A Scheduled Detour

Hi friends!  Forrest has jumped right in to History class at Kettle Run High School, already having completed a week and a half.  It makes for a busy day for him, getting up earlier than usual, then off to school with one of his amazing nurses.  His afternoons at home are filled with homework - often hours of reading, worksheets, flash cards and studying.  We are all enjoying expanding our US History knowledge right alongside of him.  Forrests' struggles with memory continue to be a big hurdle in many areas of his day, especially in learning class content.  We quiz him throughout the day on definitions, historical figures and events and have learned that repetition seems to be the key.  By the end of the day, you can tell that he is worn out from the additional hours of mental effort, but always rallies to share a few laughs with his friends, family or team before bed.  In true Forrest fashion, he has handled the transition from education at home to a classroom with confidence and determination.  While in the class with twenty plus students, Forrest receives support from the incredible Special Education Department teachers of Fauquier Schools. He is determined to do whatever it takes to keep up with the intensive pace.  His nurse also accompanies him to school everyday to ensure his safety as he ventures back into the routine and busyness of a public school.  Today during class, Forrest answered a question correctly from the teacher and also volunteered to share a definition from one of his homework assignments with the rest of the class!

This afternoon, Forrest and Team 44 made the trek to Washington DC for a scheduled visit to Washington Hospital Center.  Tonight he is having an MRI done, just to make sure everything in his "noggin" (as 44 likes to say) looks good.  Tomorrow morning, Forrest will have reconstructive scalp surgery. Forrest is having a scalp expanding device surgically placed under the skin on the backside of his head.  Over the next couple of months, it will be gradually inflated, stretching the skin.  Then in a second surgery, the doctors will hopefully be able to move the extra healthy skin forward to get rid of the devitalized scar tissue that keeps breaking down.  This will give him new, healthy skin on those areas to better protect his skull and titanium "lid" from infections. His procedure tomorrow is midday so we will post an update when he is safely through surgery.  If all goes well, he will have one overnight at the hospital before returning home on Friday.  He is looking forward to Facetime or Skype visits with friends this weekend!

Thank you all for your positive thoughts and prayers,

Tami (and Team 44)

X-Rays following the successful MRI today