2 Months, 2 Weeks, and 2 Days...

2 Months, 2 Weeks, and 2 Days, that's 72 Days in all, 1,728 Hours, 103,680 Minutes, or 6,220,800 Seconds, (depending on how you want to look at it) that we have been admitted at Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA).  What was suppose to be a 5 to 6 day stay following a spinal fusion to fix Isaac's TB ridden spine, turned into a summer of prayers, fears, faith, tears, and the occasional joy.

Over the last 72 days I have watched my son go from ICU to a recovery floor, to the rehab wing of CHLA.  When we finally arrived in the PT/OT wing (code-name: The Dome) he couldn't even sit up in a wheel chair without crying out in extreme pain and frustration and his legs couldn't do much of anything.  It took a few days, some serious pain killers, and some gentle coaxing by the amazing Dome nurses and therapists to get him going, but sure enough they got him up and "moving".

Over the next weeks and months, we had our ups and downs, days of progress and days of frustration. days of tears and days of the occasional smile.  I watched as my son went into his shell and finally started to come back to me.  Even his intense smile that he's so well known for disappeared for a while.  But then slowly one day I saw it for just a moment.  Then again and again.  And today the day we leave this place, his smile is back.  Plastered on his face as if it never left.

Before surgery he could run, walk, snowboard, play... now he has strength in his right leg, but not much in his left.  He can stand and has fairly decent balance, but needs to be spotted by an adult.  He can crawl on all fours with the speed of a cheetah, and his upper body strength would rival Mr. Universe.  We still have months of outpatient PT in our future, but at least when I wake in the morning, he'll be there with me.

This summer to make up for the summer we lost, we are going to road trip!  We're going to start in the desert to rock climb, then heading north to camp under the canopy of the giant Redwood Trees.  Then head into the city to eat some Chinese food in San Francisco's China Town, then it's north even further to Mt. Hood, Oregon where we are snowboarding for a week.  We'll then follow the Ocean down the Pacific Coast Highway and find our way back home.  

It may seem that some of these activities will still be out of reach, but I believe in the healing power of faith and hope.  And lets be real we have 72 days to make up for!