Christmas Day Surgery 12/25/13

Unfortunately the comeback kid is going to have to comeback again.  Due to a series of setbacks and a recent infection Forrest titanium cranial prostheses ( the lid ) had to be removed today.  He will have a PICC line put in his arm again and will get antibiotics for a prolonged period of time and will have a short term drain placed until he is recovered from the infection .
We appreciate both his neurosurgeon and his plastic surgeon coming in and leaving their families on Christmas to operate on Forrest.
Austin and Aunt Tricia doing whatever needs done are here with us at Washington Hospital Center with Grandma Norma standing by with cousin Lee and Lisa in Reston waiting til he can have visitors.
Mum is going thru his medication schedule for the umpteenth time with the ICU nurses to make sure the med charts are correct. Luckily we have a nurse we know and who knows and loves Forrest taking care of him and that makes life easier.  Life is once again measured by shift changes.

Mum writes:

Thank for the messages and love this morning. Forrest is out of surgery. They found infection under the plate when they removed it. His CSF and brain do not appear to be infected so we believe, as hard as it is to part with his plate, it was the right decision. We are back in ICU and he has spoken his name , the hospital name, the correct date and offered his characteristic thumbs up.  He is resting now, on enough pain meds to float a big horse. If he can avoid complications,  we hope to be out of ICU in a day or two and he will be able to enjoy some visitors Much love. Rae

So we would much prefer not to be here again.  It's like being in a loop of the movie "Groundhog Day", again and again.  He is such a trooper and hardly ever complains despite the pain, hardship and struggles he endures.
The Doctors assure us that all these particular problems are related to the number of procedures his poor scalp has endured and the resultant lack of circulation.  There are treatments and procedures to address this but they are increasingly more risky and prone to complications and failure which is why they haven't been attempted yet.
We hope that this cranioplasty removal won't set him back significantly like the last one did.
So this Christmas finds us disappointed and somewhat depressed that we are here again.  But we are hopeful and encouraged that he is alive and in a position to make progress again. So thanks for prayers and words of encouragement and well wishes and messages from friends.  With this current turn of events we will try to update the blog and Facebook frequently.
Kent and Rae and Team 44

While we waited for surgery, the whole family had a magical Christmas morning, with Forrest and Austin reading out our favorite Calvin and Hobbes cartoons and singing Christmas songs

Forrest in the ICU after this morning's surgery with Pops watching over him

Familiar nurses are here to take excellent care of Forrest in the ICU, with Mum collaborating closely on treatment plans