Post-Op-Up

Thank you again, one and all, for your kind words and support.

I write at the end of surgery day with some good news. The procedure to remove the tumor seems to have gone well. Not only is the surgeon feeling confident that the majority of the mass was removed (and will most likely not require a second surgery down the line), but our little one awoke from the procedure as feisty as ever, refusing as usual to lay dormant in a crib. Our first exposure to him was as he was carried by the medical team back to his room, while some followed behind with the empty bed. In addition, he is moving his left side -- so much so that the surgeon did a little dance of joy while watching him flail about in protest of the prodding that followed his awakening. Movement like that right in the beginning is a great sign that minimal function (if any) has been lost.

He spent most of the day sleeping, but did come around enough to sign and say "more", his usual request for food. He then proceeded to down enough liquid to fill a medium size fish tank, and nibbled on a few crackers before falling back to sleep. I never thought the sound of him crunching a saltine would sound so beautiful.

Yesterday my thoughts were focused on disbelief that someone was going to be mucking around in his brain -- of course, thinking that it meant the worse. Today, I had the same thought, but the disbelief this time focused on how quickly he seemed to emerge from the procedure, and return to the fussing and flailing about that keeps us on our toes. A wonder of modern medicine, no doubt.

However, we are not anywhere near the edge of those woods we hear so much about. Tomorrow comes a second MRI, to determine if any tumor was left behind. In the coming days, a team of scientists will be playing an advanced episode of "Mister Wizards World", trying to figure out exactly what kind of growth it was that was nesting in our child's brain. That information will inform any future treatments he may need, whether surgical or perscriptive. We will also begin to work with the little guy on his healing process, and hopefully get a better sense of when life will return to some semblance of normalcy. And, eventually, it will finally hit us that what just happened, and we will pay someone a rediculous amount of money for a 50-minute hour to talk about how it made us feel.

Given the success of today and the ensuing optimism, we could be home by the end of the week -- or sometime next week. We will not know for certain until most likely Friday, so those who live local and want to visit are most certainly welcome. We'd just ask that you call ahead first, as we're taking one day at a time and do not want to assume that the rest of our stay here will be an easy ride. Although we hope it will....

Again, deep thanks and much respect to all friends, old and new, who have sent emails, phone calls, letters, comments, etc. They are the force that is sustaining us from moment to moment. I will try to post again as soon as we have results from the MRI tomorrow.