August 30, 2 PM

Well we are in a calm before the storm, just playing the waiting game for surgery tomorrow. Payton was cleared for normal foods last night and he ate well. He started with a Chicken Cease salad and followed that with a cheeseburger and fries. That is the most perked up I have seen him in over a week, he acted like he hasn't seen or tasted food for a long time. The food here is way above average, they treat the kids so well and the quality is impressive. After he ate he slept for quite a while.



Angie went home last night and I stayed at the hospital. Angie proved once again she is smarter than me as when had arranged for a full reclining chair when she stayed, I had just slept slumped in a normal chair. Last night I used the full recliner, what an improvement that was. Payton and I both slept okay, he seems to struggle about 3 am so we hang for a bit and he falls back asleep. They continue to remove lines out of him, they say here that you can judge how sick the patient is by the number of tubes in them. If that holds true Payton was extremely sick, and now with the removal of a few tubes looks about average for the ICU. Whenever they move Payton for scans is takes about 20 minutes to get all of the tubes and monitors prepared to move, then just a few minutes for the scan. We sure appreciate the hard work of the nurses and their helpful attitude here, they do a great job.



Well have finally arrived at the time we have been waiting for, we are taking another CT scan that will determine if Payton can have his surgery tomorrow that will put him on the trail to full recovery. Dr. Bockmeyer met with us this morning and said that the drain removal and bone flap replacement surgery will take about 1/2 to 1 hour tomorrow. He will look at the scans very closely today to see if there is any other work they need to do while in the accessible brain area. All indications are that it will be a very straight forward operation.



The PT came in and Payton wanted to try and get up and walk. She then got a walker and after what seemed forever of getting tubes and drains arranged, Payton surprised us all when he was able to kick his feet out of the side of the bed and sit up. That in itself was amazing, then with a little help he stood and was able to take a nice walk down the hall with the aid of the walker. The PT walked closely by on one side, I as on the other in case he got light headed. He did fantastic, then sat in a chair for 15 minutes while they changed the linen on his bed. For Angie and I this was almost as amazing of having Lazarus raise from the dead. We are stunned at the progress and so grateful We know that the great medical treatment has made a huge difference but we also know that faith and prayers have greatly enhanced the progress. At this point, Payton is really wanting to go home, that is a sign he is feeling better and is getting bored. Maybe in a few more days if the progress continues, but we are in no hurry until the time is right. AMAZING!!!!!!



Just got the news back on the CT Scans, things look good so we will be going into surgery tomorrow morning sometime. Another huge step for Payton's speedy recovery. He will continue to rest today and maybe take another walk. Then on to the next adventure.