Last night Sada came out of surgery doing really well. The surgeon was finally able to come to talk to us at 7:30 tonight, and said the surgery was pretty straightforward. The mass was attached to the brain stem, so they got out most and possibly all of it, but we'll have to wait for a few months for a clear MRI to really see. The first results from pathology look like it's a good case scenario, but we'll know more with the final report, possibly coming in tomorrow but could be after Christmas. She still has the vision loss, either caused by pressure from the increased cerebral spinal or due to the position of the attachment site. Ditto for very poor hand/eye coordination. Both can likely improve in weeks or months, but since every case is so individual, we wait and see. She'll be at Primary Children's until she can sit up, walk without help, and at least take basic care of herself - the doctor is estimating 5-7 days if she keeps progressing. Every nurse who walks in tells us they've been warned that Sada is a bit bright, and she's always translating the medical terminology they use when talking to us to prove she's not about to be ignored. It's really funny to watch them left speechless after she rewords everything into layman's terms. What can I say - she's an amazing, brilliant daughter... must take after her parents :-)

All the extra prayers seem to be working and Jeff & I feel pretty calm considering circumstances. The biggest concern right now is going to be keeping her as healthy as possible. Should be interesting considering we have a houseful of very active kids. The doctors suggested that we quarentine our family as much as possible especially now that RSV and stomach flu have taken off. A lot of you have asked to help out somehow, even though visiting will be out of the question for at least 6-8 weeks. Sada would love fun cards or letters. Jeff & I could especially use a few ready-to-make activities that the younger kids can do without direct supervision. Keeping everyone away from Sada and entertained without being strapped down is probably going to be our biggest challenge.

Thanks again for the support, prayers, and love. And yes, there are angels among us all day and night.