the Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities (PPCD). 

PPCD:  This program includes physical, occupational and speech therapy.  This program also includes normal preschool activity such as outside play, music time, circle time, story time, etc.  Can you believe it?  Stinky is going to school!  Stinky has a full-time aide that is always with her, she even rides the bus with Stinky to and from school.

Stinky rides the bus, too?  Yes, she does!  So far, so good:  Stinky seems to enjoy her school so far.  The teachers and her aide have commented on how happy Annabel is and that she is a hard worker, too.  So far, Annabel is ready for a nap as soon as she gets home, so she IS a hard worker!

Momma cried on the first day and cried on the second day, too.  But the second day was also the 'first' day for Stinky to ride the bus.  We are very excited, just nervous, too!  School will be great for her but also hoping she doesn't start getting sick all the time.

The photos below:   Stinky waving with her face behind a blanket.  She is still very sensitive to sunlight, so we cover her up.  But we wanted her face showing for one photo, so that's why she is turned to the side in the other photo!  She's not scared of the bus, she's mad at the sun! 

Happy Birthday, Sweet Annabel!

Can it really be?  Yes, our Annabel has turned three! 

We are so thankful for every single minute, hour, day and now three whole years with our Little Stinker!  We had an awesome birthday party to celebrate, please enjoy the birthday slide show below. 

We love you, Stinky!  You have taught us and our friends and family all so much in just three years.  We are so blessed.  And you are truly a gift from God.

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Leigh;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Leigh.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter from all of us in Stinkerville!  So far we have enjoyed a lovely Easter Sunday together.  Yesterday we experienced our first Easter Egg Hunt and it was so much fun!  Please enjoy the great pics below.

Stinky in her Easter Sunday Best!

Stinky, what are you doing to your little sister?

Aha, Ava triumphs!  And Stinky just laughs.

Ava's first Egg Hunt!

Mommy helping Ava..

Daddy helping Ava..he was a better helper than Mommy.  Look at that full basket!

Yes, it was Stinky's first Egg Hunt, too!  But she had more fun playing with Mommy's hair.

..And touching Mommy's face!