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Karissa Ajlouny

Thursday, November 14th, 2002 - 5:30 pm update

Karissa was examined in Sacramento by Dr. Pang and had her stitches taken out yesterday. Dr Pang said she looked great and he would not need to see her until the next MRI in six months. Doctor Burger, from Johns Hopkins Hospital on the east coast, called today to say the tumor was definitely benign. As you can see below, Karissa has her new wig and has given her dad permission to stop shaving his head.

Tuesday, November 12th, 2002 - 3:30 pm update

Karissa went to school today and everything went well. She felt great. Tomorrow Karissa will go back to the hospital in Sacramento to have her stitches removed. She should also get the pathology results from Johns Hopkins.

Sunday, November 10th, 2002

Karissa's story was in the Mercury News today. Click here to read all about it.

Wednesday, November 6th, 2002 - 12:15 pm update

A Message from the Ajlouny Family Dear family and friends, Our entire family want you all to know Karissa is home and doing well. We can not put into words on how all your prayers and support these last 2 weeks has meant to us. We have been floating on the prayers (please don't stop) from all of you and do not know how we would have done without them. So as you can see, a BIG SINCERE THANK YOU is what we really want to say to all of you. We would also like to have a "THANK YOU JESUS" open house at our home this Saturday November 9th from 1:00PM to 5:00PM. We know many of you have expressed they would like to see Karissa and thought having this open house would be the best way. I have been told by all of you that this web site is the best idea to get the progress of Karissa's recovery to all of you. Scott is a very special friend to us and he's the one that made this web page for Karissa possible. So Scott, THANK YOU for all your time spent to help our family during this time in our lives. The Ajlouny Family PS. Karissa wanted to say she appreciated all the nice emails but she wasn't able to respond to them.

Tuesday, November 5th, 2002 - 4:30 pm update

Dr. Pang looked at Karissa's CT Scan and it looked good. The tube has been removed. Karissa has her discharge papers and will be leaving the hospital at 10 am tomorrow. The family plans to have an open house this Saturday afternoon for those that wish to visit Karissa. More details in the next update tomorrow around 3:00 pm.

Tuesday, November 5th, 2002 - 2:00 pm update

Karissa is feeling great. She hasn't had any headaches. She had a CT scan this morning around 8. Everone is waiting for the doctor to read the scan results. The doctor has been in surgery. Look for the next update around 6 pm.

Monday, November 4th, 2002 - 6:00 pm update

Dr. Pang came back to see Karissa this afternoon. Dr. Pang looked at the MRI. Dr. Pang said the MRI shows that he got ALL of the tumor! It looks like Karissa may be able to go home Wednesday morning and go back to school as early as next Tuesday. Karissa has received 150 emails so far from all over the country.

Monday, November 4th, 2002 - 11:15 am update

"That is amazing!" When Dr. Pang came to see Karissa this morning, she was up brushing her teeth. He asked her to touch his finger with her left index finger as he moved his finger. Dr. Pang was amazed as Karissa did this test since her left side was the affected area. Dr. Pang said another surgeon looked at the MRI results and said everything looked fine. Karissa will have a CT Scan tommorow. If the scan results look good, they will pull the tube from her head. The hospital is already talking about when Karissa can come home which could be as soon as Wednesday. Look for another update around 1 pm Tuesday.

Sunday, November 3rd, 2002 - 1:45 pm update

Karissa is doing great. She had her best night of sleep last night. She hasn't needed any pain medication since 10 pm last night. Karissa walked about 50 yards today and plans to walk some more. She seems to be healing very well and the tube may be removed soon. Karissa LOVES the emails. Issa has been reading each one to her. Keep the emails coming. She may not be able to respond to them, but they have brought her many smiles. Dr. Pang will see her tomorrow and take a look at the MRI results. Look for an update tomorrow around 1 pm.

Saturday, November 2nd, 2002 - 3:30 pm update

Karissa is doing great. She had her MRI at 1:30 today and will get the results Monday. She is able to walk around outside her room today. She is also siting up in a chair (as you can see from the new picture taken today), playing games on the laptop and watching TV. Her spirits are very, very good and so is her appetite. Please keep her in your prayers. The next big step is the tube removal from the top of her head that is planned for about approximately 5 days from now.

Friday, November 1st, 2002 - 9:30 pm update

Karissa is doing so well, she is even proofreading her own web page. She discovered a mispelled word. Karissa even believes she will be up to having visitors come see her this weekend. If you can and would like to come visit her, please page her dad first at (800) 824-1208.

Friday, November 1st, 2002 - 12:45 pm update

Overall Karissa is doing good. She can sit in a chair. She had her first meal today which was half of a turkey sandwich. She is on pain medicine. She has been very quiet and hasn't wanted to talk too much. A rough day is expected for today. The MRI will be today or tomororow. Her neck really hurts as they had to move her neck muscles to do the surgery. Her eyes are irritated too. Karissa is strong and is pushing herself to get well. There should be another update around 1 pm tomorrow.

Thursday, October 31st, 2002 - 9:30 pm update

"Praise God, praise God, praise God! Praise God for a perfect surgery." Karissa came out of surgery around 9:00 pm and will be in recovery until about 9:45 pm. Preliminary tests show the tumor was benign and the doctor said he is 100% sure that tumor was benign. He said he got it all. Susan and Issa have been able to see Karissa. She said she is thirsty. Issa said surgery was 100% successful. Karissa is awake, talking and moving her arm. She was able to close her eyes and put her index fingers from each hand together. Karissa will be in room 3516, but probably won't be taking any phone calls yet. The entire family appreciates all of the prayers for Karissa and asks that everyone to please pray for a continued recovery. Karissa is scheduled for an MRI tomorrow. There should be another update around 1 pm tomorrow.

Thursday, October 31st, 2002 - 5:45 pm update

As of 5:45 pm, Karissa is doing good and has about three hours of surgery left to remove the tumor. Doctors have taken some of the tumor out and are testing to see if it is benign. The family asks the spirit that it come back benign. Her vitals have been strong and steady throughout never moving one way or another.

Thursday, October 31st, 2002 - 1:15 pm update

At 1:15 pm, Karissa was taken into the operating room. She is doing really good. Her spirits are high. She was able to play games this morning. Her family was able to have a room with her last night. Her daddy, Issa, was able to sleep in her room last night. He said she slept well. Issa was able to snuggle with her this morning. Before going into surgery, Karissa said, "I have a peace about this. Daddy, I'm ready." The surgery is expected to take from six to eight hours. The family expects an update from one of the doctors around 5:30 pm this evening.

Sunday, October 27th, 2002

Karissa Ajlouny, 12 years old, diagnosed with a brain tumor is going to have surgery Thursday, October 31, 2002 at around 1:00 pm (NOTE: surgery time has been changed). The surgery is planned to be 8 hours long. The surgery is going to take place at Kaiser Hospital, 2025 Morse Avenue, Sacramento, CA. 95825. The surgery is going to be performed by Dr. Dachling Pang. Karissa is asking those who believe there is power in prayer, to pray for a 100% recovery. You will find updates on Karissa's recovery on this web site or by calling (408) 224-7426 and listening to a message on a phone answering machine. Karissa's stay in the hospital is planned to be 7-10 days. Please check this web site to find out when she can have visitors if you are planning to see her. Directions: Take 680 north to 80 east, Continue on interstate 80 to interstate Business 80, Exit at Arden Way East, Make left on Alta Arden, Make left on Morse Avenue and the hospital will be on your left.