October 22 - Day 14

Being in the healthcare industry for over 13 years I wasn't surprised to hear that Chloe's surgery was bumped from its original time slot of 10am. I would have been more surprised if it actually went on time. Chloe went for surgery at 2pm, and like the true superstar she is - she came out like a champ. The neurosurgeon was able to successfully drain the fluid between her brain and skull and sent off fluid specimens to the lab for analysis. After doing this, he placed a small tube (resembles a plastic straw) into her head to facilitate the drainage of any excess fluid buildup in her head. This procedure required Chloe to be intubated again but was quickly extubated once the procedure was completed. She again, is breathing quite easily on her own.

The surgery itself was a success in that it helped to relieve the pressure building in Chloe's head. Whether or not it corrects her seizures or frequent fevers is still an unknown. Chloe was started on another anti-seizure medication a couple of days ago in addition to the one she had currently been taking. For the moment she has been free of any seizure activity for almost 24 hours and they continue to monitor for any seizure activity with the use of the video camera and EEG electrodes.

In respect to her motor movements. Right arm and leg movements are somewhat less than that of her left side. This is a new development because last week her right side was the stronger side. Neurology is not exactly sure what to make of this. Actually, the neurology team has great difficulty in predicting anything. And this isn't a knock on neurologists. We completely trust the care they have provided Chloe. It's just hard to imagine going into a specialized field of medicine such as neurology knowing that once you correct a problem you really have no idea what the outcome will be. That being said, the neurologists are hopeful that with this surgery, MAYBE, it will help quiet her seizure activity. For now the best advice we've received is to take everything one day at a time. Michelle and I know that Chloe is remarkably resilient and will bounce back from this like a true champ! We need to remind ourselves that it's going to take baby steps - but Chloe will get there.

We forgot to mention yesterday that Olivia saw Chloe for the first time in almost 2 weeks! She was very excited and Michelle and I were so happy that we were able to do this for both of them. Cornell has a wonderful program called, "Child Life" and the instructor for this program provided us a doll which we fashioned into a patient with IV's, patient ID band, feeding tubes etc. to prepare Olivia for what she might expect when she sees Chloe. We prepared Olivia with the doll before seeing Chloe and it was a great success. Olivia wasn't scared at all and was overjoyed to see her sister.

Two weeks ago our family began a very new chapter in our lives. Since then we have received an outpouring of prayers, well wishes, lunches and dinners being sent to the hospital, flowers waiting for us at our apartment, food gift certificates and offers of housing. And for that we say thank you. We are truly blessed and grateful to have such wonderful people in our lives. Words cannot describe how truly humbled we are by your deep generosity, love and support. While this new chapter will be very challenging, filled with many difficult decisions and uphill battles - we remain positive that we will persevere knowing we have such a strong support system in all of you.

Much love,

Rethier, Michelle, Olivia & Chloe