"Floor Status" for Jonny

That's a good thing! It means his recovery has progressed far enough to leave the PICU and be in a regular room for a few more days. Only problem is there are no regular rooms available so they have to stay in the PICU anyway. Which is AOK, great care and all, but absolutely no privacy. Walls and doors are nearly all glass - the nurses have to be able to see everyone all the time.

Dr. Grant said the surgery went very well. He encountered a couple "interesting" things but got right through or past them. Recovery, on the other hand, was rough. Took them well into the 2nd day to get the right cocktail of nausea and pain meds. Finally, though, Jonny quit throwing up and having pain, and started sleeping more than 2 hours at a time. Thankfully, that seems behind him now and recovery has become easier.

"You know you have Chiari when brain surgery sounds like a good idea."

Here are various pics from the events, not necessarily in any order.

There's his zipper.
"Excuse the hairdo, my awesome neurosurgeon did it."

Can you spot Doogy Houser? It is a teaching hospital.

Care package from new friends in the Springs.

Nana's chiari dino, complete with zipper and brain.

Matt and Tracy's anniversary cake from Madonna Inn!

Gotta get this meal down and keep it down to get "floor status."

Meanwhile, back at the ranch

Here's a bit of what was happening back in the Springs while Jonny and crew were at Stanford.

Fina and the Underwoods enjoy the new patio area at the club.

At the zoo.

At home.

A birthday party for a wallaby, complete with wallaby cupcakes.

Feed the birds, tu'ppence a bag.

Be Strong, Jonny

Surgery day has arrived, and as you might imagine there's an entire family and lots of friends rooting for Jonny. The Colorado gang all went to school today with their "In this family, no one fights alone" shirts. #ChiariMalformation

You can see how excited he is about all this!

Be strong, Jonny!

Landed in San Fran on Monday.

On Monday at home...

1800s Baseball

Papa, Matteo, and AJ traveled down I-25 about 25 miles and back in time over a hundred years to 1800s "living history" baseball as part of Heritage Days at the Rock Ledge Ranch (shares an entrance road with Garden of the Gods). Same spot we saw some Shakepeare plays earlier this summer; in fact, today's baseball field is where the tent theatre stood only weeks ago. The 1800s Camp Creek Cloud Busters (CCCB) played the 1882 Denver & Rio Grande Reds. Three balls drew a walk. You're "dead" when you're out. A fly ball could be caught on one bounce for an out (no mitts or gloves). Players scoring a run rang the cow bell at the scorekeeper's table on the way back to the bench (bails of hay). Quite fun! All the photos are here.

50 cents each. Pretty cheap today, a might
expensive for 1800s.

Teddy and Abe were there. Abe played catcher and batted at one point.
Don't try to do the math on the dates of things; you'll miss out on the fun.

$1 root beer.

The game was interrupted by a women's suffrage rally.

The guy with the cane was the ump, calling the "hurls" from off to the side
(not directly behind the batter/catcher).

Players and the cranks (the crowd) could influence the call with enough noise.

1882 Denver & Rio Grande Reds' bench.

No one fights alone

In this family, no one fights alone. It is easy to get caught up in Jonathan’s diagnosis and special needs but his diagnosis doesn’t just effect him but all my other kids wear his diagnosis and fights along side him. September is Chiari Awareness month and as I prepare to head to CA for Jonathan’s decompression surgery let’s not forget the other kids left home who are fighting also. #chiarimalformation #chiariawareness #tminus3daysuntilsurgery

A Chiari Dinosaur

To help Jonathan understand what is happening, Nana made him a special dinosaur that had his surgery date, incision, brain, and even hospital bracelet. Jonathan loves it! #chiarimalformation #chiariawareness #zipperhead #tminus6daysuntilsurgery

In essence, the chiari decompression surgery is to make more room for the brain (the cerebellum, to be exact) at the base of the skull. The surgery also relieves pressure on the spinal column and makes the flow of spinal fluid better.

And speaking of dinos, this indoraptor headed straight for Jonny's OJ this morning.

Theatre Kid's Life

Does this sound familiar?:

I can't, I have auditions.
I can't, I have callbacks.
I can't, I have first reading.
I can't, I have rehearsal.
I can't, I have vocals.
I can't, I have choreo.
I can't, it's tech week.
I can't, it's hell week.
I can't, it's final dress.
I can't, it's opening night.
I can't, it's my last performance.
I can't, I have strike.
I can't, I have a cast party.
I can't, I have auditions.