Since about December my mom has been talking about my big 15 party! It has been four years since we have thrown a party for me and this year is a big one! The quinceanera signifes in Latin America, the entrance into womanhood and is celebrated as big as a wedding! My parents had talked about it and decided that we were going to have this party and celebrate my milestone of fifteen years. As you all know, the doctors said I would only live to be two. Celebrate we did! Of course you know with me, it is never a dull moment and and a few things did come up right on my big day. Let me tell you how it all began…….
Mom and Cinthya went shopping in December to find me the perfect outfit. I am really not a dress kind of girl so we were hoping to find something elegant and classy but in pants. They came back to tell me they had found it! It was holiday shopping so all the stores had their best outfits out for New Years and Christmas. It was beautiful, they found sparkly black pants with a gorgeous rose gold pink princess top, and mom found the perfect high top tennis shoes that were sparkly rose gold.It would be perfect for my day.
After that the planning began…Since my birthday falls in June and sometimes it rains we decided a tent would be needed to keep the guests dry. Mom rented tables and chairs with table cloths and seat covers. We made cute tables out of pallets (thanks Pinterest) and bought some hail bays to put in front of the platform where the band would play. Since I love music, my parents thought it would be fun to have a live band. I also love lights so we hired a fire dancer to perform me! The guest list was long and friends and family were invited near and far. My parents wanted all of the people who have always been there for me and supported me. Our dear friends Holly, Ella, George, Janet, Karen, and Marco came from far and of course my granny and paw paw came with quite a few twists in their road but they made it ! We missed Grandma Marg, and my Pa Pa and Gammy, unfortunately they were unable to attend as well as many other family and friends but we knew they were there in spirit.
Ella and Holly arrived the week before. I was so happy to see them. Auntie Holly has always been so kind to me and has helped greatly with all my benefits. She and mom have been best friends for a very long time. You see Ella and I are kindred spirits. My mom and Holly were pregnant at the same time. Even though we live in two different countries we have always had a conncection. She truly is my best friend in the whole wide world. She is so kind and supportive of me. When we are together we connect. She listens to me through my eyes, she is always willing to help me. She and Cinthya have become really close too! She reads to me, feeds me, sings to me and says such nice things to me. She is what a true friend is all about. Just being there for you no matter what. Needless to say, I was thrilled to have her here with me for my party. It meant the world to me to have so many friends and family come to celebrate me. Genesis and Gabriella my Costa Rica BFF’s were there by my side. Uncle George came after 8 years of not being here and made the journey to celebrate me. Janet and Karen at the last minute booked and showed up for me! Thank you all!!!
As for the food for my party…. My mom literally 6 weeks before the party began cooking lasagnes… She made two kinds a vegetarian one and a classic meat lasagne. It was quite the process we had 75 people committed to coming! Besides the lasagne mom also said she was going to make the cake since there hasn’t been a birthday yet that she hasn’t made one! She made 7 lasagnes and 7 different layers of chocolate cake. All went into the freezer for the big day. Mercerdes was such a big help to my mom we could not have done it without her! And of course dad and Cinthya helped with all the planning too! Dad was in charge of logistics just like back in the day when he worked at Orca Bay! It was quite an event to put together! We asked the Twins, Laura and Lauren to cater the rest and make the appetizers, and Sangria. Mom found a lady in Cabuya who decorated my cake. Mom was happy to make them but she did not want the added pressure of decorating them! The cake decorator made a bunch of other yummy goodies to help make my cake table look and taste divine !
We had a decorating team with all my physical therapist who were coming to the party. Out of 11 physical therapists 9 showed up! Dr. Guitterrez my cardiologist and Dr. Mermelstein my dentist came from San Jose. Linda, Simon’s wife was my very first PT and started giving me therapy at one month old. What an honor to have all the wonderful people coming to celebrate me. Dra. Castro, my pediatrician, was unable to attend because she was out of town. We definitely missed her!
On the Wednesday before the party my mom got the sniffles. She had been sleeping with me with a mask on… She didn’t feel bad and was not coughing or real sick but………… in the dawn of my party at 2:30 am my mom hears me breathing very heavy and whimpering. She turned on the lights and touched me… I was on fire. She took my temperature it was 104.7!!!! This was cause for alarm. I have not had a temperature like that in many many years. The last time I did I was admitted to the hospital. My mom and dad immediately gave me something to reduce the fever then put cool cloths on me to help take away the heat.
We then called Cinthya and asked her to come over. It was the first time in almost three years since we have made a call to Cinthya in the the middle of the night. She came over right away and we began discussing the next steps. Our biggest concern was a seizure. If I went into a big one which would require an injection of Vailium things could go terribly wrong in seconds. Since a cold was brewing in me, I was beginning to have respiratory problems and buildup of phlegm. Giving me Valium could cause me to go into respiratory distress since I was sick. We discussed cancelling the party and we began to pack up the suitcases for San Jose. Cinthya stayed by my side while mom began to pack my suitcase and dad was in the kitchen packing up all my medical food, medicines, and syringes. I began to have a seizure but thankfully it stopped within a minute. In a normal child a fever over 104 can cause febrile seizures. Amazingly enough I had not had a single seizure in the five days that all my friends and family were here. That was a first in a long time and we were all just so grateful that the seizures had been at bay.
At 4:30am my fever broke. We all took about an hour nap. At 5:45am Aunt Janet had texted my mom a double rainbow that was shining from my granny’s house. At 6:30 our friend Kristine had sent a picture of a rainbow just above the ocean. Something to say about the positivity of seeing rainbows on your birthday. It gave us all some hope that maybe things might turn around. We called the laboratory at 7am to see if they were open. My parents had decided the best thing to do was take my blood count and see what was going on. Mom had already talked to Dra. Castro, she was in Mexico, ready to read the results once we got them. The girl at the lab looked young and came to the car to draw my blood. I was asleep in my chair. When she went to make the first jab she did not hit a vein and I nearly jumped out of my chair. Mom was not so happy about that and let her try to find the vein but she had no luck. In the end, she pricked my finger and squeezed enough blood out for the exam. The results came back quickly. Dra Castro said it looked viral and not bacterial and the best thing to do was try to maintain the fever and keep me at home.
The party was back on! It started at 3pm. We got home at 10:30 am, mom had left a message to the girls who were helping decorate on our way to the lab. When we got home there were people everywhere helping…. The twins were in the kitchen cooking, Mer was cleaning, Bismarck was setting up the floral back drop for my pictures and all the girls were dressing the tables and chairs and hanging decorations. Jonathan, my new respiratory therapist came to the house to see me and gave me a 1.5 hour session of respiratory therapy. So grateful for him, I don’t think I would have left my room or been able to get off oxygen without him. He helped me cough up a bunch of phlegm. I was very tired and sleeping after that…. Cinthya started my lunch while I was sleeping in my bed and MJ showed up at 1pm to do my hair. It’s been a tradition over the years and she was very excited to do it. Mom continued to boss everyone around outside until 2:30pm….. Then it was time for us to get ready. Cinthya and MJ helped to make me look beautiful. Just like a princess…The guests began to arrive.
At 3:45 even though I was asleep, they decided to take me outside so everyone could see me. Mom put earplugs in my ear so it would not be too loud for me. Cinthya had picked out the song by Coldplay My Universe and my parents took me out to see everyone with that song playing. They always say to me that I am their Universe! It was a beautiful day everyone applauded me even though asleep I could hear the applause and most definitely feel the love. For some reason I just could not wake up… I was in a pretty deep sleep in my chair. Pictures were at 4:30 so even though I was sleeping my parents didn’t care and we were going to get our family photos in with friends and family. Tziru started snapping shots and all the therapists came and gathered around me as well as many others.
The party continued to grow and the band began to play. My mom tried to wake me up… Everyone was talking to me but I was not ready to open my eyes. But then at 5:30pm fifteen minutes before my dance with my daddy I opened my eyes big and bright. My mom started to cry. She was so happy I was awake. Me and Dad had practiced so long and hard for our big dance together. I had just been gearing up for my big moment. Rested and ready I looked at dad as if to say let’s do this! Cinthya went to get my stander and got me in position for me to be on my feet. Everyone gathered around and our song Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars began to play. I was looking at my dad and he never stopped looking at me. Everyone was clapping and yelling my name… It was so special to me to have this dance with my dad, I didn’t want the song to end. Afterwards everyone was applauding us. My mom was beaming with pride. She came up and the three of us danced together. Of course, all my therapists wanted to twirl me around as well.
From then on, I stayed awake for the rest of the party! Just before dinner Eli the fire dancer did an amazing show for me. He was so sweet and kind to me, and he is so very talented! Everyone gathered around after dinner to sing happy birthday to me and my beautiful cake was cut and shared with all. The party continued on a bit more and the band was in full swing, everyone was dancing and having fun. They played my song Three Little Birds. Such a great song to live by and everyone was singing it to me. Thankfully we did not worry that day. We left it up to God. He took care of me. He always does! There are days that are harder than some and that morning was most especially hard but we did it! As a family we can do anything together! We celebrated ME and all that I have accomplished and I have to say in the last 15 years I have accomplished alot! I am so grateful to all who came, for rainbows and birds, for all the sweet messages and gifts I received and for my parents for throwing me such an incredible party.
Love Malia xoxo
