Max Update! Feb 17, 2004

Feb17th

We realize it's been a while since we updated all of you - it must be so hard wondering what's going on after receiving such shocking news about our dear Max. So here's an update after surgery. We'll send updates more regularly going forward.

Max's surgery went very,very well! His surgeon told us the tumor had not spread to the spine, and that they were able to get all of it. He said the MRI looked "wonderful", "clean", and "fantastic".

Thank you to the many of you - family and friends, who came to Children's Hospital during surgery on Thursday. We literally took over a large waiting area! We are so grateful- sharing this scary time with you helped us so much.

We spent thursday thru saturday night in ICU and Max was amazingly tough. It was hard.

Dr. Ellenbogen, chief of neurosurgery at children's, told us that Max was recovering "remarkably well". Dr. E is an inspiring, amazing person, and the best at what he does in the country, if not the world. We are so blessed to have him.

We moved out of ICU on Sunday afternoon and into our own private room. Max is now eating, a ton! He can sit up in a chair for 45 mins or so at a time and has walked a little with lots of support. Today he laughed a couple times and played a couple games with one of the therapists.

We're hopeful about Max's progress with the ventriculostomy and await a decision about whether or not he'll need a shunt tomorrow (wednesday) . That's neuro-surg speak - just pray for and visualize "drainage" :).

We also expect to get news back from the "tumor board" tomorrow (wednesday) on exactly what the tumor was, and what the plan is from here.

It's a big day tomorrow.

Max still still has a lot of pain - He's got to carry around what amounts to an 8 pound bowling ball on his poor little neck which feels like it's just been hit with a baseball bat. He's getting over being on morphine and assorted other pain killers, muscle relaxers, steroids, anti-nausea meds and who knows what else without stop for 3 solid days. You have no idea.

He's a hero.
We are in awe of him.
He is beautiful.

We all have to keep remembering that this was a very big surgery. It is going to take a lot of very hard work and time from him and his family and friends to get him back to himself.

He will, with all our help.

Thank you and God bless all of you for your prayers and meditations. We can feel them and the energy of your love overwhelms us. Together with God we are overpowering.

Thanks to all of you who have sent gifts to brighten Max`s world, and for the many meals and snacks that have been delivered to us at the hospital..we are truly blessed to have such wonderful friends.

love and God Bless

P.s.
Please forward on and (cc ericha1@msn.com) to anyone that would want to get news about Max!