Parker seems happy to be home and we are happy to keep him with us for as long as we can. We have now documented several smile incidents so we are more assured that the ability to smile has not been lost, just suppressed for the last 6 weeks.
He still does not like to be held upright for long periods of time but is less upset when we pick him up from his bed or hold him.
The release from the hospital was uneventful and we were given very little instructions except that the surgery for the new shunt would be later that week or early the next week. When we called on Thursday they told us to call back on Friday morning so we were fairly certain the surgery would not be that week. On Friday we talked to Dr. Puget's secretary who indicated that the surgery was not scheduled for the following week either and that Dr. Puget wanted to wait. That is very open-ended but we are taking every day in stride and trying to not get overly comfortable for concern that things will be abruptly disrupted.
On Friday, Renee took PJ to Garches to do a check-up and things seemed to go well. The intern, Dr Zaylani, was pleased with the clinical process that had been made, he noted that he was more alert and playful which were positive signs. As we are so close to the situation we crave that re-assurance from an outside source to confirm our hopes that he is getting better and Garches provided us that.
He will return to Garches tomorrow and on Tuesday morning we have a meeting with Dr. Couloigner (the ENT) to check up on the discussions for the cochlear implants. We will try and get an appointment to see Dr. Puget at the same time to discuss the options for the shunt surgery. Dr. Puget and Dr. Couloigner are now in discussions on dividing up Parker's head and determining which side the other should operate on.
Life is continuing on here. Our dear friends the Arnolds welcomed their little boy Maxwell David into the world on Monday night and there is another cousin in the works for our children. Nana arrived in Paris today to help with the children for the surgery that wont be happening this week but Renee has other plans for the week to make sure that her time here is not a waste. Penelope nightly tests Parker's hearing (at least the high pitch sounds) as she continues the process of teething. The other girls are all very glad to have their brother and parents home again. Hannah is thrilled that Sarah's birthday is tomorrow so that there is an excuse to make a cake.
We are coming up on the girls two-week Spring break. We had plans to travel to Spain but we really have no idea of what will happen to those plans, whether it would be irresponsible to leave Paris at this stage or whether it would do us good to take a break together as a family. In the end we anticipate that the decisions will likely be made for us and we will adapt as needed.
