HOME - Finally!

Yahoo!!! It is Friday, and we are home!!! We are home 1 day early!!!!!

WOW, it has been a busy, busy week. Kristen has been posting for us b/c we have been a little out of it. Anderson and I came down with the stomach flu on Tuesday (poor honey, recovering from brain surgery and then the flu!). On Wednesday, Charlie gets it. We were on pins and needles waiting for Kaitlyn and Ryan to get it. Knock on wood.....they still have NOT gotten it!!!! Hopefully, at this point, we are in the clear. We shall see.......

Yesterday, Anderson had his 10 day post-op appointment. It went well. When we got the good news, we were just ready to get on the next plane. We were able to change our tickets and take the last flight out of Chicago. We walked in our door around midnight PST. The kids slept most of the plane ride and went straight to bed. Our pillows NEVER looked so good. Everyone slept in their own beds....all night!!!

Anderson is doing super. Thank goodness that puking is over. We are still not quite sure during those days if he was puking b/c of the surgery, the pain, or the flu. Guess we will never know. It was very difficult to watch. Charlie and I felt we took 10 steps backwards as of Monday. IT was very frustrating. On Tuesday/Wednesday, Anderson was so weak, so hard to see. Thursday, Anderson started to rally. He really woke up and seemed to have more energy, more appetite, etc. Today....he has been busy as ever!!!! Thank God!

Since I was not able to post much this past week, I have not been able to write about all of the new things Anderson has started to do. Many of these things will seem so trivial and small.....but to Anderson, they are ech an accomplishment. Things we knew he could not do before...that he is doing now.

* he will "dance" to music...swinging his arms like a "boogie" motion
* his hands are more "open" rather than fisted
* he is chewing his food SO much better...he actually chews rather than just swallowing
* he is drinking out of a straw without spitting all of the juice all over himself (he has better control over his oral skills)
* he is making new sounds...most of them continue to be indistinct, but still new
* he is vocalizing over almost everything...points at something and then vocalizes
* he is reaching his arms straight up in the air (rarely would lift his arms over 90 degrees)
* more interested in books and television shows (I know, I know...but, it is good that he is interested and engaged in what is happening on the tv...not that tv is a "good" thing, but to hold Anderson's attention, is good. It never would hold his attention in the past.)
* pincher grasp is improving
* starting to feed himself with spoon/fork

Overall, he is much more engaged with what is happening around him. He is curious, adventurous, and exploring more than ever! He seems more alert. In the past 10 days, Anderson turned 20 months old, and he got a new tooth!! Thank goodness for all that pain medication, not too sure he felt that tooth come in ;) Ha, ha, ha!

We are so happy with the improvements we have seen in Anderson in only 10 short days. It has been so much fun to watch him grow and learn everyday.

The biggest challenge we have at this point is not allowing Anderson to fall. Dr. Frim does not want Anderson to fall back on his incision over the next several months. Tell ANY 20 month old not to fall back on their head...would be hard. Much less a 20 month old toddler learning to walk, explore, etc. Someone has to be RIGHT next to Anderson at ALL times. GULP. We are watching Anderson like crazy! Our hands are never too far from Anderson......

THANKS to everyone for all of the prayers, emails, and notes. As I have said b/4....we appreciate all each of you have done. Your notes and posts to us made us smile and they were something we looked forward to everyday. We are so thankful with the way everything turned out.....could not have gone better (okay, well, maybe we could have done without the stomach flu). Our prayers were answered. Now, we are praying that this surgery brings Anderson relief so he can just be a toddler...learning and growing. We continue to pray that this surgery provides Anderson with the opportunities he needs to catch up to run around and chase his brother and sister ;).

Now....the hope is here....waiting to see what Anderson will do next. Feel free to stay tuned to see what Anderson and the Mescher Family does next!

Today is Dr. Frim's birthday...HAPPY Birthday Dr. Frim!! ;) Thank you for all you have done!