Surgery

Avery went in for surgery this morning - bright and early - we had to be here at 5:30 am! Her surgery was at 8:30 and she got out of recovery around 10 am. She did fine and the surgeon said the valve placement on the shunt was smooth. They reopened the scar near her shunt and increased the opening by a few inches. We haven't seen it yet as it is nicely bandaged, but later this week we will take the bandage off and see the handiwork and all those new stitches. The new valve will stick out a bit more than the original valve did so you may actually notice this one without us pointing it out. This valve will allow us to slow the flow of fluid going into her tummy area which will give the new medicine time to circulate and kill off cells. We are patiently waiting for Avery's eyelashes to grow back in as this is the first sign on hair growing back. We are hoping that by the time we get back from NY she has a nice little buzz going on that cute head of hers. Avery woke up pretty irritated with everyone, as she usually does when they give her the gas. After we got her upstairs in a room and settled a bit she fell back asleep and slept for most of the afternoon. When she finally woke up she was back to her chipper self, giggling and laughing and wanting to run. The nurses have all commented on how great she looks already and how fast she bounced back. Apparently they've not been following her blog. The kid bounces back faster than a yo-yo. Tomorrow we are hoping to get discharged late morning and get on the road. The drive is a long one and she is not going to be too happy after having to spend all day in a hospital room today. Once we get home it will be a quick unpack-laundry-repack. Our flight leaves at 7am so we are heading to the airport early! It was nice to see our friends and the Drs & Nurses at St Jude. Our friend Belle started the ICE chemo regimen that Avery just finished. We pray that her body takes it as well as Avery's did and that it helps her achieve that next birthday that she needs before they do radiation. Colin is toodling around on the slickest blue walker you have ever seen and he looks absolutely amazing. Although we didn't run into KK, I know she had clear scans and is doing very well at home. We didn't get to see Megan - as she is not coming until Tuesday of this next week, but she is doing very well and growing like a weed. The plan is to return in 3 months for follow up scans. Well....this momma is tired....4:30 was early this morning. So next step is to kick Daddy back to the Grizzly House and get the munchkin to sleep. Hoping this won't be a huge battle tonight as she snuggled with Jeremy and watched a little AFV, which resulted in both of them snoozing for a bit. Thank you for all the messages and prayers this week. It was a tremendously stressful one and we really needed the extra support. Next week's stress will be high as well, but mostly because a couple of midwesterners are moving to the BIG CITY all alone...with a kid, and no clue where we are going. But like before -- we'll figure it out. We always do. Jenn