Nicole's Fashion Show at Maggiano's Little Italy!

On May 25, 2010 - Maggiano's Little Italy in Houston hosted a Fashion Show for Nicole to raise money for her Make-A-Wish trip. Jim Biles, Jaun Tovar, Dewi and the rest of the Maggiano's family worked so hard to get this together and it was an amazing night. Nicole, Kendra, Sarah, Catherine and Terri were pampered from the time they walked in the door until they walked on the "Cat Walk" floor. Hair and updo's by the team from Paul Mitchell, make-up artists displaying Mac and Shaundra Webb from Dinjii's Boutique provided the wardrobe for all of the girls to show off. Dana Tyson from Sunny 99.1 did a great job as MC for the night. Family, friends and supporters were in the audience enjoying a fine dinner, the Fashion Show with silent and live auction. Nicole suprised them all with a song from her harp that she wrote and performed. She also presented all of her friends and Maggiano's with drawings she had framed as gifts for them. Looks like she is on her way to "Someday being Famous"! Thank you to everyone for being such a special part of Nicole's life.

Nicole's Make-A-Wish trip to New York!

Yes....,during Spring Break in March, Nicole got her wish to go to New York City! The main event was spending the day at FIT The Fashion Institute of Technology and Design. She was picked up by a limo and rode through town in style. The day was filled with tours, design classes with Prof. Simonton & Prof. Stipleman, lunch with Dean Arbuckle & Yamiley in the student cafeteria and a visit with President Brown in her amazing office. A dream come true indeed. The rest of the week was action packed. St.Patrick's Day parade, Rockefella Center, Empire State Building,Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, FAO Swartz toy store, Carriage ride through Central Park, Museum of Natural Science, seeing the play Wicked, shopping, eating and to top it off the weather was perfect the entire week! Thank you to Make-A-Wish and Maggiano's Little Italy for making this little girls dreams come true!

Merry Christmas!

Nicole is home and doing great! She got to have a real bath and wash her hair on Thursday. This of course made her feel like a new "woman"! We have had many visitors and have gone on a few visits too. Other than her two breathing treatments each day, she is on no pain medication. Nicole got to see many friends this morning at church, who were very surprised to see our family. We will continue to celebrate this Christmas and are very thankful to have the time to appreciate our many blessings! Take care and we will write again soon. Love, The Larson Family

Nicole is out of ICU and ............

is at home resting comfortably in her own bed in Magnolia. Yes, we are home! We were told this morning that the reason we had not been moved out of ICU was because they had no empty rooms available on the regular floor. The Titanium Rib team came in to review all of Nicole's x-rays this morning. The decision was made that she would be going home in record time. We were so excited about the news. After a 3 1/2 hour ride home, dinner with dad, brother Shane and friend Steve, she sleeps. We want to thank all of you again for your continued prayers during this past week. As one of my friends shared with me today, "don't you just love it when God shows off"!

Visitors and more.......

Nicole's friend Chrystal and family came to visit today. She was very excited to see familiar faces. Apparantly the food here is pretty good because Nicole has gained 3 pounds since last Tuesday and is standing one and 1/2 inches taller.
In addition, the doctor removed her last drainage tube. We had a small freak out a little while later. Nicole had a good coughing spell, then told me she felt wet behind her back! When I looked behind her, the bed was full of blood! I don't do this part well. The nurse was very close by and was very calm about the whole epidsode. He told us this was completely normal after the drainage tube is removed. We we sure glad to hear this! After a cat scan today, another doctor came to report that her lung is looking good. Dr. Campbell will come by tomorrow and give us the news of how the rest of our week will pan out. From what two of the doctors told us today, there is a very good chance that we will be going home by the end of the week! Good night....Sleep tight!

Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland!

Yes, Nicole has sat in a chair and walked to the toilet twice today. What started out to be a little set back has ended up much better. She has worn her bipap machine all day and her blood gas test came back good. Mark flew back home today to take care of business. He was a huge help to both of us and we sure will miss him. Looks like one more night in ICU. The nurses here are great, so we are not conplaining. Nicole just filled out her own menu for meals tomorrow. Her choices were quite interesting! It is girls night out, with movies and game playing on the venue. In the meadow, we can build a snowman.................!

Kind of a long night

Last night Nicole did not rest as well. All of the rest she had been getting must have caught up to her and last night Nicole wanted to keep Mom up. She is back on her bipap machine to help reverse some atellecticis in her left lung. We are told that this is not uncommon in her situation, but that it is blockage in the passage ways of the lung and can be serious if not addressed. The pressure from the bipap, the chest physical therapy and the caugh assist machine should help reopen the lung passage ways.



On the more positive side there is much more to report. She started eating last night. Nicole ate mashed taters and mac & cheese. We even shared an ice cream treat before bedtime. During this mornings rounds, one of her surgeons came in and removed one of the drains from her wound. There were two and now only one is left. The pain ball was also removed as well. This is a major step forward and will help keep the risk of infection down. They want her to sit up in a chair a bit later today to help with her lung and to start stretching the rest of her body that has been lying in bed for three days. If she continues to drink fluids, the nurse will take her off the IV.



Nicole is making great progress just as we knew she would. She continues to astound with her strength and ability to persist through the adversity. We could not be more proud of our daughter.