Lucky Number 13!!!!

Boy have we been busy and the week is not over yet as we go into the weekend. Since we last blogged on Wednesday, we had another beach day, finally got the AVAP and had a Hoyer Lift delivered to our house in town. On top of all of that, we celebrated life such as Daniel's birthday and, mine and Jan's 15th anniversary. Yesterday, we also went to Kuakini Hospital where I took my swallowing evaluation. We continued to interview candidates to replace the Super Glizza. This weekend, we will be attending graduation.

The best news of the week is my swallowing evaluation went well. During this test, an xray video, videos my swallowing while eating various types of foods given to me. Barium is a substance put on all of the foods and is what makes the food detectable on the xray video. I ate foods such as fruit cocktail with barium, bread with Barium and drank Barium water. Yuck, not something I would like to eat everday! The results showed that the base of my tongue is weak and therefore my swallowing is good but not as good as a normal person and the best result is that I am not asperating silently which means liquids or foods are not going into my lungs. I am encouraged to do my swallowing exercises.

(Daniel and Natalie had to wait behind the curtain)

Swimming on Thursday, once again, was fun. The morning started out raining and we almost cancelled until the sun creeped out from behind the clouds. Daniel, Natalie, Malia, Spike, PJ, Bill, Jeannie and Kathy Q. were there to have fun and get wet. The transition of beach to sea was alot smoother. I think my friends are getting the hang of it !!! So everyone got a turn holding and helping me to do my exercises for my legs and arms. Thank you again to all of my friends and see you next week as I love swimming with you!

(Jeannie, PJ, Kathy Q., Natalie, me and Bill)

(Thank you Hana for suggesting the life jacket. We're going to try it again next time)

(Spike is a water baby just like Nana!)

In this disease, one has to be proactive in what is to come and needs for thise disease. The list of needs is endless such as getting registration for the new van, turning over power of attorney, completing the health care directives, getting the AVAP and Hoyer lift, starting Share the Care, actively looking for caregivers to replace Glizza (which would be possibly at least 3 people) and continually transitioning to new equipment. Coordinating and completing all those tasks is a job in itself that Jan single handedly completes while working his full time job. So thank you Jan! Our house is slowly being filled with the necessary medical equipment.

On Thursday, we celebrated Daniel's 26th birthday and my and Jan's anniversary. I want to thank Daniel for completing a whole week with me. Poor Daniel, he has been a fish out of water. Mikala, if you are reading this, Daniel wishes he could have been there and hopes you are getting great waves. So Daniel and Natalie had a really great birthday dinner at Sosobune in town while Jan and I had alone time having dinner at the Outrigger.

(Natalie baked Daniel and really cute cake!)

(Dan wishing for good waves...)

On Sunday, we will be celebrating with Brandon, at his graduation. Brandon is one of the boys that works for Jan in our forest yard for the last 3 years. Congratulations to Brandon and we will miss you next year as he goes away to college in California.

Thank you Randy and Crystal from the Big Island, who brought me beautiful anthiriums.

Goodnight Bella, Goodnight Spike! Nana loves you!

Goodnight Glizza!

(PJ, Vi and Spike peeking through the back)

(This weeks beach gang!)















Aloha, Vi

Blog No. 12!!!

Hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend. Now, it's back to work!

Natalie, Daniel, Malia and Spike have been taking great care of me so far, since Glizza has been gone. Well everyone, except for Spike who made a great big mess on his Mama's lap today while visiting her friend, Cappy's store. So Glizza, all is well at home! 

On a bitter sweet note, we bought a Handicap van that will allow my power wheelchair (300 lbs) with BMW wheels and me to travel anywhere on Oahu. In keeping with my spirit, the van  is deep red, and I named it "Big Red." So, I am happy about getting the van, however, sad that I need it and will need to give up my beloved "Olive", my green SUV. 

I attended another PT session, this time I'm back into the water... how nice as it was 88 degrees outside today. Prior to going into the water, Physical Therapist Matt, showed Daniel how to do range of motion for the legs and arms and taught him the importance of doing this every day. Range of motion is important to lengthen the muscles that shorten from inactivity. Because I am in one position most of the day, I look forward to anyone doing range of motion on my arms and legs. 

Finally, tomorrow I will be getting my AVAP (non-invasive breathing machine). Last week we mentioned the benefits and requested this from my physician. I will be fitted for a mask that goes with the AVAP and will be taught how to use it. So, we will let you know. 

A special thank you to Susan and Marc Lanci of Sand Diego who generously donated a substantial sum of money in my honor to MDA - ALS Research Augie's Quest. So thank you, thank you, thank you again! As many of you know, ALS is an orphan disease, which means that no major drug company is trying to find a cure. Therefore, most research is funded by private donations (families and friends like Marc and Susan). 

I want to thank you all again, for your support, love, and prayers. Every night, I thank the lord for friends like you and pray that He will bless and look over you. 

Goodnight Spike, Goodnight Bella! Nana love you!

Goodnight Glizza! Aloha, Vi

P.S. To my wonderful husband, thank you for taking good care of me this weekend. Glizza would be proud!

 

Blog 11!

On Friday we wished Glizza Bon voyage!!! Glizza will be on vacation for the next 3 weeks. She will be in France with her french boyfriend, Antoine, attending a family wedding for the first 2 weeks. Prior to her departure, everyone was teaching her their favorite French phrases. Glizza, if you are reading this, we already miss you. Hope you're eating a croissant every morning. Au revoir! The third week, Glizza will be visiting her family who has just moved to West Virginia. 

Natalie, Daniel, Malia and Spike will be filling in for Glizza. At this time, we will also look into the nursing agency's nurse aids to help us and to start integrating this service. In case you were wondering, we have been going over the forms that you filled out at our Share the Care meeting. We will be calling upon some of you, putting Violet's Web into action. 

Thank you to Flu, Natalie's Dad, for bringing all the delicious foods such as Filipino desserts, apple bananas, papayas, pineapple lihing mui and coconut soup. Thank you also to Karen Char, and to my Aunty Nene for the soup. 

Memorial Day at the North Shore has been blistering hot! Daniel and Natalie picked me up and drove me to Mokuleia to spend the night. Then, Sunday, we started the day by going to the open market and ending the day sitting in the front yard and Daniel and Malia's house enjoying the sparkling sapphire ocean. It was so hot that Malia gave Spike a bath in the front yard. I'm hoping you all had a safe and wonderful Memorial Day weekend. 

Goodnight Spike, Goodnight Bella! Nana loves you!

Aloha, Vi

More Photos from Vi's Day at the Beach!

(Spike isn't so sure...)

(Jeannie and Vi warming up after the water)

(What a team!)

(Show them how it's done ladies!)

(Jeannie and Spike soaking up the sun!)

(Don't worry Vi, you're in good hands!)

(That's more like it!)

Blog 10: Natalie's Birthday and Beach Day!

Happy Birthday Natalie! We love you!

Today was a glorious, beautiful day to celebrate Natalie's 24th birthday! She is beautiful, strong, intelligent, loving and has an energetic spirit. Natalie has been the #1 backup for Glizza and Daniel's forever girlfriend (hopefully she'll be getting an upgrade soon!) We celebrated Natalie's birthday at the Honolulu Academy of Arts Cafe where the food was yummy and the company was great! Thank you Natalie for being the wonderful you!

Before celebrating with Natalie, I went swimming with a large group of my friends at Kaimana Beach. I have not been in the ocean for several months since attending aqua therapy and the cold winter water. Punkin, Bill, Kathy Q., Fran, Jeannie, Heidi, Glizza, Malia and Spike enjoyed the warm water and the warm sun rays of the mid morning. I can't believe how much my muscles are not functioning due to this disease since the last time we all swam together. We spent alot of our water time learning how to transfer me from the wheelchair to the ocean and then how to manage me in teh water as I need alot of secondary support. I think most of my friends today, were a little afraid to manage me in the ocean and to my friends who are learning to manage my body positions, don't be afraid! So today, I thought I'd call it "swimming 101 with Vi." I have to say, it was sucha great time, but I was pooped after the session and I know for sure Punkin was too! So, we're trying again next week. See you then!

Goodnight Spike, Goodnight Bella! Nana loves you!

Aloha, Vi

Blog No. 9

Funny thing, yesterday I thought I had nothing to write about. But guess what? Last night as I was asleep, all these thoughts flashed through my mind of all the things that I should have written about, such as, having Mikala come and visit me for the last five days from Bali. On the day that I had nothing to write about, I spent the majority of Mikala's last day happily with him. Thank you Mikala, for giving me that time to spend with you and I look forward to seeing you, Emma and Bella again in one month. I am counting down the days!

Another friend in my life is Heidi, the plant lady of Hawaii, and a surfing buddy of mine from a long, long time ago. You probably saw all of the flowers adorning my house that were graciously given to me by Heidi from her yard. If any of you are interested in having someone to help you with your garden of plants, call Heidi.

Today was an especially long day. I went to physical therapy and speech therapy. I participated in land therapy today as I was not feeling well to go into the pool. At speech therapy, I learned one new exercise to strengthen my throat and vocal chords. My speech therapist also reviewed my chart to gather information for the application for a speech communication device called a Dynavox which will be used when I can no longer speak. This device will communicate for me with the use of either a head mouse or the eye gaze. As I dictate this blog over the phone to Natalie, I can really tell that my speech is going "to hell in a hand basket" (this is how Jan's mom, now passed away, would have expressed it). I have what's called, the ALS slur. I'll just have to double up on my throat and mouth exercises. I won't be embarrassed if you ask me to repeat what I say at anytime.

Another thing that happened today, is that I called my pulmonologist and spoke to him regarding a non-invasive ventilator called an AVAP and discussed with him the value of ALS patients using this before having to get a trache. ventilator. If you look on the MDA site (the link is located on the right side of this blog) and read the article on the longevity of patients with ALS, it states that ALS patients placed on a non-invasive ventalation can have their life extended to approximately another 3 years. I will be fitted for an AVAP hopefully by the end of this week. We'll give it the good old boy scout try and if it doesnt work... nevermind, it doesn't work.

All of our Hawaiian days have been so beautiful that I can hardly wait for Thursday when we all go swimming at Kaimana Beach.

Goodnight Bella, Goodnight Spike! Nana loves you!

Aloha, Vi

P.S. A Note from Natalie: Hi Web! I know that a lot of people have been asking how to post comments. So here is some quick instructions how:

1) You'll first have to go to www.google.com
2) at the top right side of the page click "sign in." If you don't have a google account, you'll have to create one. You can use whatever email address you regularly use as your username.
3) After youve created an account, go to violetsweb.blogspot.com and select "follow this blog" on the bottom right side.
4) No you are able to post comments.

Vi loves reading all of your comments, so keep them coming! Also, please be sure to make Violets Web your home page so you can you can always stay up to date on what's happening. Thank you!

Blog 8: Share the Care Day!

Hello my web! What an awesome day! Jan and I are deeply touched with your overwhelming response to be educated about Share the Care. It was great to see so many of you, my dear friends, coming to my rescue. Your hearts are over flowing with love and Jan and I can't express this overwhelming feeling. Again, thank you. I foresee our web of Share the Care friends, family and others will blossom to something extraordinary. For me, I will get out of this experience a chance for me to know you better and you to know me better. I can also see that I may be able to teach you that the process of death can be beautiful when one has an abundance of love surrounding them. Also, you may learn not to fear death and the unknown. Kimi did a beautiful job facilitating the group in a loving and non-threatening manner. Having her here, holding our hands through this new journey is comforting as she has experienced this firsthand. Thank you Kimi for making this possible. Thank you also to Hana, from Peg's Legs, for sharing her experiences with Peggy Chun. Hearing both, Kimi and Hana, made the groups' uneasiness soften and lessened their fears.

Janice will be sorting and organizing all of the forms filled out at today's meeting and will be contacting you in the near future. I want to thank Janice for helping organize today's event and also for her future help. In the meantime, I will be making my "wish list" of things to accomplish. Remember, if you have any questions/concerns about Share the Care, and what was discussed today, please contact Kimi at kimi@peggychun.com. Be sure to look for photos from today's meeting which we will be posting shortly.

Thank you again to all and thank you for bringing all the great food! We have plenty of yummy left overs!

Goodnight Bella, Goodnight Spike! Nana love you!

Aloha, Vi

P.S. Today is my 5th anniversary of being diagnosed with ALS. I was diagnosed on May 17th, 2004.

Blog No. 7 and Counting!

What a weekend! We attended the ALS Seminar at The Queen's Conference Center today. The conference was well attended by families affected by ALS, friends, vendors, and physicians. The topics discussed ranged from wills and trusts, care giving and an update on the current ALS research. Kimi Chun made a great presentation on the different aspects of caregiving which included the model Share the Care, that Peggy Chun used successfully. It was also nice to have a speaker from San Francisco to give an updated research development report. Michael Shannon, Director of Development for ALS Therapy Development Institute (TDI), spoke on the current research for ALS and answered questions from the audience. There were many prizes given out and I would have won, but Jan accidentally through my ticket away. Oh well! However, overall the conference was a success. 

(me with Michael Shannon of ALSTDI)

(Chester, Gloria and me after the seminar) 

Thank you to Daniel and Natalie for coming and supporting Jan and I today. We always love it when any of you kids can attend these ALS events with us to learn more about this disease that is plaguing my body. I love all of you. 

Jan and I, went to visit Kathy's brother, Brian, at the Convalescent Center of Honolulu. Brian, has been living with ALS for 7 years and has been on a vent for the last 5 years. Brian has a beautiful smile and a positive attitude. We were able to bring him some leis to beautify his room and have aroma therapy smelling of ginger. 

Tomorrow is our first Share the Care meeting/party where Kimi Chun will host the party and explain to all my wonderful friends, what is Share the Care. Our response to this meeting/party was just fantastic! Thank you all my dear friends, you are the angels of my life.  Like I said before, don't be afraid that if you come, you will be committed. This is an opportunity for you to come and learn what Share the Care is all about. I am excited to see you all tomorrow!

You all have hearts of gold and smiles of the rainbow.

Goodnight Spike, Goodnight Bella! Nana loves you!

Aloha, Vi

Blog No. 6!!!

It's another busy week! No slumming around here. I really have to thank Natalie for helping me do this blog each time. Natalie is my hands that pounds out this blog as I dictate to her the day's happenings by phone and tonight she is live, sitting next to me. I am capable of using my computer using a head mouse and if I would be doing this blog myself, it would take me all night to complete as my head mouse can only type approximately 10 words a minute or less. But I am thankful I am still able to use my computer. So now you know, for those of you who were wondering how I do it. Thank you Natalie!

On Tuesday, I attended aqua therapy and then speech therapy. After 5 weeks of having a cold, I finally was able to get back into the water for aqua therapy. The water was wonderful, at least 86 degrees. After 5 weeks, I find that my legs are weaker when standing. My therapist, Ren, had me do various arm exercises and walking in the pool to increase strength of my arms and legs. Speech therapy was at Rehab Hospital of the Pacific. Today, I learned exercises that should strengthen my throat muscles and help my swallowing. Here, try one of my exercises: stick your tongue out between your teeth, collect suliva in the back of your tongue and swallow. Another exercise is to sing at the highest pitch as you can (and you're not singing the "do, re, me" song!) This exercise tightens your vocal chords and also strengthens your throat muscles. Thanks for trying! If you like, I have a whole set of exercises to share with you.

As I sit here, dictating away, a little angel named Spike is blissfully sleeping in my arms. I feel so lucky and blessed. I should mention also that Malia, Mikala, Daniel and Natalie are here at my house for the night. Now I am doubly blessed!

Today, Fran, Punkin and PJ were up at my house for lunch to celebrate Punkin's belated 39th birthday (hehehe). Fran made an awesomely beautiful salmon salad and PJ brought some yummy white wine (I don't drink so I can't be sure, but it looked yummy!). Good luck to PJ this weekend at her golf tournament. It's always fun to celebrate birthdays with my friends. Happy birthday Punkin!

Jan and I met with Cory Lee (RN) who runs a nursing agency and will be helping us as needed as this disease progresses. When Glizza will be on vacation, the next two weeks, we will be trying Cory's staff out to fill Glizza's spot. Natalie will also be here to help direct my care.

Spike and I will say good night now. Good night Bella, Nana loves you!

Have a great Friday!

Aloha,

Vi

P.S. Thank you for all the nutrition advice....we're going in the right direction.

More Mother's Day Photos from the Royal Hawaiian!

(The Princess and her pillows!)

(Nana and Spike wiped out from all the Mother's Day Excitement!)

(Jan and Spike ready for bed)

(Natalie on the balcony of our hotel room)

(Glizza and Me at breakfast!)

(Nana, Malia and Spike at brunch!)

(Jan, Malia and Spike at breakfast)

Vi's Mother's Day Blog

(Me, Natalie, Malia and Spike at the Royal Hawaiian Mother's Day Brunch)

Hi again! It's been three days since our last blog. So much has happened in my little life. It was Mother's Day this weekend and I hope you all were thankful for your moms who have nutured you through out your life. My mother's day weekend was just over the top! Malia, Natalie and I had brunch at the newly renovated Royal Hawaiian hotel. There was so much yummy food and, to make it even better, we got to spend the night there! This was Malia and Spike's first mother's day.

On Saturday, Jan and I participated in the Banana Man Chase, 5K Run around Magic Island to benefit the MDA. The day was beautiful as ever and the turn out was just fantastic. There were all sorts of runners chasing the bananas around the park. Jan pushed me in my big wheel, wheel chair and sadly we were not fast enough to catch a banana!

On the reality side of life, Jan and I decided and agreed that counseling would be beneficial for both of us as we go through this journey of this disease, called ALS. We had our first session this weekend bringing up many sensitive issues that were acknowledged and gained understanding of these issues invovled. I was glad and relieved at the same time that we were able to express to each other how we felt about this disease within our relationship. So, counseling is always a good thing to help you understand the issues that you face.

We had a long, fun and intense weekend and we made it through to another new week. So, have a great, beautiful week. Be positive, smile and take in the beauty of your world!

Good night Bella, Good night Spike, Nana loves you!

Aloha,
Vi

Vi Blog #5!

Glizza and I were up early and out the door this morning, to the airport to pick up Malia and Spike. It was so nice to see malia and WONDERFUL to see Spike! Spike is two months old, and has changed so much in just two weeks. As an example, I would guess he weighs about 15 pounds. He is a chubby, yummy and solid! I spent most of the day cooing and gagaing over him. Oh, I forgot to mention that after picking up Malia and Spike, Glizza, Natalie and I went out to breakfast at Boots and Kimo's in Kailua. Their famous pancakes with macadamia nut sauce are out of this world! They had just the calories I needed!

This evening we visited our friends Paul and Daria. Paul has ALS and Daria was just diagnosed and has undergone surgery for brain cancer. Both Paul and Daria have exhibited such strength and courage through out all that has happened to them. Jan and I got to meet their whole family from Kansas.

Life is good, but very short. Make sure you find pleasure in at least one thing each day that makes you happy.

Good night Bella, Good night Spike. Nana loves you!
Aloha,
Vi

P.S. Thank you all for the comments! I love reading them. It is so great to hear from you all!

Vi Blog No. 4!

Today started out as a great day. It was great because Jan spent the morning with Glizza and I having breakfast and enjoying the morning. Most of the day was spent at home (which is rare) reading, computering and meditating. It has been fun to go back the next day to look at our blog and read the comments. So keep them coming!

I met with my speech therapist today for a swallowing evaluation as my swallowing is becoming a little challenging. The swallowing eval. consists of eating a variety of kinds of food while the speech therapist evaluates my swallow. Now I have a set of exercises to do to strengthen my tongue and to swallow. On May 28, I will be having a swallowing X-ray where my swallow will be examined closely.

The one thing that I forgot to do today was to find something to eat high in calories. It has been difficult for me to eat junk food, which is high in calories because it hasn't been in my eating pattern. So I guess I better start changing my eating habits and really focus on those peanut butter smoothies at Jamba Juice. If you have any ideas, let me know!

It just occurred to me that I mention Glizza often and you may not know who she is. Glizza has been my arms and legs for the last year and a half and spends 10 to 12 hours with me each day. I call her my "partner in crime" or my "side kick. " She has been a GREAT help as well as a blessing. We are a perfect match as far as our personalities go. Can you imagine spending 10 to 12 hours a day with a person that did not match your personality? We spend alot of our day laughing.

I'm excited because Malia and Spike come home tomorrow from Australia. We can hardly wait to pick them up, squeeze Spike and spoil him!

That's it for another day, until tomorrow, God bless you all!

Good night Bella, good night Spike! Nana loves you!
Aloha,
Vi

Vi Blog No. 3!

It was another beautiful day! Yesterday I mentioned that this month is ALS Awareness month. I forgot to mention that when you buy something from Peggy Chun's Gallery, a portion of the proceeds go to ALS research, so...Happy Shopping!

Today I attended Physical Therapy in Aina Haina. My therapist, Matt, put me through a grueling, hard session of upper body exercises. The exercises were hard for me but it would probably be a breeze for you. It's incredible to watch your muscles weaken.

I also attended an appointment with my internist, Dr. Davis, who is coordinating my medical treatment. It looks like I will be progressing to the next stage of ALS in the near future of having a peg (feeding tube). One thing on our aggenda is to help me to eat foods that are fattening because the more calories, the greater longevity for ALS patients. So malasadas, here I come!

Through out the challenges, life has been wonderful.

We do have some fun in the process of this disease. Glizza and I had a wonderful mother's day lunch followed by a mani pedi.

Please keep our friend, John Henderson, who was critically injured in a biking accident in your throughts and prayers. So all of you bikers out there, please be careful!

Goodnight Bella, who is living in Bali. Goodnight Spike, who is currently in Australia. Nana loves you!

Aloha, Vi

Vi's Second Blog

Hi again! May is ALS Awareness month. The MDA will be holding ALS seminars at Queen's. Also, the Peggy Chun Gallery is offering great deals for the month. Mother's Day is coming up so lets support the gallery and ALS month. A watercolor print would make the perfect Mother's Day gift! Here's the link: www.peggychun.com

Today we had an appointment with with Dr. Kimata, the neurologist who we will now be seeing every 3 months. Be sure to look for Jan's Medical Report which will give you the present status of my medical condition. It should be posted by the end of next week as we have another doctor's appointment coming up. Jan and I also met with an HMSA case manager to discuss benefits for this disease.

Once Again, onto a lighter note. It was a beautiful day today! The sun was shining bright and it was hot! One of my favorite things to do on hot days is to shower outside. It's a sight to see Glizza in her pink and purple polka-dotted bikini scrubbing me down. It feels wonderful to take a shower and be squeeky clean! I never want to get out.

I had lunch with Mati and Ruth at one of my favorite places, Mocha Java. They are in training for the Honu Triathalon and Ironman Revisited. It was fun to catch up with them and to see how fit they are!

God blesses us! Thank you again for all your love and support. Until tomorrow....love you all!

Vi's First Blog

Aloha everyone! It's Vi and this is my first blog. I welcome all of you! I want to start off by thanking Kimi Morton Chun for making this blog possible. I've never blogged before, so this is a learning experience. Hopefully my blogs will get better once I get the hang of it.

At the moment I am working on my advance health care directives which are not as easy to create as it seems. Once it is done, I will share it with all of you. Thank you Jan, Kathy Mah and Daryl Funai for putting in tedious hours of back and forth discussion.

On a lighter note, this weekend Jan's nephew, Clay Biddle from San Diego took time off his busy work schedule and family to visit us for a couple of days. We were so happy to spend this time with him! My friend Liz Toledo also came over from Hilo. I really enjoyed seeing her and spending time with her. Today, Sunday, I spent half the day with Natalie and her mom at the movies while Jan took his well deserved time off. Thank you Natalie (and Daniel, when he is not chasing waves) for spending Sundays with me.

I'm looking forward to seeing you on May 17th, at the Share The Care party. I've invited all of you to come and learn about the care model, Share The Care, which Peggy Chun successfully used for her care. Don't be afraid to come and think you will have to be committed. This party is for you to learn about this care model and see if this is something you would like to participate in. As time goes on, my care will need an expansion of helpers and every little bit counts. Thank you Janice Churma for helping to coordinate the Share The Care party.

I'm going to try to post on a daily basis what I'm up to. Some days are better than others, but I'm taking everything day by day. Also, look for our monthly Medical Reports which my wonderful husband Jan, has been writing and sending out to our family members. That way, you will always know what's happening health wise.

Aloha for now!

Vi

You're Invited! Vi's Share the Care Kick-off Potluck

Aloha all! Please join us on Sunday, May 17th, 1:30pm to 4ish, for "Vi's Share the Care Kick-off Potluck"! This first gathering, which will be at Vi & Jan's house on Tantalus, will be an opportunity to understand the concept of "Share the Care" and learn about Vi's Share the Care group, "Violet's Web".

Please join us to support and nurture Vi and her family as she faces the challenges of living with ALS. This first meeting is simply about connecting with Vi and the family, understanding what "Violet's Web" is all about, and learning how YOU can help.

Please feel free to bring a light pupu or dessert. Also BYOB!

Please RSVP to Janice Churma at 255-3122 or by email itsdonehi@hotmail.com by May 8th. Let us know if you can attend and what munchies you might be bringing. Also, let us know if you know of someone that would be interested in attending and/or being a part of "Violet's Web". Help us spread the word!

If you have questions, please contact Janice at itsdonehi@hotmail.com or Kimi Chun at kimi@peggychun.com

Directions & Parking Info:

Directions To Vi & Jan’s House at 4059A Round Top Drive
Vi’s Home Phone: 945-9357
Vi’s Cell: 256-9607

Coming From West -
Take the H1-E Freeway
Take the Punahou Exit, Exit 23
Turn left onto Punahou Street (Cross freeway)
Take your next left onto Wilder Avenue (Go 3 blocks)
Turn right on Makiki Street (Go about .3 miles, pass through Nehoa Street)
Stay to the right and follow Makiki Street, past Triangle Park on your left, until you see the Round Top Drive sign pointing left.
Turn left onto Round Top Drive
Follow Round Top Drive to near the top (along the way you will pass the popular tourist look-out point and Ualakaa Park)
After approximately 4.5 miles, the road will come to a seemingly level area. To the left, you will see a large parking area. Directly across from that parking area is a stone mailbox holder. You will see 3 addresses, including 4059A, which is Vi’s house.

Coming From East
Take the H1-W
Take the Wilder Avenue Exit, Exit 24A
Stay straight to go onto Wilder Avenue (go about 1 mile)
Turn right on Makiki Street (Go about .3 miles, pass through Nehoa Street)
Stay to the right and follow Makiki Street, past Triangle Park on your left, until you see the Round Top Drive sign pointing left.
Turn left onto Round Top Drive
Follow Round Top Drive to near the top (along the way you will pass the popular tourist look-out point and Ualakaa park)
After approximately 4.5 miles, the road will come to a seemingly level area. To the left, you will see a large parking area. Directly across from that parking area is a stone mailbox holder. You will see 3 addresses, including 4059A, which is Vi’s house.

Parking Instructions:
Please park in the parking lot on the left of Round Top Drive, below the driveway across from the mailbox. There will be people shuttling guests up and down the driveway (or you can walk/run). If that lot is full, please park along the road.