Three Surgeries in Three Weeks

The last few days have been very hard but Allison is slowly getting better. We had hoped that she would not need to get a shunt to regulate the absorption of cerebral spinal fluid and that her body would begin this process again naturally. But she is unable to do this, and is scheduled for a shunt operation on Monday at 5 pm. Brian and I have some real concerns about the shunt, due to problems with infection and malfunction, but at this point we have no choice. At least it will allow us to say goodbye to the infernal external drain and hopefully make some real progress on getting out of this hospital. I'm still uncertain as to when that will be, but everyone here wants us home before we begin outpatient radiation and chemotherapy.

She is so much stronger now. She is taking steps, assisted by a therapist, and has begun eating yogurt, applesauce, and other things she likes, in addition to being fed through a tube. Once she recovers from the shunt operation we will be better prepared to go into the rehabilitation phase of her hospital stay and focus upon all of the things she will need to be able to do successfully at home. Then I know she really will begin to heal. The last few days, as I said, have been the hardest. Brian and I are both walking zombies, but I keep thinking that we only have a little more than a week, hopefully, before we can all be home again together. The pain of what we are experiencing has become more pronounced, but we at the same time are learning to deal with it better. We have so many uncertainties in the future, but for now all I can focus on is getting my girl home again.