We're Out!

Jared has been officially discharged from the hospital this afternoon. The doctors came in on rounds this morning and removed the drain from his neck and explained how pleased they were with Jared's progress over the weekend. It was then that they told us that we no longer need to stay at the hospital and they were going to put in the orders to be discharged.

Two of the doctors on the surgical team want to see Jared prior to him leaving for home, so we have arranged two final checkup appointments for tomorrow. The first will be with the Neurosurgeon and the last is with the ENT Surgeon. These appointments will determine whether or not we will fly home together on Wednesday. We are obviously very hopeful for a positive outcome from these two appointments. We are also hopeful that we will get some additional details on Jared's radiation trip to Boston. Despite what happens, it is nice to have taken another huge step in all of this. It is amazing to think that in under two weeks Jared has had a very difficult tumor resected and is up and about like he is. As I have said before, it is nothing short of a miracle.

The downer in the appointments tomorrow is the high probability that Jared will require an additional scope through his nasal pasages. Jared was actually in the room when the pediatric neurosurgeon was informing us of this prior to us leaving and broke out in tears once they left. He actually asked if they would just put him to sleep when they do it so he doesn't have to feel it. It is heartwrenching to know just how much more lies ahead of this, but we are so glad that the real challenge of surgery is behind us.

It was brought to our attention by the pediatric neurosurgeon that upon moving the carotid artery there are small autonomic facial nerves that wind around this artery that were sacrificed as well. She informed us that this might be the reason he has a slightly droopy eyelid on his left side as well as the possibility of him not producing tears in that eye. She also mentioned some asymetry in the flushing of the skin and mentioned that we might notice it most in hot environments. We hadn't notice any of them up to this point, but when she left and Jared got emotional about the nasal scope we did notice that his left eye did not produce any tears. He has been holding that eye and complaining of irritation so now we know a possible reason why that is the case. All in all, it is a small price to pay for such a massive tumor resection. We are grateful for such a great outcome, but still feel very solemn about everything that he has been through and will go through.

Leaving the hospital seems to have struck a reality check for Jaime and I. I can only liken it to that feeling I have felt in the past when we have had a new baby born and we take it home from the care of the hospital for the first time. It always seems to be very humbling and this is nothing short of that for us now. What an amazing experience this has all been. What a challenging experience Jared has been through. We are so very proud of him and will see this through to the end so that he can receive the best long term prognosis that we could ever offer him. Ultimately it is out of our hands, but he has been blessed by the hands of a loving Heavenly Father who clearly cares for him and loves him so very much. It is impossible to express to all of you our thanks for your concern, your prayers, your support and your faith. We hope to see as many of you as soon as we possibly can. May the Lord bless you all for your service.