Day 2 post surgery

Jax is resting comfortably after a good day. He has a "brain drain" which alleviates any pressure from the surgery, the doc said this could be in for 5-7 days. They increased his pain meds last night which seems to be a nice relief for him. His sweet little face started swelling more today especially around the left eye and cheek. Doc said this is to be expected and will more than likely get worse before it gets better. Jax's face is itchy today so that has been bothersome for him. He will get a burst of energy but then require a decent amount of rest. I was able to hold him today while he napped, what a wonderful feeling!

We were able to get him in a wheelchair for a few minutes at a time. He enjoyed getting out of the room and checking out the rest of the 6th flr.

He also drew on a chalkboard, read books and played a TON of football. :) Tomorrow he will start getting evaluated by PT, OT and Speech. I tell you what he is moving Bob a.k.a righty a lot!!

Lucky Dad was able to get a few kisses!

THANK YOU so much to our friends and family who have been so incredible. The wonderful meals to keep our energy level up, great laughs, support and all the love. You guys are awesome!



I'm going to try and catch some zzz's. Will update more tomorrow.
Tina

Warrior!!

"Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens"

Boy were we bearing our burdens to him yesterday and "HE HEARD AND DELIVERED"!  We cannot tell you the peace and excitement we felt last night.   Mom and I were ready to scream from the rooftop.  Let me back up a little to explain.
Yesterday was the the  LLLOOONNNGGEEEESSSTTT day of our lives.  The surgery got started later than scheduled, which made for an extra long wait.  Family Team Jax set up camp in the waiting room and began our trek.  Thank God for our family!
The surgery staff did great updating Tina every hour, which was especially nice considering the lengthy surgery.    By the way, she is one of the strongest mommies I know!  Finally a little after 6:00 the surgeon came out to let us know that everything had gone smoothly with no surprises.  Boy talk about tears of joy and praise.  It's an amazing feeling to be in the presence of such a brilliant man.  It was like a ton of bricks lifted and we thanked God immediately with a family huddle!  Eric and Tina were then allowed to go back to see their precious warrior.  After he was moved from post-op to the ICU we all had the quick chance to see him.  HE IS AMAZING!  He was quite out of it, but still able to shake his head no, do the hand movements to one of his preschool songs, and put daddies head in a head lock :)  Yep you heard me correctly...only our wrestler Jax would want to wrestle after a major brain surgery.  Before the night was done Jax told daddy he loved him, said hi and asked for more water on his sponge.  HALLELUJAH!!
Today as also been a wonderful day thus far.  He is very tired though because it's very hard to sleep in the ICU, lots of noises, beeps and buzzes.  When the surgeon came in he said, "When it goes great, it goes great".  Jackson still has a long road ahead of him, but with the strength and determination and love this little boy has, he will prevail!  Hopefully by nights end we will be up on the rehab floor.
I can't thank you guys enough for all the words of the support we have felt the last 24 hours.   We couldn't do this without all of you!  Please continue to pray for Jackson's recovery.  
I've added some pics and a video.

With much love and appreciaion,
Aunt Leelee

Praise God

Praise God!!  Dr. Handler (neurosurgeon) just came out and said everything went smooth, no surprises!  Tina and Eric should be able to go back in the next 20 minutes or so!  Will post more later!  All of our phones have been blowing up today...love all of you!

Update

Hi everyone.  The doctors got a late start, so the surgery didn't start until noon or so.  They have called from the operating room saying everything is stable! Hopefully in the next couple hours they will be done.  Please keep praying for us, as this wait is VERY hard.

Aunt Leelee

"When a believing person prays, great things happen." James 5:16

The surprises and miracles of the human brain.. I just heard this statement tonight on a tv special and it served as a wonderful reminder for me just how true it is, especially with 4 days to go till the surgery. The pure sound of Jackson's voice is music to my ears. Even Brendan comments all the time about how good Jax is talking and how it makes him smile and laugh, that I also love. I pray that we get to hear that sweet voice after surgery. (He has even started to say "I love you" automatically w/ no prompts!) I pray we see that smile so bright it reminds me of the sun. I pray the little ham hock legs run down the hall. I pray his right leg has stored strength to push through this obstacle. I pray Jax asks to play football 20 times in one day. I pray he has NO trouble with his breathing, no infection, no complications.. I pray the medical staff is on their A game, rested, feeling positive and have all the medical knowledge plus some. So many fears and anxiety BUT I know that God has Jackson wrapped in his arms and has blessed our amazing son with so much fight and determination he can and will do anything he sets his mind to.

I must say good night with a cute Jax story.. His para told me a cute story today about Mr. Ladies Man . Jax was on the playground when a little gal came up to him and said "Hi"..Jax looked at her and said "Hey Baby" :)  Cheryl said she couldn't help but chuckle and tell the other teachers about this little incident. What can I say, he knows how to talk to the ladies.

FYI..you can receive an email each time I post if you submit your email to the Follow By Email box on the top left side of the blog. After you enter email and click submit, it will send a confirmation link to your email that you have to click on to confirm and it will be ready.

Superstar

Busy but great day for Jackson! His teacher put a note in his folder that he read 3 of his sight words with no help..YAY JAX. He has also been blending more sounds with his speech and pre-reading skills. 
He also had PT with Mrs. Liz this afternoon and was showing off his skills..here is a video for those who haven't seen him recently.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGQ-sI3v3Tc

We saw the rehab doc yesterday for a follow-up/pre-surgical appt. Needless to say she was very pleased with his progress. We discussed the surgery and she is hopeful that, with intense therapy and time, Jax can get back to where he is now. I pray that is the case. He has worked SO HARD to get where he is today. What a true miracle.  

  

Blogging??

I was hoping there was a way for Team Jax to receive an email notification when I post on the blog but I haven't found a way yet. It only allows me to put in 10 emails addresses for notification to be sent to. If anyone knows of a different way to do this please let me know. I may need to update carepage with message to visit blog??
Jax had a great weekend. Mimmy and I took him to the movies today. His favorite part is the popcorn and candy. He stayed awake for the entire movie too!  My sisters and I took him shopping. Lisa learned quickly that Jax now refuses to get in the cart; he likes to be the shopper..in every section we went to Jax found something that needed to go in the cart and if he wasn't picking out a new blouse for Baylee than he was running in-between the clothes racks...he's so fun!
We have more appt's this week with our neuro in the Springs and his rehab doc at Children's. Definitely getting anxious for his surgery and ready for the 18th to get here. We have the absolute best support team. So many people have offered to visit, bring meals, hang out with Brendan, pray, etc.. THANK YOU! I'm fervently praying everyday and night. Today I had more of a calming feeling when I thought about the surgery..God is hearing my prayers and letting me know to calm down, he is GOD. Learning to give him all my worries has been work in progress and I'm learning that I don't have to have control over everything; even the things I think I do!
"People make plans in their minds, but only the LORD can make them come true. Depend on the LORD in whatever you do, and your plans will succeed."
Proverbs 16:1,3

I have found a lot of research online relating to the surgery..I will post some of the info soon.