Our Next Chapter: Preparing for Elliot's Brain Surgery

Elliot's surgery is coming up soon and we are doing our best to prepare for what's to come. My thought process is typically more logical and because of that I find comfort in knowing what the data says. Elliot's surgery has about a 92% success rate according to his neurosurgery team, and typically individuals who aren't getting this surgery in an emergent state and that are younger do better. We are a planned surgery and kids heal and recover well; this is my daily reminder to help keep the anxiety at bay.

Each time we've prepared for surgery, I get this feeling of a pit in my stomach and low grade nausea in the weeks leading up to surgery. This time I've also been having really vivid dreams, thankfully they aren't about surgery and they are distressing dreams just very vivid. I'm not resting well due to this, so if you see me looking exhausted this is why. We are scared, we know the reality of brain surgery and what could happen. We are holding together the best we can to keep Elliot from sensing our fear and anxiety.

We had pre-op last Monday and met with the physician's assistant in the neurosurgery clinic to go over the plan, expectations, possible adverse effects, timeline for recovery, etc. After Elliot's surgery he will stay in the PICU at least overnight for hourly neuro checks. If he's doing well after that first day we will be stepped down to a different floor that handles less acuity and will be doing neuro checks every 4 hours. The neurosurgery team expects that we will at least stay 3 at the hospital for 3 nights/4 days. I don't plan to post surgery date for privacy/security reasons, but if you want to know, please reach out to either Jack or me by phone or private message.

We need all the prayers, thoughts, wishes of good luck, and good vibes we can get. I'm choosing to believe that everything is going to go well and that Elliot will continue to astound us with his strength and grit.