And the Call Came

We heard from the neurologist at Johns Hopkins yesterday. He said that they had presented Avery at the case conference earlier in the day and that everyone was in agreement that she needs the hemispherectomy. He said that there was a small amount of concern about her right side, indicating that they first thought maybe there was some structural abnormalities from looking at the MRI. But he said that they ultimately determined that there is probably not...they are about 95% sure that all is OK on that side. Of course he also said that there are no guarantees. The bottom line is that she needs the surgery but there are no guarantees that it will be fully successful. It is the best chance she has though for a better life - one without debilitating seizures. I think we already knew all of this and we are now just hoping and praying for the best outcome. We need your help in that. Please keep praying that this surgery is a complete success for Avery and that she is able to live a more quality life. Dr. Kossoff indicated that we should soon hear from the coordinator, Diana Pillas, about the surgery date. Sure enough, she called yesterday evening with the date and info. Avery's new life will begin with surgery on SEPTEMBER 28th. Jon's birthday is the 30th, so we pray he receives the best birthday present ever this year! We will likely be leaving to make the trip on the 26th and will be gone about 3 weeks. Until then, we will be working on getting things lined out for our time away. Caiden's first day back at school yesterday went well. He said his friends missed him. Once again, the bus ride home was eventful. We got a call from the school principle at about 4:50 PM saying that his bus driver had accidentally tapped a car and that they were waiting for the police to finish his investigation before the bus could leave, but that everyone was OK. Parents could go to the bus and pick up their child, or wait for the bus to be released and finish its route. So, I got in the car and went to get Caiden from the bus. Apparently the driver knocked the rear view mirror off a car. I'm not surprised that something like that would happen. We have such narrow streets around this area of town, which makes it more difficult to maneuver a big bus. Anyway, all was well in the end but I hope the bus drama has ran itself out for the year. As a good friend put it recently, we are praying without ceasing. Please do the same if you can.