Wednesday, March 3, 2010 9:38am

Good morning dear friends,

I first want to thank you for your outpouring of support, prayers and well wishes. We are truly blessed to have such a wonderful group of friends.

Aidan continues to make good progress, both physically and in spirit. It is very slow going, but we are seeing a little bit more of him each day. That little sparkle is back in his eyes and is so very good to see! He has even started flirting with his nurses with his little coy smile.
He is getting stronger each day and his movements are becoming more purposeful. He is even giving high 5s and shaking hands.
Finally, his eye movements are becoming more normal. He is beginning to track objects now.
Feeding continues to be a little bit of a struggle as he is relearning how to use his tongue. It is mind boggling at how much coordination it takes to chew and swallow...the things we all take for granted.
We are still waiting for Aidan to speak some words. We believe that we heard a raspy "mom" yesterday. It's a start.

His neurosurgeon is planning for his shunt surgery tomorrow (Thursday). Aidan has what is called low pressure hydrocephalus (not too common) and it has been quite a challenge to move his drain to a positive pressure which is ideal when placing a shunt.

We anticipate a full brain and spine MRI early next week to evaluate tumor status and expect chemo to follow shortly thereafter.
Dare I say it? If all goes well and he is internalized successfully, we may be going to rehab the third week of March.

It is truly amazing how far little Aidan has come...he is quite a fighter. Ron and I talk all the time about how when children are young, their parents are their biggest heroes. We have now realized that Aidan is OUR biggest hero.

It looks like we are going to have a busy week. As always, I will continue to keep you updated with Aidan's progress.